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via Alton, 13,282 tons via East St. Louis; from the southern Illinois group, 136,146 tons via Alton, 6,626 tons via East St. Louis; from the western Kentucky group, 25,421 tons via Alton; from the Springfield district, 41,361 tons via East St. Louis; from the South Pittsburg, Tenn., group 29,833 tons via Cairo; from mines in Missouri, 95 tons via Alton; from West Virginia, 2,473 tons via Cairo. It will be noted that the preponderance of the tonnage originated in the Belleville and southern Illinois groups and moved through Alton.

The Northern States Power Company, protestant in I. and S. No. 5469, is a public utility company which generates electrical energy by the use of coal and steam, at Minneapolis and St. Paul, and La Crosse, Wis., among other points, and to these three points it ships coal by all-rail and rail-barge. The following table shows the sources and volume of its receipts, from January 1 to December 12, 1947, which consisted entirely of fine coal (screenings). The last column shows tonnage that, having been treated and made eligible for barge movement, could have moved rail-barge, but moved all-rail because of lack of railroad equipment in sufficient supply to move bargeload quantities at one time.

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At St. Paul coal is unloaded directly from barges at protestant's own dock into its storage yards, while at Minneapolis it is unloaded at the municipal dock into cars, and incurs a switching charge. Therefore, when not enough coal can be shipped by barge to supply both plants, the greater part of its barge shipments are sent to St. Paul, to avoid the switching charges. This accounts for the small barge tonnage received at Minneapolis in 1947.

The difference between its transportation (including barge transfer) costs per ton on fine coal from the Belleville group by rail-barge and by all-rail is shown by this protestant as follows:

274 I. C. C.

I. C. C. 537, for application from Illinois mines to points in northern Illinois, extended for distances beyond 100 miles at the last rate of progression in the prescribed scale; a scale prescribed in Coal Trade Assn. of Indiana v. Baltimore & O. R. Co., 190 I. C. C. 743, for application from Indiana mines to points in eastern-central Illinois, extended beyond 300 miles at the last rate of progression in the prescribed scale; and the Midland scale used as a guide in prescribing specific rates from Illinois mines to Iowa in Midland Electric Coal Corp. v. Chicago & N. W. Ry. Co., 232 I. C. C. 5. Respondents also used a scale shown in appendix C of the report in Coal to Beloit, Wis., and Northern Illinois, supra, in which proceeding reasonable rates were determined for application from Illinois, Indiana, and western Kentucky mines to northern Illinois destinations and Beloit, Wis., but as the finding operated as a prescription of specific rates which are materially lower than the scale level, that comparison will not be embraced in our discussion.

Those comparisons show that the rate to St. Louis from the Belleville group is from 102 to 134.6 percent of the compared rates, but from all the other origin groups the rates are less than the compared rates, with two exceptions, ranging as low as 70.7 percent of the Holmes & Hallowell scale from the western Kentucky group. To East St. Louis from the Belleville group the interstate rates of March 14, 1947, range from 92.1 to 105 percent of the compared rates, the intrastate rates range from 87.7 to 100 percent of the compared rates, and the range of the suspended rates which are the same interstate and intrastate, is from 100.9 to 115 percent of the compared rates. From the DuQuoin group to East St. Louis the interstate rates range from 70.6 to 80.4 percent, the intrastate rates from 67.5 to 76.9 percent, and the suspended rates from 76.7 to 87.4 percent of the compared rates. From the southern Illinois group to East St. Louis the interstate rates range from 74.5 to 85.4 percent, the intrastate rates from 66.5 to 76.2 percent of the compared rates, and the suspended intrasate rate is the same as the interstate rate in which no change is proposed. The range of the percentage relation of the suspended intrastate rates to the compared rates from some of the other groups is as follows: Centralia, 73.1 to 84.6; Springfield 4, 74.2 to 85.3; Springfield 5, 67.3 to 76.7; and Springfield 14, 71.3 to 81.3.

While the percentages of the rates from some of the northern Illinois groups exceed 100 percent of the compared rates, no traffic moved from those groups to these destinations during the 18-month test period. The percentage of the rates to Alton to the compared rates, while generally somewhat higher than that of the rates to East St. Louis, is not sufficiently different to require comment.

Appendix C to this report shows the car-mile and ton-mile revenues under the rates of March 14, 1947, and the suspended interstate and intrastate rates, based upon carloads of 50 tons and the average group distances, from a number of the groups in both southern and northern Illinois. The revenues are materially higher under the rates to St. Louis than under the rates to East St. Louis, and the average distance is 3 miles greater. The usual rule that as distance increases car-mile and ton-mile revenues normally decrease, would be subject to modification here where the added distance, St. Louis over East St. Louis, is so slight, and entails added terminal service of an expensive nature (see 161 I. C. C. 376); but it would appear that in some instances, and particularly in the case of the rates from the Belleville group, the excess of the revenues under the St. Louis rates is so great as to require special justification for its continuance, which justification is lacking on this record.

St. Clair and Madison Counties, Ill., embrace the area around East St. Louis, and the Belleville group mines nearest to East St. Louis are in these counties. During the years 1927 and 1928, somewhat over a half million tons of coal a year were loaded on trucks at mines in these two counties for movement to all destinations, including St. Louis and East St. Louis. For the 10 years 1937-46 the average yearly truck loadings were over 2 million tons. It is a fair conclusion, therefore, that the trucking of coal to these two destinations from the nearby Belleville group mines has greatly increased since 1928, and that as a consequence the average length of rail haul from that group to these destinations has also increased. The yearly rail tonnage to these destinations from the Belleville group in 1927 and 1928 was slightly over 11⁄2 million tons, while for the later 10-year average it was somewhat over 14 million tons.

The coal involved in the barge movement is fine coal, it originates principally in the Belleville and southern Illinois groups, and the preponderance of the movement is through Alton. Alton has been maintained on the East St. Louis rate basis. Following are shown the all-rail rates on fine coal, and the combination of rail rates to East St. Louis and Alton and Federal Barge Lines' rates beyond to Minneapolis at different times. Errors in the exhibits due to failure to recognize provisions in the tariffs for application of a single increase have been corrected in the table.

274 I. C. C.

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1 Bargeload minimum weight to Sept. 12, 1942, was 1,500 tons, thereafter 2,000 tons. Rates include transfer from cars to barges (absorption of transfer limited to 8 cents per ton at Alton and 10.5 cents at East St. Louis, effective Aug. 10, 1944, subject thereafter to general rate increases where authorized; on Mar. 20, 1947, made subject to a maximum of 10 cents per ton at both transfer points, this maximum increased 10 percent Oct. 13, 1947); do not include absorption of switching, apply to "in barge" at destination at waterfront facilities other than those operated by Federal Barge Lines and do not include any transfer, loading, switching, or other terminal expense at such facilities.

? Provision was made in tariff of increased rates and charges No. X162 for application of a single increase on combination rates, and both the rail and barge rate tariffs were subject to that tariff.

3 Barge rate tariff not subject to tariff No. X162.

♦ Provision was made in tariff of emergency charges No. X166 for application of a single increase on combination rates, and both the rail and barge tariffs were subject to that tariff.

The Kentucky Coal Agency, which intervened on behalf of respondents, is a nonprofit organization of western Kentucky coal operators. Its members produce about 80 percent of the tonnage produced in western Kentucky. Its position is that its rate differences over the coal groups in southern Illinois should be no greater as to rates to the East St. Louis-Alton district than as to rates to St. Louis.

In 1932, western Kentucky shipped 4.47 percent of its total production to the St. Louis-East St. Louis district. The tonnage it shipped to that area in the years 1933-36 averaged 1.24 percent. For the next 10 years, 1937-46, such tonnage averaged only 0.57 of 1 percent. The States of Illinois and Missouri together, for the years ended March 31, 1944 and 1946, respectively, received 80.9 and 80.7 of their coal supply from Illinois, and but 0.5 and 0.8 of 1 percent from western Kentucky.

Members of the Western Kentucky Coal Agency ship coal to points farther distant than the St. Louis-East St. Louis district, they have shipped coal to the district for many years, they produce steam coal, for which grade of coal there is a large demand in the East St. Louis district, and therefore they believe that area is properly within their

sphere of sales activity. They endeavor to market coal in that area, and find their greatest competition to be with the Belleville and southern Illinois group mines.

The Western Kentucky Coal Company, a member of the agency described, operates five mines and estimates its production at about 22 percent of the total coal produced in that group. It has two salesmen who include the St. Louis-East St. Louis-Alton district in their sales territory, and prior to 6 months before the hearing herein it maintained an office and a sales force in the district. Its largest customer in East St. Louis is an industry with which it has an intercorporate relationship.

Under our findings in Intrastate Coal Rates to East St. Louis, supra, the rates approved resulted in rate spreads of 43.5 cents, western Kentucky over the southern Illinois groups, and 68.5 cents over the Belleville group, in rates to both St. Louis and East St. Louis, which adjustment, it was found, would remove all undue prejudice and preference, and unjust discrimination against interstate commerce. The same spreads still obtain in the rates to St. Louis. These spreads were disrupted, as to rates to the East St. Louis district, on November 15, 1937, becoming 48.5 and 73.5 cents when the intrastate rates were increased 5 cents and the rate from western Kentucky was increased 10 cents. A further disruption took place January 1, 1947, the spreads becoming 58.5 and 83.5 cents when the intrastate rates were increased 15 cents and the western Kentucky rate was increased 25 cents. Both the spreads were, therefore, on March 14, 1947, 15 cents greater than those approved by us in the report cited. During the same period the spread in rates to East St. Louis of southern Illinois over Belleville has continued to be 25 cents. The spread in distance, southern Illinois group over the Belleville group, is about 75 miles, western Kentucky over southern Illinois about 136 miles, and western Kentucky over Belleville about 211 miles. Stated otherwise, for a difference in distance between the Belleville and southern Illinois groups of 75 miles the rate difference is 25 cents, while for a difference in distance between the southern Illinois and western Kentucky groups of 136 miles the rate difference is 58.5 cents. Even though distance alone is not controlling, the maladjustment is evident.

Comparison is made with rate spreads prescribed or approved in other proceedings for western Kentucky over southern Illinois to other destinations as follows:

274 I. C. C.

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