B-128577, FEB. 13, 1957

B-128577, FEB. 13, 1957

TO ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR FILE G-WQ-36759-39693-WAG-R, UNDER WHICH YOU RECLAIM THE AMOUNTS OF $1,042.16 AND $596.16, WHICH WERE DEDUCTED FROM CURRENT BILLS BECAUSE OF OVERPAYMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH BILLS OF LADING WQ-19738977 AND WQ-10204055, COVERED BY YOUR BILLS WQ-36759 AND WQ-39693, RESPECTIVELY.

THE RECORD SHOWS THAT THE SHIPMENT ON BILL OF LADING WQ-19738977, MOVING FROM DUNVEGAN YARDS, ALBERTA, CANADA, WAS ORIGINALLY CONSIGNED TO CLEVELAND, OHIO, AND AFTER ARRIVAL AT THAT POINT, WAS RECONSIGNED TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. THE ROUTE OF SERVICE WAS VIA THE NORTHERN ALBERTA RAILWAYS, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL AND SAULT STE. MARIE RAILROAD COMPANY, AND THE NEW YORK CENTRAL SYSTEM TO CLEVELAND, OHIO, THENCE THE NEW YORK CENTRAL SYSTEM AND THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY TO FINAL DESTINATION AT SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. FOR THIS SERVICE YOU HAVE BEEN PAID CHARGES BASED ON A COMBINATION OF RATES OF $1.32 PER 100 POUNDS TO NOYES, MINNESOTA, THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER INTERCHANGE POINT BETWEEN THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD AND THE MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL AND SAULT STE. MARIE RAILROAD LINE, PLUS $1.86 PER 100 POUNDS TO CLEVELAND, OHIO, AND 82 CENTS PER 100 POUNDS TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, LESS APPLICABLE LAND-GRANT DEDUCTIONS VIA THE EQUALIZED ROUTES.

BY LETTER DATED JULY 20, 1955, YOU PROTESTED THE BASIS USED IN THE OVERPAYMENT NOTICE STATING, IN EFFECT, THAT THE DIVISIONS USED WOULD NOT APPLY, SINCE THE CANADIAN PACIFIC LINES WEST HAD AN WOULD NOT APPLY, SINCE THE CANADIAN PACIFIC LIEES WEST HAD AN EQUALIZATION AGREEMENT AND THAT EXCEPTION 27 SPECIFICALLY PROVIDED FOR THE WAIVING OF CONDITION A OF THE EQUALIZATION AGREEMENT, PROVIDED ALL OTHER CARRIERS OTHER THAN THE INITIAL OR DELIVERING LINE-HAUL CARRIER HAD THIS EXCEPTION IN THEIR EQUALIZATION AGREEMENT. YOU URGE, THEREFORE, THAT THE LAND GRANT TO CLEVELAND, OHIO, SHOULD BE COMPUTED OVER THE ACTUAL ROUTE THE SHIPMENT MOVED.

THE CITED EQUALIZATION AGREEMENT SEEMS TO HAVE NO BEARING IN THIS CASE. THE LAND-GRANT CHARGES WERE COMPUTED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE AUTHORITY GIVEN IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT, CHIEF OF TRANSPORTATION, WASHINGTON, D.C., DATED JUNE 19, 1942, WRITTEN BY J. T. KINGSLEY, EXECUTIVE GENERAL AGENT FOR THE SOO LINE, WASHINGTON, D.C., WHEREIN THE CHIEF OF TRANSPORTATION WAS ADVISED THAT ON TRAFFIC MOVING TO AND FROM POINTS IN CANADA AND ALBERTA, ROUTED SOO LINE-CANADIAN PACIFIC, OR VICE VERSA, THE LOWEST NET GOVERNMENT RATE COMPUTED VIA ANY ROUTE WOULD BE PROTECTED. IN YOUR LETTER OF NOVEMBER 15, 1955, YOU TAKE THE POSITION THAT MR. KINGSLEY'S LETTER APPLIES ONLY ON SHIPMENTS WHICH ORIGINATE ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY AND TERMINATE ON THE SOO LINE, OR VICE VERSA, AND THAT THE LETTER HAS NO APPLICATION IN THIS CASE BECAUSE THE SHIPMENT ORIGINATED ON THE NORTHERN ALBERTA RAILWAY. HOWEVER, YOUR POSITION APPEARS TO BE UNTENABLE, SINCE THE SHIPMENT WAS ROUTED EXACTLY AS SPECIFIED IN MR. KINGSLEY'S LETTER, AND INASMUCH AS THE LETTER CONTAINED NO REQUIREMENT THAT THE SHIPMENT ORIGINATE AND TERMINATE ON THE LINES OF ANY PARTICULAR CARRIERS, SUCH A REQUIREMENT MAY NOT NOW BE READ INTO ITS PROVISIONS.

AS TO THE SHIPMENT MOVING ON BILL OF LADING WQ-10204055, THE RECORD SHOWS THAT A CARLOAD OF ,TARPS FOR WINTERIZATION KITS" ORIGINATED AT DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND MOVED TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, VIA THE NORTHERN ALBERTA RAILWAYS, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL AND SAULT STE. MARIE RAILROAD COMPANY, CHICAGO, NORTH SHORE AND MILWAUKEE RAILWAY, ELGIN, JOLIET AND EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, AND THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY. FOR THIS SERVICE YOU HAVE BEEN PAID FREIGHT CHARGES BASED ON A COMBINATION OF A FOURTH-CLASS RATE OF $1.76 PER 100 POUNDS TO NOYES, MINNESOTA, AS AUTHORIZED IN CANADIAN FREIGHT ASSOCIATION FREIGHT TARIFF NO. 134-B, J. F. FLYNN'S I.C.C. NO. 61 AND RULE 4, PAGE 2, OF CANADIAN FREIGHT ASSOCIATION FREIGHT TARIFF NO. 66, PLUS A FOURTH-CLASS RATE OF $1.28 PER 100 POUNDS TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, AS AUTHORIZED IN WESTERN TRUNK LINE CLASS TARIFF NO. 232-A, L. E. KIPP'S I.C.C. NO. A-2594, LESS THE APPLICABLE LAND-GRANT DEDUCTIONS ON THE RATE BEYOND NOYES VIA EQUALIZED ROUTES.

BY SUPPLEMENTAL BILL YOU CLAIM AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT OF $596.16, BASED ON A RATE OF $1.76 PER 100 POUNDS TO NOYES, PLUS A THIRD-CLASS RATE OF $1.63 PER 100 POUNDS BEYOND, AUTHORIZED BY WESTERN TRUNK LINE TARIFF NO. 232-A, LESS LAND-GRANT DEDUCTIONS COMPUTED VIA THE ACTUAL ROUTE OF MOVEMENT.

REGARDING THE USE OF THE FOURTH-CLASS RATE OF $1.28 FROM NOYES, MINNESOTA, TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, ON THE SHIPMENT OF "TARPS FOR WINTERIZATION KITS" TRANSPORTED UNDER BILL OF LADING WQ-10204055, THE RECORD SHOWS THAT A LETTER DATED MAY 26, 1955, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY ADVISED THAT THE ONLY DESCRIPTION AVAILABLE WAS "UNDER CHASSIS HEATER TARPAULINS.' THUS, THE SUBJECT MATERIAL APPEARS TO BE TARPAULINS, WITHIN THE MEANING OF ITEM 41850 OF CONSOLIDATED FREIGHT CLASSIFICATION NO. 16, WHICH AUTHORIZES A FOURTH-CLASS RATING AT A CARLOAD MINIMUM WEIGHT OF 24,000 POUNDS, SUBJECT TO RULE 34, UNDER THE DESCRIPTION OF "TARPAULINS, OR PAULINS, NOIBN, IN PACKAGES.' THE FOURTH-CLASS RATE OF $1.28 IS PUBLISHED IN SUPPLEMENT III OF WESTERN TRUNK LINES TARIFF NO. 232-A, L. E. KIPP'S I.C.C. NO. A-2594.

CONCERNING THE LAND-GRANT DEDUCTIONS FROM THE RATES USED BEYOND NOYES ON BOTH OF THE SUBJECT SHIPMENTS, ITEM 10-A OF CANADIAN FREIGHT ASSOCIATION FREIGHT TARIFF NO. 124-B, R. H. HOKES' I.C.C. NO. A-3425, WHICH PROVIDES THAT THROUGH CLASS RATES FROM DAWSON CREEK AND DUNVEGAN YARDS, CANADA, TO POINTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE TO BE ARRIVED AT BY ADDING TO THE RATES TO THE "INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY POINTS," NORTHGATE, NOYES, ETC., AS SHOWN IN THAT TARIFF, THE RATES BEYOND SUCH POINTS PUBLISHED IN CERTAIN TARIFFS, INCLUDING WESTERN TRUNK LINE TARIFF NO. 232 AND CENTRAL FREIGHT ASSOCIATION TARIFF 491, USING THE BASING POINT MAKING THE LOWEST COMBINATION. THE RATES USED IN DETERMINING THE CHARGES NOW PAID ON THE SUBJECT SHIPMENTS WERE FOUND TO BE THE LOWEST COMBINATION OF RATES AVAILABLE BETWEEN THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION. THUS, THE RATES SO ESTABLISHED BECAME THE THROUGH RATES FROM THE ORIGINS IN CANADA TO SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. ALTHOUGH EQUALIZATION APPARENTLY IS NOT AVAILABLE UNDER THE TERMS OF THE FREIGHT LAND GRANT EQUALIZATION AGREEMENT, IT MAY BE NOTED THAT THE SOO LINE INFORMED THE CHIEF OF TRANSPORTATION, WAR DEPARTMENT, IN A LETTER FROM MR. KINGSLEY DATED MARCH 1, 1942 (COPY ENCLOSED), THAT ON TRAFFIC MOVING TO AND FROM DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, ROUTED SOO LINE-CANADIAN PACIFIC, OR VICE VERSA, THE LOWEST NET GOVERNMENT RATE COMPUTED VIA ANY ROUTE WOULD BE PROTECTED.

ACCORDINGLY, THE THROUGH RATES CONSTRUCTED OVER NOYES APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN APPLICABLE, AND THE LETTERS FROM MR. KINGSLEY DATED MARCH 1, 1942, AND JUNE 19, 1942, AUTHORIZED EQUALIZATION ON THE SHIPMENTS TRANSPORTED UNDER BILLS OF LADING NOS. WQ-10204055 AND WQ-19738977, RESPECTIVELY.