B-16431, JULY 15, 1941, 21 COMP. GEN. 23

B-16431, JULY 15, 1941, 21 COMP. GEN. 23

TRANSPORTATION - MOTOR VEHICLE SHIPMENTS - EFFECT OF ROAD, ETC., CONDITIONS ON RATE COMPUTATIONS WHERE THE PROVISIONS OF THE APPLICABLE MOTOR CARRIER TARIFF REQUIRE THAT FOR RATE-MAKING PURPOSES DISTANCES ARE TO BE COMPUTED VIA THE "SHORTEST GENERAL ROUTE" BETWEEN ORIGIN AND DESTINATION, THERE IS NO AUTHORITY FOR COMPUTING THE APPLICABLE RATE VIA A LONGER ROUTE WHICH THE CARRIER MAY HAVE USED BECAUSE OF WEATHER OR ROAD CONDITIONS PREVAILING OVER THE SHORTEST ROUTE.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL WARREN TO THE KLAMATH FALLS TRANSFER AND STORAGE CO., JULY 15, 1941:

AS REQUESTED IN YOUR LETTER OF APRIL 11, 1941, FURTHER CONSIDERATION HAS BEEN GIVEN THE MATTER OF THE CHARGES ALLOWED IN SETTLEMENT T 185343, APRIL 7, 1941, UPON YOUR CLAIM FOR CHARGES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS AND PERSONAL EFFECTS, 3,445 POUNDS, FROM KLAMATH AGENCY, OREG., TO HOOPA, CALIF., UNDER BILL OF LADING I 868403, MARCH 22, 1940.

YOU CLAIMED, PER BILL 4691, $121.61 FOR THIS SERVICE ON THE BASIS OF A RATE OF $3.53 PER 100 POUNDS, BASED APPARENTLY ON A DISTANCE OF 360 MILES VIA A ROUTE THROUGH ASHLAND AND ROGUE RIVER, OREG., CRESCENT CITY AND ARCATA, CALIF. YOU WERE PAID $102.66 BY G. F. ALLEN, CHIEF DISBURSING OFFICER, ON VOUCHER 1321674, JANUARY 29, 1941, ON THE BASIS OF A RATE OF $2.98 PER 100 POUNDS BASED ON A DISTANCE OF 280 MILES VIA A ROUTE THROUGH MOUNT HEBRON, WEED, REDDING, DOUGLAS CITY, LEWISTON, AND JUNCTION CITY, CALIF. YOU CLAIMED, PER BILL 4691-A, THE DIFFERENCE OF $18.95 FOR REASON STATED AS FOLLOWS:

THE ROAD TO THE HOOPA RESERVATION, FROM REDDING OVER THE TRINITY MOUNTAINS AND THROUGH JUNCTION CITY AND DOUGLAS CITY IS QUITE IMPASSABLE AS ANYONE WHO KNOWS THIS COUNTRY COULD TELL YOU, AND WE FEEL THAT WE EARNED THE ADDITIONAL $18.95 AND ARE ENTITLED TO THIS AMOUNT.

IN SETTLEMENT T-185343, DATED APRIL 7, 1941, YOU WERE ALLOWED $8.27 ADDITIONAL BEING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN $102.66 AND AN AMOUNT, $110.93, COMPUTED ON THE BASIS OF A RATE OF $3.22 PER 100 POUNDS ON THE ACTUAL WEIGHT OF 3,445 POUNDS FOR A DISTANCE OF 315 MILES VIA THE ROUTE THROUGH WEED, REDDING, ETC. UPON FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE MATTER AFTER RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER DATED APRIL 11, 1941, IT NOW APPEARS THAT THE SITUATION IS AS FOLLOWS:

UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS CARRIERS' BUREAU TARIFF NO. 9, MF -1I.C.C. NO. 15, THE CHARGE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF THIS SHIPMENT IS FOR COMPUTATION AT THE APPLICABLE RATE PROVIDED THEREIN FOR A " CLASS 1" SHIPMENT. THIS TARIFF DOES NOT NAME A SPECIFIC RATE FROM KLAMATH AGENCY, OREG., TO HOOPA, CALIF., BUT DOES NAME RATES BASED ON MILEAGE AND IN THIS SITUATION TARIFF RULE 12 PROVIDES:

* * * WHERE RATES ARE BASED ON MILEAGE, THE DISTANCE OR MILEAGE SHALL BE THAT SHOWN IN MILEAGE GUIDE NO. 3, HOUSEHOLD GOODS CARRIERS' BUREAU * * * MF-1I.C.C. NO. 11 * * *.

RULE 1 OF THE MILEAGE GUIDE PROVIDES THAT MILEAGES SHALL BE DETERMINED FROM THE MILEAGE CHART, THE MILEAGE MAPS, THE VICINITY MAPS, AND THE MAPS OF THE INDIVIDUAL STATES, IN THE ORDER NAMED. NEITHER KLAMATH AGENCY NOR HOOPA IS SHOWN ON EITHER THE MILEAGE CHART, THE MILEAGE MAPS, OR THE VICINITY MAPS, PROVIDED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH MILEAGE GUIDE NO. 3, AND IN THIS SITUATION THE LATTER PROVIDES, IN RULE 7, THAT "THE DISTANCE SHALL BE DETERMINED AS PROVIDED BY * * * RULE 6, WITH THE ADDITION OR DEDUCTION OF THE DISTANCE INDICATED ON THE MAPS OF INDIVIDUAL STATES * * * BETWEEN THE POINTS NOT SHOWN ON THE MILEAGE MAP AND THE NEAREST POINT ON THE SHORTEST GENERAL ROUTE OR EXTENSION THEREOF WHICH IS SHOWN ON THE MILEAGE MAP * * *.' ( ITALICS SUPPLIED.)

KLAMATH AGENCY IS SHOWN ON THE RAND MCNALLY 1940 MAP OF OREGON AS BEING BETWEEN FORT KLAMATH AND MODOC POINT, AND HOOPA IS SHOWN ON THE RAND MCNALLY 1940 MAP OF CALIFORNIA AS BEING BETWEEN WEITCHPEC AND WILLOW CREEK. THESE MAPS SHOW DISTANCES OF 12 MILES BETWEEN KLAMATH AGENCY AND MODOC POINT, 13 MILES BETWEEN WILLOW CREEK AND HOOPA, AND 11 MILES BETWEEN WEITCHPEC AND HOOPA. MODOC POINT AND WEITCHPEC ARE BOTH SHOWN ON THE " MILEAGE MAP" (SECTION 15) WHICH INDICATES THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THESE TWO POINTS TO BE 208 MILES VIA A ROUTE THROUGH KLAMATH FALLS, DORRIS, MOUNT HEBRON, LITTLE SHASTA, MONTAGUE, YREKA, FORT JONES, ETNA, AND SOMESBAR. THIS DISTANCE APPEARS TO BE THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN MODOC POINT AND WEITCHPEC AS INDICATED BY "FINE BLACK LINES" ON THE MILEAGE MAP, AND THE MILEAGE GUIDE PROVIDES IN RULE 6 "IF (AS HERE) THE SHORTEST GENERAL ROUTE FROM POINT OF ORIGIN TO DESTINATION OR AN EXTENSION OF THAT ROUTE DOES NOT PASS THROUGH TWO STARRED POINTS BUT BOTH POINT OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION ARE SHOWN ON THE MILEAGE MAP, THEN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM SHALL BE DETERMINED BY ADDING TOGETHER THE DISTANCES AS SHOWN ON THE MILEAGE MAP, FROM POINT TO POINT ALONG THE ROUTE.' ( ITALICS SUPPLIED.)

FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE RATE MAKING DISTANCE FROM KLAMATH AGENCY TO HOOPA, MODOC POINT AND WEITCHPEC ARE TO BE TREATED AS POINTS NEAREST THE POINTS OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION, RESPECTIVELY, VIA THE "SHORTEST GENERAL ROUTE" WHICH RULE 3 OF THE MILEAGE GUIDE DEFINES AS "THE SHORTEST ROUTE INDICATED BY FINE BLACK LINES ON THE MILEAGE MAPS.' UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF RULE 7 OF THE MILEAGE GUIDE THE DISTANCE OF 11 MILES FROM WEITCHPEC TO HOOPA ARE TO BE ADDED TO THE DISTANCE OF 208 MILES VIA THE "SHORTEST GENERAL ROUTE" FROM MODOC POINT TO WEITCHPEC RESULTING IN A THROUGH DISTANCE OF 231 MILES TO BE USED AS THE RATE MAKING DISTANCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE RATE FROM KLAMATH AGENCY TO HOOPA.

UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TARIFF NO. 9 (SECTION II) THE " CLASS 1" RATE FOR 3,445 POUNDS FOR A RATE MAKING DISTANCE OF 231 MILES WAS $2.64 PER 100 POUNDS WHICH WOULD RESULT IN A CHARGE OF $90.95 BUT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TARIFF RULE 34-A AS SHOWN IN TARIFF SUPPLEMENT 10 THE CHARGE ON THIS BASIS MUST NOT "EXCEED THE CHARGE AS WOULD APPLY ON THE SAME SHIPMENT UNDER THE NEXT GREATER UNIT OF WEIGHT AT RATE APPLICABLE TO THE NEXT GREATER UNIT OF WEIGHT," NAMELY, 3,501 POUNDS AT $2.59 PER 100 POUNDS, OR $90.68. YOU ARE A PARTY TO BOTH TARIFF NO. 9 AND MILEAGE GUIDE NO. 3. THERE HAS BEEN FOUND NO TARIFF PROVISION AUTHORIZING A DIFFERENT METHOD OF COMPUTATION AS BEING DEPENDENT UPON WEATHER OR ROAD CONDITIONS AND, ACCORDINGLY, NO REASON IS APPARENT WHY THE PROVISIONS OF THESE PUBLICATIONS SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED TO DETERMINE THE APPLICABLE CHARGE ON THIS SHIPMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THAT THE MOVEMENT MAY HAVE BEEN VIA SOME ROUTE OTHER THAN THAT VIA WHICH THE TARIFF RULES PROVIDE THAT THE DISTANCE SHALL BE COMPUTED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE APPLICABLE RATE BETWEEN SHIPPING POINT AND DESTINATION. UPON THE RECORD AS IT NOW APPEARS THE APPLICABLE CHARGE FOR THIS SERVICE IS $90.68 AND AS YOU HAVE BEEN PAID $110.93 YOU SHOULD REMIT $20.25 WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME. OTHERWISE THERE WILL BE FOR CONSIDERATION ADJUSTMENT BY APPROPRIATE DEBIT IN THE SETTLEMENT OF AN OPEN ACCOUNT.