munications Commission in the same manner as though originally commenced before that body; and valuations and determinations of depreciation charges by the Interstate Commerce Commission with respect to common carriers engaged in radio or wire communication, and all orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission with respect to such valuations and determinations, shall have the same force and effect as though made by the Commission under this Act. HOUSING STANDARDS ACT An Act approved June 27, 1934 (48 Stat. L. 1246) referred to as the National Housing Act seeks as its purpose "to encourage improvement in housing standards and conditions, to provide a system of mutual mortgage insurance, and for other purposes." A Federal Housing Administration and Administrator are provided for, as well as a comprehensive plan for the protection, up to a certain extent, of banks, trust companies, mortgage companies, etc., against losses which they may sustain as a result of loans and advances of credit, for the purpose of financing alterations, repairs, and improvements upon real property. Section 511 of the National Housing Act amends section 22 (1) of the Interstate Commerce Act by adding a new sentence thereto which provides that— Nothing in this Act shall prevent any carrier or carriers subject to this Act from giving reduced rates for the transportation of commodities to be specified by the Commission as hereinafter provided, to or from any section of the country, with the object of improving Nation-wide housing standards and providing employment and stimulating industry, if such reduced rates have first been authorized by order of the Commission (with or without a hearing); but in such order the Commission shall specify the commodities as to which this provision shall be declared effective and shall specify the period during which such reduced rates are to remain in effect. RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT An Act approved June 27, 1934 (48 Stat. L. 1283) creates a Railroad Retirement Board of three members, and the purpose of the Act is stated therein to be to provide adequately for the satisfactory retirement of aged employees, to promote efficiency and safety in interstate transportation, and to make possible greater employment opportunity and more rapid advancement of employees in the service of carriers. Contributions by employees and the carriers are required under the Act to provide the resources essential for the carrying out of its puposes. The interest of the Commission in this legislation arises as follows: After defining the term "carrier" as used in the Retirement Act to include any express company, sleeping-car company, carrier by railroad, subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, and any company which is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by or under common control with any carrier by railroad and which operates any equipment or facilities or performs any service (other than trucking service) in connection with the transportation of passengers or property or the receipt, delivery, elevation, transfer in transit, refrigeration or icing storage, and handling of property transported by railroad, and any receiver, trustee, or other individual or body, judicial or otherwise, when in the possession of the business of any such “carrier": Provided, however, That the term "carrier" shall not include any street, interurban, or suburban electric railway, unless such railway is operating as a part of a general steamrailroad system of transportation, but shall not exclude any part of the general steam-railroad system of transportation now or hereafter operated by any other motive power the Commission is authorized and directed upon request of the Board or upon complaint of any party interested to determine after hearing whether any line operated by electric power falls within the terms of this proviso. There is a provision in the Retirement Act which operates, as we see it, as an amendment to section 1 (7) (the antipass section) of the Interstate Commerce Act. We refer to a sentence in section 9 (a) of the Retirement Act, which reads: The members and employees of the Board shall be included as employees under this Act and together with employees receiving annuities shall be furnished free transportation in the same manner as such transportation is furnished to employees. RAILWAY LABOR ACT An Act approved June 21, 1934 (48 Stat. L. 1185) amends the Railway Labor Act of May 20, 1926 (44 Stat. L. 577) in a number of important particulars. The new act abolishes the Board of Mediation created by the earlier Act, and in its stead provides for a National Railroad Adjustment Board and a National Mediation Board. The purpose of the new act is stated in its title to be "to provide for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees ", and, after defining the term "carrier" as used in the act, to include: any express company, sleeping-car company, carrier by railroad, subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, and any company which is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by or under common control with any carrier by railroad and which operates any equipment or facilities or performs any service (other than trucking service) in connection with the transportation, receipt, delivery, elevation, transfer in transit refrigeration or icing, storage, and handling of property transported by railroad, and any receiver, trustee, or other individual or body, judicial or otherwise, when in the possession of the business of any such carrier": Provided, however, That the term "carrier" shall not include any street, interurban, or suburban electric railway, unless such railway is operating as a part of a general steam-railroad system of transportation, but shall not exclude any part of the general steam-railroad system of transportation now or hereafter operated by any other motive power. The Interstate Com 66 91141-34-—2 merce Commission is hereby authorized and directed upon request of the Board or upon complaint of any party interested to determine after hearing whether any line operated by electric power falls within the terms of this proviso. We have been requested by the Mediation Board to determine the status of the following carriers under the above proviso: Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee R. Co. Chicago Warehouse & Terminal Co. Hudson & Manhattan R. Co. New York, Westchester & Boston Ry Co. Sacramento Northern Ry. Texas Electric Ry. Utah-Idaho Central R. Co. Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Ry. Hearings are now being had in the cases of the Texas Electric Railway, the Sacramento Northern Railway, and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway. Because the Retirement Act, Public No. 485, 73d Congress, contains a similar proviso, the Railroad Retirement Board has intervened in the above cases and is represented by counsel at the hearings. FEDERAL COORDINATOR OF TRANSPORTATION Our last annual report included a chapter, at pages 18-20, which described the purposes of Title I of the Emergency Transportation Act, 1933, and the means provided for carrying out these purposes, including the creation of a Federal Coordinator of Transportation, to be appointed by the President or designated by him from the membership of the Commission. It was stated that Commissioner Eastman had been so designated by the President, and thereupon, in accordance with the provisions of the title, had been largely relieved from his duties as Commissioner during his term of service as Coordinator, which expired June 16, 1934, unless extended by the President for not more than one year. Such an extension was made, so that the term of office of Commissioner Eastman as Coordinator now expires on June 16, 1935. In accordance with the directions of the title we have continued to provide the Coordinator with such office space, facilities, and assistance as he has requested and we have been able to furnish. Much such assistance has been given, as is noted elsewhere in this report. No occasion has as yet developed for the review by us of any order of the Coordinator, as provided in section 9 of the title. As was pointed out in our last report, the title makes it the duty of the Coordinator, among other things, "forthwith to investigate and consider means, not provided for in this title, of improving trans portation conditions throughout the country, including cost finding in rail transportation and the ability, financial or otherwise, of the carriers to improve their properties and furnish service and charge rates which will promote the commerce and industry of the country and including, also, the stability of railroad labor employment and other improvement of railroad labor conditions and relations." In pursuance of this duty, he is directed to submit to us, from time to time, such recommendations calling for further legislation to these ends as he shall deem necessary or desirable in the public interest, and the Commission is to transmit such recommendations, together with its comments thereon, to the President and to the Congress. On January 20, 1934, we transmitted to the President and to the Congress a report of the Coordinator upon the question, "Is there need for a radical or major change in the organization, conduct, and regulation of the railroad industry which can be accomplished by Federal legislation?" This report, which was afterwards published as Senate Document No. 119, 73d Congress, 2nd Session, contained no specific recommendations calling for further legislation, and, therefore, no expression of opinion on our part under the law was necessary, and none was made, other than the comment that the report constituted a "valuable contribution to the study of the present transportation situation." On March 10, 1934, we transmitted to the President and to Congress a further report of the Coordinator dealing with two questions: 1. Is there need for Federal legislation to regulate transportation agencies other than the railroads and to promote the proper coordination of all means of transport? 2. Is there need for amendments to Federal statutes to improve details of the present system of regulating the railroads? This report, which was afterwards published as Senate Document No. 152, 73d Congress, 2nd Session, recommended (1) a bill for the regulation of motor carriers; (2) a bill for the regulation of water carriers; and (3) bills proposing miscellaneous additional amendments of the Interstate Commerce Act. We were able to approve unanimously the bills providing for Federal regulation of motor and water carriers, and our approval of the other bills also was unanimous, except that two Commissioners did not concur in any amendment relating to the fourth section of the Interstate Commerce Act. The Coordinator will, we understand, submit a further report or reports covering recommendations for transportation legislation at the next Session of Congress. Because of this duty which has been imposed upon the Coordinator, and the subsequent duty imposed upon us in connection therewith, we shall not in this annual report, except the two recommendations given below, make recommendations with respect to further legislation. These will await the reports to be submitted by the Coordinator. RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION ACT Since our last report, we have approved loans under the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act aggregating $82,958,575 upon applications filed by 9 carriers. The principal purposes for which the loans have been approved and the total for each purpose are as follows: Note maturities, prin_. Bond interest__ Taxes Equipment-trust maturities, prin_. Debenture maturities, prin_-_. Additions and betterments_ Audited vouchers___. Debenture interest_. Miscellaneous_. $43, 000, 000 7, 028, 475 4, 611, 000 1, 281, 910 686, 467 The aggregate amount of loans approved by us under this act is $512,537,291.34. A more detailed statement will be found in appendix F accompanying this report. Since work under this act was initiated, in February 1932, applications for loans have been filed by 152 carriers or their receivers or trustees. Loans to 81 of these applicants were approved. For various reasons we were unable to approve loans on the applications of 41 others, and have revoked our approval of 8 loans. In 20 cases the applications were dismissed, usually with the consent of the applicants, and in 2 cases the applications are under investigation. Some of the applicants have received more than one loan. Continued recourse to financing under the provisions of this act has been forced by unimproved business conditions and by drought prevailing in certain sections of the country. We have approved the extension of the time of payment of loans aggregating $27,708,248.46 upon applications filed by 7 carriers. Of these extensions, 4 were approved subsequent to June 19, 1934, the effective date of the amendment of section 5 of the act requiring as a condition precedent to such approval our certification that the carrier was not in need of reorganization in the public interest. THE RAILROAD CREDIT CORPORATION In our last two reports we described the operation of the Railroad Credit Corporation created by the rail carriers to administer their "Marshalling and Distributing Plan, 1931," designed to stabilize and |