Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 45 Part 1.djvu/1031

 980 SEVENTIETH CONGRESS. SESS. I. Cx. 891. 1928 . Any person, etc ., con- "(e ) Any person, firm , or corpor ation, inclu ding the In land ducting com mon -ca r- rier service upon the Waterways Corporation, engaged or about to engage, in conducting warri or or Mis sissi ppi, t or tributaries, may a common-carrier service upon the Warrior River or the Mississippi obtain from interstate Commerce Commi s- River, or, any tributaries thereof, may apply to the Interstate Com- sioncertificateofpublic merce Commission and obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity . necessity in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of the Commission nto commo n order all connecting Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, and the Interstate Commerce carriers to joi n in Commission sha ll thereupon, b order, dire ct all connec ting common th roug h rou tes and y g joint rates, etc . carriers and their connections to join with such water carrier in through routes and joint rates with reasonable rules, regulations, and practices, as provided in paragraph (3) of section 15 of the Int erstate Comme rce Act, as a mended, and th e commission shall, in suc h order, fix reasonable mi nimum differen tials between all rail rates and joint rates in connection with said water service to apply until changed by order of the commission. Such joint routes, rates, rules, regulations, and practices may be changed by order of the commission or by agreement of the water carriers and the other Equitab le division' s participating carriers. The commission shall further require the of joint b be established. a rates to interested common carriers to enter into negotiations for the pur- po se of establi shing e quitab le divi sions o f the aforesa id join t diff er- ential rates within thirty days after such joint rates are established, and if the carriers are unable to agree upon equitable divisions within one hundred and twenty days from date of publication the commission shall, by order, determine and establish reasonable divi- sions to become effective coincident with the effective date of the gea ring of co rn- « plaint . joi nt rat es. The commission is hereby given authority upon com- plain t, at once, a nd if it so or ders wihout a nswer or ther formal pleading by the interested carrier or carriers, but upon reasonable sub ject s the reof. notice, to enter upon a hearing concernin(1) the reasonableness or lawfulness of any through route or joint -rate filed pursuant to such order of the commission, or (2) the reasonableness of any minimum dif ferent ials be tween a ll rai l rates and jo int ra tes in connect ion wi th any water service ; or (3) the reasonableness of any division of joint order after full bear- rates o rdered by the commission un der the provi sions of this Act ; and after full hearings the commission may make such order with Burden of proof on reference to any such matters as it may find to be proper and in the carrier complaining . public interest. At any such hearing the burden of proof concern- ing the unreasonableness or unlawfulness of any through route, joint rate, minimum differentials between all rail rate and joint rate in Prefe renc e and spee dy connection with water service, or division of joint rates shall be upon decision directed. the carrier or carriers making the complaint ; and the commission shall give the hearing and decision of such questions preference over all other questions pending before it, except such questions as Buyer or lessee of are given like preference by law, and decide the same as speedily as Corporation transper. possi ble : Prov ided That if the Inland Waterways Corporation sells tation facilities entitled or leases its transportation facilities to any person, firm, or corpora- to all rights thereof. yp , tion to be operated as a common carrier, such person, firm, or corpo- ration shall be entitled to a certificate of public convenience and necessity upon making application therefor ; and all through traffic arrangements and joint tariffs with rules, regulations, and practices in connection therewith published by the Inland Waterways Corpo- ration and filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission and par- ticipated in by other carriers shall remain in full force and effect between such carriers and the person, firm, or corporation purchas- ing or leasing such transportation facilities from the Inland Water- ways Corporation and operating the same as common carriers until changed by order of the commission, except that such through-traffic arrangements and joint tariffs, with rules, regulations, and practices therewith, may be changed by mutual consent of the water carrier ings.

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