execution by the carrier of a contract, secured in such manner as the Secretary may determine, that upon final determination of the amount of the guaranty provided for by this section such carrier will repay to the United States any amounts which it has received from such advances in excess of the guaranty, with interest at the rate of 6 per centum per annum from the time such excess was paid. There is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum sufficient to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to make the advances referred to in this subdivision.

"(a) If the American Railway Express Company shall, on or before March 15, 1920, file with the Commission a written statement that it accepts all the provisions of this subdivision, the contract of June 26, 1918, between such company and the Director General of Railroads, as amended and continued by agreement dated November 21, 1918, shall remain in full force and effect during the guaranty period in so far as the same constitutes a guaranty on the part of the United States to such company against a deficit in operating income.

"In computing operating income, and any deficit therein, for the guaranty period for the purposes of this subdivision, the Commission shall require the elimination and restatement of the operating expenses and revenues for the guaranty period, to the extent necessary to correct and exclude any disproportionate or unreasonable charge to such expenses or revenues for such period, or any charge to such expenses or revenues for such period which under a proper system of accounting is attributable to another period, and to exclude from operating expenses so much of the charge for payment for express privileges to carriers on whose lines the express traffic is carried as is in excess of 50.25 per centum of gross express revenue.

"For the guaranty period the American Railway Express Company shall pay to every carrier which accepts the provisions of this section, as provided in subdivision (b) hereof, 50.25 per centum of the gross revenue earned on the transportation of all its express traffic on the carrier's lines, and every such carrier shall accept from the American Railway Express Company such percentage of the gross revenue as its compensation. In arriving at the gross revenue on through or joint express traffic, the

method of dividing the revenue between the carriers shall be that agreed upon between the carriers and such express company and approved by the Commission.

"If for the guaranty period as a whole the American Railway Express Company does not have a deficit in operating income, it shall forthwith pay the amount of its operating income for such period into the Treasury of the United States. The amount so paid shall be added to the funds made available under section 202 for the purposes indicated in such section.

"The Commission shall, as soon as practicable after the expiration of the guaranty period, certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount necessary to make good the foregoing guaranty to the American Railway Express Company. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed thereupon to draw warrants in favor of such company upon the Treasury of the United States for the amount shown in such certificate as necessary to make good such guaranty. An amount sufficient to pay such warrants is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

"Upon application of the American Railway Express Company to the Commission, asking that during the guaranty period there may be advanced to it from time to time such sums, not in excess of the estimated amount necessary to make good the guaranty, as are necessary to enable it to meet its operating expenses, the Commission may certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount of, and times at which, such advances, if any, shall be made. The Secretary of the Treasury, on receipt of such certificate, is authorized and directed to make the advances in the amounts and at the times specified in the certificate, upon the execution by such company of a contract, secured in such manner as the Secretary may determine, that upon final determination of the amount of the guaranty provided for by this subdivision such company will repay to the United States any amounts which it has received from such advances in excess of the guaranty, with interest at the rate of 6 per centum per annum from the time such excess was paid. There is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated a sum sufficient to enable the Secretary of the

Treasury to make the advances referred to in this subdivision."' 21.

"(a) For the purpose of enabling carriers by railroad subject to the Interstate Commerce Act properly to serve the public during the transition period immediately following the termination of Federal control, any such carrier may, at any time after the passage of this Act and before the expiration of two years after the termination of Federal control, make application to the Commission for a loan from the United States, setting forth the amount of the loan and the term for which it is desired, the purpose of the loan and the uses to which it will be applied, the present and prospective ability of the applicant to repay the loan and meet the requirements of its obligations in that regard, the character and value of the security offered, and the extent to which the public convenience and necessity will be served. The application shall be accompanied by statements showing such facts and details as the Commission may require with respect to the physical situation, ownership, capitalization, indebtedness, contract obligations, operation, and earning power of the applicant, together with such other facts relating to the propriety and expediency of granting the loan applied for and the ability of the applicant to make good the obligation, as the Commission may deem pertinent to the inquiry.

66

(b) If the Commission, after such hearing and investigation, with or without notice, as it may direct, finds that the making, in whole or in part, of the proposed loan by the United States is necessary to enable the applicant properly to meet the transportation needs of the public, and that the prospective earning power of the applicant and the character and value of the security offered are such as to furnish reasonable assurance of the applicant's ability to repay the loan within the time fixed therefor, and to meet its other obligations in connection with such loan, the Commission may certify to the Secretary of the Treasury its findings of fact and its recommendations as to: the amount of the loan which is to be made; the time, not exceeding five years from the making thereof, within which it is. to be repaid; the character of the security which is to be offered therefor; and the terms and conditions of the loan.

21 Act of Feb. 28, 1920, ch.

$209 Comp. St. § 100714dd. Fed. Prac. Vol. I-30

"(c) Upon receipt of such certificate from the Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury, at any time before the expiration of twenty-six months after the termination of Federal control, is authorized to make a loan, not exceeding the maximum amount recommended in such certificate, out of any moneys in the revolving fund provided for in this section. All such loans shall bear interest at the rate of 6 per centum per annum, payable semi-annually to the Secretary of the Treasury and to be placed to the credit of the revolving fund provided for in this section. The time, not exceeding five years from the making thereof, within which such loan is to be repaid, the security which is to be taken therefor, which shall be adequate to secure the loan, the terms and conditions of the loan, and the form of the obligation to be entered into, shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

"(d) The Commission or the Secretary of the Treasury may call upon the Federal Reserve Board for advice and assistance with respect to any such application or loan.

"(e) There is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum of $300,000,000, which shall be used as a revolving fund for the purpose of making the loans provided for in this section, and for paying the judgments, decrees, and awards referred to in subdivision (e) of section 206.

"(f) A carrier may issue evidences of indebtedness to the United States pursuant to this section without the authorization or approval of any authority, State or Federal, and without compliance with any requirement, State or Federal, as to notification." 22

The Commission has also acted as a board of arbitration between shippers and carriers in the adjustment of rates, in a few cases. 23

§ 77b. Practice and rules of the Interstate Commerce Commission. "The Commission may conduct its proceedings in

22 Act of Feb. 28, 1920, ch. § 210 Comp. St. § 100714ddd.

23 See proceedings entitled, In the Matter of Differential Freight Rates to and from North Atlantic Ports, decided April 27, 1905, 11

I. C. C. R. 13, and In the Matter of Freight Rates between Memphis and points in Arkansas, decided August 15, 1905, 11 I. C. C. R. 180, Barnes, Interstate Transportation.

such manner as will best conduce to the proper dispatch of business and to the ends of justice. The Commission shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed. Any member of the Commission may administer oaths and affirmations and sign subpoenas. A majority of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except as may be otherwise herein provided, but no Commissioner shall participate in any hearing or proceeding in which he has any pecuniary interest. The Commission may, from time to time, make or amend such general rules or orders as may be requisite for the order and regulation of proceedings before it, or before any division of the commission, including forms of notices and the service thereof, which shall conform, as nearly as may be, to those in use in the courts of the United States. Any party may appear before the Commission or any division thereof and be heard in person or by attorney. Every vote and official act of the Commission, or of any division thereof, shall be entered of record, and its proceedings shall be public upon the request of any party interested.

"(2) The Commission is hereby authorized by its order to divide the members thereof into as many divisions (each to consist of not less than three members) as it may deem necessary, which may be changed from time to time. Such divisions shall be denominated, respectively, division one, division two, and so forth. Any Commissioner may be assigned to and may serve upon such division or division as the Commission may direct, and the senior in service of the Commissioners constituting any of said divisions, shall act as chairman thereof. In case of vacancy in any division or of absence or inability to serve thereon of any Commissioner thereto assigned, the chairman of the Commission or any Commissioner designated by him for that purpose, may temporarily serve on said division until the Commission shall otherwise order.

"(3) The Commission may by order direct that any of its work, business, or functions arising under this Act, or under any Act amendatory thereof, or supplemental thereto, or under any amendment which may be made to any of said Acts, or under any other Act or joint resolution which has been or may hereafter be approved, or in respect of any matter which has been or may be referred to the Commission by Congress or by either