9. On September 13, 1918, the Director General of Railroads requested of the Interstate Commerce Commission an opinion concerning a contemplated absolute increase in the express rates on each package, irrespective of weight and distance travelled. The proposed increase would be equivalent to possibly 9% on all traffic; but again, according to the Director General of Railroads, it would cover only increased wages. The Commission was asked only if the proposed increase would net the sum needed, and replied on October 22, 1918, in the affirmative. However, the Commission significantly called attention to the possibility of increasing express revenues by lowering the percentage on all express charges received by the railroads. 10. On November 18, 1918, President Wilson issued a proclamation specifically taking, through Secretary of War Baker, possession, control, operation and utilization of the American Railway Express Company, in order to make the Government's control over that agency indisputably clear. The powers assumed by the Government were delegated to the Director General of Railroads to be utilized according to the prior contract made between him and the American Railway Express Company. 11. On January 1, 1919, an increase of about 9% in express rates went into effect, making a total increase since the United States entered the European War of about 19%, this representing the only increase in express rates since the reduction of 16% ordered in 1912 and effective in 1914, and representing also a smaller increase in rates than was found necessary by the railroads in their freight traffic. ADVANTAGES The advantages of this arrangement over its predecessor are undeniable. The consolidation of effort, the reduction in the number of separate express agencies, the minimizing of accounting, the simplification of management, the pooling of equipment and facilities,--these administrative reforms should result in a marked decrease in relative operating expenses. The transfer of control from a moneyed group--or rather from three moneyed groups--interested primarily in private profits to a public official seeking only service to the public, this similarly is a definite achievement. The limitation of the capital stock to the actual cash value of the property and the fixing of the dividends on that stock at a nominal rate, these again are as notable gains in the realm of the express service as the profit-sharing arrangement between the Government and the private companies. WAGE INCREASES