St. Paul daily globe., 1888-07-12
IMPORTANT RAILROAD CASE.

A railroad case second only in i'm
pOrJance and in general interest to the
celebrated granger cases is now being
heard in the federal circuit court at
Leavenworth. The case grows out of
the action of the Iowa railway commits
sioners making sweeping reduction of
from 35 to 40 per cent in railway
rates in that state, and which was done
in spite of the earnest protests of the
managers of the various roads, who
united In the statement that the effect
injury to the railroad business in that
section, and in many instances would
produce absolute bankruptcy. Failing
in all effort to secure a revocation of
the order from the railway commissioners
three of the companies chiefly concerned
the Burlington, the Chicago & North
western and the Chicago, Milwaukee &
st. Paul-united in petition to the
United States circuit court, in session
in this city, for temporary injunction
restraining the Iowa commissioners
from enforcing the schedule of rates
which they had fixed. The temporary
injunction was granted and the case
transferred to the circuit court at Leav-
enworth, Kan, where motion is now
being argued before Justice Miller to
make the injunction permanent. Both
the railroad companies and the Iowa
commissioners are represented by emf
nent counsel, and the decision of the
court will be awaited with universal in
terest. In any event, it is probable an
appeal will be taken to the supreme
court of the United States, and the ques-
ton be forever settled as to the limit of
power the state authorities have in fix
ing rates and in imposing penalties for
a violation of state laws.
The petition upon which the injunc
ton was granted has been thus briefly
summarized in the current number of
the Railway Age: cit sets forth that
the new Iowa law is unconstitutional
and in conflict with the interstate COM
merce law; that it does not sufficiently
define the offenses for which it under
took to impose enormous penalties on
common carriers for charging unreaSon-
able rates; that it makes the railroads
guilty of extortion for making rates, for
which penalties are prescribed of not
less than $1,000 nor more than $1,000 for
the first offense, ,and not less than 5000
nor more than $4,000 for each and
every subsequent offense. AS each
shipment is considered a separate Of
fense, the penalties would so accumu-
late as to cause the confiscation of
every railroad in Iowa. 1t is further
averred that the law, in addition to the
above penalties, gives shippers the
right to recover three times the amount
of excess charges on every shipment
and the attorneys fees. Another OBJ
lection is that the CO imissioners'
schedule is made prima facie evidence
of reasonable rates, which would raise
the arbitrary presumption of guilt on
the part of the railroads, without Civ
ing them an opportunity to prove their
innocence. 1t is also said to interfere
with the interstate commerce law be-
cause the state rates affect the inter-
state rates. The proposed schedule of
rates, it is charged. is unreasonable and
unjust, and amounts practically to con-
fiscation of the railroad properties in
Iowa. The bill also claims that the
rates adopted by the railroads on May
| l were reasonable and just"