Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-06-29
A GREAT LEGAL FIGHT
GROWING OUT OF THE IOWA LAW
GOVERNING RAILWAYS.

sisted to the End of tho Courts-Re
| straining Order Obtained from Judg,
Brower-A Cut OF 20 to 40 Per Cent
objected To Very vigorously.
CHICAGO June 29-The fight of the West
| ern railroads against the Iowa commissioner:
has AT last commenced in dead earnest All
conciliatory measures have been dropped
and from now ON the great corporations
whose lines traverse the Hawkeyo state will
unite IN n gigantic legal struggle. Under
the provisions of the statute enacted last
| winter the commissioners are required Ia
prepare distance tariff and have it pub.
lshed for two successive weeks before it goes
into effect The tariff prepared makes IA re-
dnction in rates OF - To 40 per cent, and
competent railroad authorities estimate that
its adoption will entail loss on the Iowa
roads OF $1,000, 900 TO S7,UOO, 900
Several conferences of tho railroad officials
and commissioners have been held, but no
compromise has been arrived at As last
res ort President Hughitt, of the Northwest
ern road, decided to make last appeal 10
Governor Larrahee, and for that purpose
went To Dos Moiues last Wednesday Tho
governor, however, gave him no encourage.
ment "Those rates" said he, twill 20 into
effect July without any modification what
ever, and If you don't like them you have
your remedy in the courts" The governor
went further, and said that if necessary he
would call II special session of the general as
sembly, hut he advised the adoption of the
new tariff, and was of the opinion that the
roads would gain nothing from the legisla-
ture President Hughitt returned from his
fruitless visit yesterday, and Immediately
measures were instituted to checkmate the
nr,pr nf thn Iowa commissioners
Accordingly a telegram from Dies Moines
says that yesterday notice was served ON the
Iowa board Of railroad commissioners re-
straining them from putting in force ON July
the new schedule of freight rates. The or
der requires the commissioners TO appear ut
Leavenworth and show why an injunction
should not issue against them. Commissioner
Dey was seen at his hotel last night. He
stated that he had just returned from con
sultation with the attorney general in rela-
ton 10 the duty of the commissioners in the
premises, and the opinion they had reached
was that the order would he obeyed. The
commissioner will appear before Judge
Brewer on the date fixed, when he presumed
a temporary injunction will ISSUE pending
final determination of the case by the United
States circuit court ut Des Moines at as early
a date as will suit Judge Brewers con
venience.
The case will be tried upon its merits, and
some very interesting questions will he
adjudicated The roads understood to be be-
hind this action are the Chicago & North
western, the Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul,
and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Judge Hubbard, the Iowa solicitor of the
Northwestern, who was in Des Moines yes
terday said the case was brought to test the
question whether the commissioners have the
power to adopt rates that are practically
conscating in their operation, and that the
roads would adopt every known legal ex-
pedent to prevent the operation of these new
rates
As already stated, an application to re-
strain the publication of the rates was made.
1t was considered certain by the managers
making the application that a temporary re-
strainng order could be secured. This would
estop the publication of the rates for two
consecutive weeks, as required by law, and
would necessitate IA repetition of the first
publication II would also be week or ten
days before the motion to make the restrain
ing order permanent could be heard The
roads base their case on the unreasonableness
of the proposed rates, and year or two
might elapse before a decision could be
reached Ii, however the first legal Skin
msh was adverse to the railroads, appeal
would at once be taken. The case would
then be carried up until it landed in the
United States supreme court, ana it would
probably be years before final decision
would be reached.
In the meantime the roads would not be
compelled to adopt the new rates, the rail
road commissioners would perhaps have been
gathered to their forefathers and an entirely
new order of things would have sprung up
This is, as nearly as could be learned, the
programme of the railroads They will
fight the Iowa commissioners in the courts,
and hope to finally test the right of the COM
to fix rates for common carriers
without regard to reasonableness.
The railroad officials are feeling very blue
over the outlook in Iowa. They say that
while the reduction in rates in that state
would be bad enough, it could be endured but
for the fact that every other state will make
demands for similar reduction Already the |
Minnesota railroad commissioners have be- |
gun to move in the matter Yesterday the |
roads of that state were notified to appear |
before the commissioners July II and show
cause why new distance tariff, similar to |
he one to be put into effect in Iowa. should |
not be adopted The Nebraska railroad com
nsSioners are certain TO make similar de- |
nands Altogether the prospects for the |
railroads in the west are about as bad AS |
hey could be, and if the effort to balk the |
Iowa commissioners fails the claim is made |
" more than one general manager that not |
single western road will be paying dvi- |
lends within two years.