Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-05-26
REDUCED RATES.

The Supreme Court Decides That 1t Is Not
Unjust Discrimination For q Railroad
Company to Sell Tickets at Wholesale ut
Reduced Rate
WASHINGTON, May ia Judgment
OF interest n its construction OF what,
under the interstate commerce act. con-
stitutes an unlawful discrimination has
been decided By the United States SUI
preme court in the case known as the
Baltimore i Ohio theatrical rate case,
involving the rights Of the railroad COM
pany to sell at the reduced rate tickets
to parties Of ten or more persons. The
court in an opinion by Justice Brown
sustained the decision of Judge jackson
and refused to issue an injunction to
| restrain the railroad FROM continuing
the sale OF party rate tickets. The gen.
eral ground OF the opinion Is that l. is
not an unjust discrimination for rail-
road company TO sell tickets at whole
sale cheaper than at retail. The charge
against the baltimore s. Ohio was that
it had violated the interstate commerce
act, first by failure to post in its office
excursion rates, the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad insisting that the advertise
ment in the newspapers was all that
| was required; and. second, by the sale
Of party rate tickets which would trans
port them over its lines at , cents per
/ mile per capita, the rate for single
passenger being about 8 cents per mile
| In the second allegation, which is the
! one OF substantial Importance, the COM
| mission decided against the Baltimore
/ s. Ohio railroad, and when It continued
! in disregard of the commissions order
to sell party rate tickets, applied to the
United States court for the southern
district Of Ohio for the issuance OF a
! writ of injunction or other process to
restrain the Baltimore & Ohio from fur
Their continuing to sell such tickets
When Judge jackson decided against
the commission the latter brought the
case to the United States supreme court,
| as the matter was regarded as one OF
great Importance. The court. in it's
opinion, says: 1T is not all discriTnina-
tons that fall within the inhibition of
the statute; such only as are unjust or
unreasonable. For instance, it would
be obviously unjust to charge greater
sum than for a single trip from Washing
ton to Pittsburgh, but # L agrees not only
to go bat to return by the same route 1t Is
no injustice to permit him to do so for a 2
cent fare, since the services are not
alike, nor the circumstances and cOndi-
tons substantially similar. as required
by section 2, TO make an unjust dis
elimination. Indeed the possibility OF
just discrimination and reasona BILE pref
erence is recognized by those sections
in declaring what shall be deemed IN
just We agnes, however, with the
plaintiff in its contention that charge
may be perfectly reasonable under sec
ton l and yet may create an unjust dis
elimination or al unreasonable pI efer-
ence under sections and 3.
The railroad companies are band
only to give the same terms to all per
sons alike under the same conditions
and circumstances, and any fact which
promotes an inequality of conditions,
justifes an inequality OF charges.
This court holds that party rate
tickets as sold by the Baltimore s. Ohio
being sold to all persons il parties
Of ten or more, whether Theatrical
parties or not, do not constitute 4
violation OF the interstate commerce
! act