The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-10
A REVOLUTION IN SCHEDULE
MAKING.

Acknowledgement Fitzgerald has filed an
opinion before the Railroad Commission
which, if its construction of the meaning
and effect of the State constitution be the
right one, will work a revolution in the
making of freight schedules for this State.
The opinion was called forth by ques-
ton submitted by the Railroad Commits
sion to the Attorney-General as to whether
a railroad company could lawfully charge
a lower rate for transporting the same
class of freight from given point to a GER
tain destination than was charged by it
from another and nearer point on the
same liue te the same destination. The
Attorney General decides that it cannot,
and this regardless of the fact that there
may be water competition between the
more distant point and the place of the
freight's destination. 1t will be discov-
cred by glance at the existing freight
schedules of the Southern Pacific Company
that there are number of points along its
various lines of roads from which to Port
Costa the grain rates are lower than they
are from nearer points to said destination
upon the san line Of road.
In its elaborate defense of its present
gram SCucUu1cS, tnc IdllTOdu company
justified these determinations by showing
that between the more distant points and
the place of destination there existed
water competition, which did not affect
nearer stations from which higher rates
were charged. The opinion of Attorney
General Fitzgerald puts to flight this de-
tense, and if its dictum is adopted by the
commission and sustained by the courts
will compel reformation of the freight
schedules of the Southern Pacific Com
pany and their adjustment upon lines
which shall eliminate the influence of
water competition.
The language of the State constitution
upon which the Attorney-Gene bases
his opinion is the following: mo discrim-
ination in charges or facilities for trans
portation shall be made by any railroad or
other transportation company between
places or persons, or in the facilities for
the transportation of the same classes of
freight or passengers in this State"
1t will be seen that the terms of this
section Of Che constitution are very broad
and may receive an application even larger
in its effect than the Attorney
General finds it necessary to give
in his opinion. In its broadcast sense it
seems to declare that equidistant points
from the same destination shall be entitled
to equal rates upon the same classes of
freight. If this be true, then water COM
petition becomes practically false guam
tity in schedule-making. and as conse-
quence of this the freight schedules of the
Southern Pacific Company must be revised
and reformed upon an entirely different
principle than that which has been hereto
fore adopted in their creation.
The Railroad Commission have already
had their attention directed to certain dis
ordinations between equidistant places
along the leased lines of the Southern Pa
cific Company, in the formation of its
freight schedules now in force There are
instances of such determinations which
the commission itself has suggested dur
ing the present inquiry, and there are
many more which a closer comparative ex-
animation of schedules will discover. The
Railroad Commission should study care
fully the opinion of the Attorney General
upon this important point and bear its
principles in mind in whatever action it
may resolve TO take in the adjustment of
freight schedules on Thursday next.