St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-31
SHORT HAUL RATES.
The Decision Against the Roads Az
frmed by the Supreme Court.

The Decision Against the Roads AZ
firmed by the Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON, March 3O.-An opinion was
rendered by the supreme court To-Day in the
so called long and short haul case, involving
the validity of the provision of the inter
state commerce act prohibiting a higher
charge for a short than for a long haul, ap-
pealed from the decision of the circuit court
Of appeals for the fifth circuit. The appeal
was taken by the railroads. Its title was
the Interstate Commerce Commission versus
the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pa
cific Railway company, the Western At
lantic Railroad company, and the Georgia
Railroad company. The decision of the court
below was affirmed in the main, the opinion
holding that in cases of shipments from one
state to another on through bills of lading,
railway companies could not exempt parties
and give them special rates. Justice Shiras
delivered the opinion of the court.
The dispute concerning this matter is one
that has been continually arising in various
parts of the country and it has been of great
public importance,sas we'll to the interests
of commerce as to the railways in every part
Of the country, that the question be put ct
rest. There was also in question in the
case the very important matter of the power
OF the interstate commerce commission TO
fix maximum rates in cases properly brought
before it, as distinguished from a mere decis-
ion that a particular rate is excessive. The
three railroad companies are the connecting
roads running from Cincinnati, O., to Au-
gusta, Ga. Their litigation began through the
complaint of a seller of buggies at Cincin-
natl, to the commission, that the rates to Au-
gusta, at the end of the Georgia railroad. and
to Social Circle, which was point on the
Georgia railway fifty miles below Atlanta
are such as to unfairly discriminate against
Social Circle. The Texas Pacific and the At
lantic & Western claim in their answer that
the rate to Social Circle could only be made
with the consent of the Georgia railroad, on
which it was located. The Georgia company
admitted that the rates to Social Circle were
the rates to Atlanta plus the rates from At
lanta to Social Circle, and contended that
they were not unreasonable, the rates to At
lanta being less than they should be because
of competition with lines from that city to
Baltimore.
In his opinion, Justice Shiras stated that
the real question at issue was whether the
various railroad companies engaged in the
traffic from Cincinnati to Augusta and Social
Circle were so engaged under common con-
troll, or arrangement for a continuous carriage
or shipment, within the meaning of the in
terstate commerce act, and the conclusion of
the court, he said, was that they were so en-
gagged. Further on in the opinion, he said:
eve hold that when goods are shipped under
through bill of lading from point in one
state to another, and when such goods are re-
ceiyed in transit by state common carrier,
under division of the charges, such carrier
must be deemed to have subjected its road
to an arrangement for continuous carriage or
shipment, within the meaning of the interstate
commerce act" 1t follows it was within the
Jurisdiction of the commission to consider
whether the Georgia company, in charging a
higher rate for a shorter than for longer
distance over the same line, in the same di-
recton, the shorter being included within the
longer distance, is or is not, transporting
property in transit between states. He added
that there was no provision in the law COM
pelling the commission to fix rates.
Justice Shiras took occasion to reprimand
the practice of railroad companies in with
holding the larger part of their evidence from
the interstate commerce commission in pro-
ceedngs by that commission and first pro-
ducing it in the courts.