The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-18
COMMERCE CASES.
Important Actions Pending Before
the Interstate Commission.

the Interstate Commission.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17.-There are
number of important cases pending be-
fore the interstate commerce commlS-
sion, some of which may be decided
soon, while others are yet being inyeS-
tigated by the commission. The Ar
kansas and Kansas grain rate cases,
which grew out of complaint Of minor
Importance, have developed until many
questions and various lines in the
West are now involved. The Kansas
board of railroad commissioners are
among the compliments and the sub
ject Of rates from Missouri river points
and milling in transit are affected. The
export rate cases are still being in
vestigated by the commission. Diff
ferent roads are complained against, it
being asserted that they have issued
from time to time tariffs on exports
to Liverpool and other points abroad
in which the transatlantic share Of
the rates was less than the rates to
the seashOre.
One of the most important cases be-
fore the commission is the complaint
made by the New York produce ex-
change against trunk lines to the sea-
board, charging discrimination against
New York. and in favor Of Boston.
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Newport
News. A similar question was decided
a quarter of a century ago by a COM
mission of arbitration consisting Of
Judge Cooley Senator Thurman and
Elihu B. Washburne. In the South
west there are several complications
and one class which is considered i'm
portant is that of the Texas common
point rate from various points on the
Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It
involves rates on carload and less than
carload lots to distributing points in
Texas. Nearly all these distributing
| centers in Texas get the same rates
from all points. Galveston and other
! Seaboard points generally are not in
cluded. The complaint is made by the
business mems league Of St Louis
which wants a rate on less than car
| load lots on central points outside of
the distributing centers the same as
on carload lots. 1t is claimed by them
that by reason Of the carload lot rate
being less than rates on broken car
load lots the distributing points are
| able to compete with st. Louis and
| other large wholesale centers The
| Dallas people, in the same cases, COM
| plain against this Texas common point
| rate and want a lower rate where the
| haul is much longer.
Another case comes from Texas
which has behind it the entire cattle
! shipping interest, is the terminal
! charge on cars of livestock shipped
| into Chicago. Formerly the roads en-
/ tering Chicago charged a rate to that
city which included delivery of the
car at the stock yards. In 1894, the
roads established a terminal charge OF
! 81 per car on livestock, in addition to
the rate to Chicago. 1t is of this addi-
| tional charge that the cattlemen now
| complain. The Importance Of the case
| is increased by reason of the fact that
! in a decision about two years ago.
Judge Grosscup, of Chicago, held that
charges in case of this nature were
Illegal. Since then, however the court
! of appeals has reversed that decision
But the complaint of the cattle men
is predicated upon grounds differing in
some respects from those in the case
decided by Judge Grosscup.
From the Southern Atlantic seaboard
comes a case before the commission
upon complaint of the Savannah
| Freight association, in which it is
charged that, the fertilizer rates from
Charleston to points in Georgia, Ala
| bama and Florida, discriminate against
! Savannah. 1t is asserted that the roads
make the same rate from Charleston
| as from Savannah over longer haul
and where the haul is made over sever
al different lines, while the haul from
| Savannah is made over only one or tive
| roads.