The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-02
important Commerce Decisions.

important Commerce Decisions.
Two decisions of importance directly
| affecting Interstate commerce were rem
| dered by the United States supreme
court on Monday. Owing to the made
quate report transmitted by telegraph
we deem iLworth while to review these
| decisions dt some length. The first and
most important case wasappealed fronl
the Fifth Circuit court of appeals, and
involved the construction of the fourth
section of the interstate commerce act,
known as the long ana short haul
section. The case :itle was the Inter-
state Commerce commission VS.. the
Cincinnati. New Orleans and Pacific
Railway company, the Western Allan
tic Railway company and the Georgia
Railway company, Justice Shiras deliv-
| ering the, opinion. There was also
drawn in the very important question
of the power of the Interstate Com
mcrce commission to fix minimum rates
in cases properly brought before it, as
a particular rate is excessive. The
three railroad companies are the con-
Meeting roads running from Cincinnati,
Ohio to Augusta. Ga. This litigation
began through the complaint of a sell
er of buggieS at Cincinnati that the
rates to Augusta at the end of the
Georgia railway and to Social Circle,
which was point on the Georgia rail
way fifty miles below Atlanta, are such
as to unfairly discriminate against So
cial Circle The Texas Pacific and the
Atlantic and Western roads claimed
in their answer that the rate to Social
Circle could only be made by the con-
sent of the Georgia road. on which it
is located. The Georgia company ad
mitted that the rates to Social Circle
We're the rates to Atlanta plus the rate
from Atlanta to Social Circle. and con-
tended that they were not unreason-
able, the rate to Atlanta being less
than 1t should be because of the COM
petition with lines from that city to
Baltimore.
In his opinion. Justice ShlTis called
attention to the fact that the real
question at issue was whether the
various railroad companies engaged in
the traffic from Cincinnati to Augusta
and Social Circle We're so engaged un-
der a common control, management or
arrangement for a continuous carriage
1t.
interstate commerce act. and the con
clusion was that they were so engaged.
I'VE hold" he added. that when
goods are shipped under through bill
of lading from a point in one state to
another. and when such goods are re-
ceived in transit by state common
carrier, under IA conventional division
of the charges, such carrier must be
deemed to have subjected it's road to
an arrangement for continuous car
riage or shipment within the meaning
of the interstate commerce act" 1t fol-
lows, he says, that it was within the
jurisdiction of the commission to con-
slider whether the Georgia company in
charging a higher rate for Il shorter
than for a longer distance over the
same line in the same direction. the
shorter being included within the long
er distance, was or was not transport
ing property in transit between states
under substantially similar crCum
stances and conditions. The court then
Went into the question of the right OF
the Interstate commission to fix rates.
IT was argued for the commission that
the power to pass on the reasona bleness
Of the existing rates implied the right
to prescribe them. This the supreme
court held is not necessarily the case,
and continued: THE reasonableness of
the rate in given case depends on the
facts. and the function of the commits
sion is to consider these facts and give
them their proper weight. If the COM
mission, instead of Withholding judg
ment in such matter until an issue
shall be made and the facts found, it
self fixes the rate, that rate is pre-
judged by the commission to be reason
able" but presumably may be carried
into court upon appeal if the railroad
company is dissatisfied
In the import case, De facts Of which
were reviewed on this page three
weeks ago, the Supreme court reversed
the opinion of the circuit court. which
held that ii was illegal to charge less
on imported goods than on domestic
articles. The effect of the opinion is TO
continue the alleged discrimination in
the interest of foreign shippers. The
ease involved the right of a railroad to
charge less for hauling an imported
hundredweight from the seaboard to q
given point in the interior than for
hauling a domestic hundredweght the
same distance. IN this cease JuGgc
Shiras held: That the purpose of the
interstate commerce act is to promote
commerce; that in passing upon queS-
tions under II the commission or the
courts are empowered to consider
all the circumstances and conditions
that reasonably apply to the situation
and that in the exercise of it's jurisdlc-
tion the tribunal may and should con-
slider the legitimate interests Of all