Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-05-14
GREAT COAL SUIT OVER.
DEFEAT FOR THE COxES AND THE
INTERSTATE COMMISSION.
Judge Acheson Rules That the Charges
of the Valley Company Were Not I'm
reasonabie-Ratrs Ior Tonnage Cannot
BE Fixed by the Commissioners.


reasonab,e-Ratcs Ior Tonnage Cannot
Be Fixed by the Commissioners.
An important decision, which proba-
bly, brings to an end litigation extending
over many years, was filed by Judge
Acheson in the United States circuit
court at Philadelphia on Monday, in
which he holds that the order of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, di-
recting the Lehigh Valley Railroad to
make certain rates on coal shipped by
Coke Bros. & Co., cannot be enforced.
The contention of Coke Bros. was that
the Lehigh Valley Railroad violated the
provisions of the Interstate Commerce
act by discriminating against them and
in favor of the Lchigh Valley Coal Com
pany in their rates for carrying coal from
the Lehigh region to Perth Amboy. The
Interstate Commerce Commission found
that the rates were unreasonable and
unjust, and on March 13, 1891, issued an
order fixing certain rate per ton.
The railroad company not obcyng the
order, the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion applied to the circuit court for an
injunction to restrain the railroad from
the violation of the order and for its en-
forcement. The company filed an
answer denying that the rates establish
ed were unreasonable or unjust, and
claiming that the findings of fact by the
commission were erroneous and against
the evidence.
Judge Acheson, after reviewing the
circumstances at length, said; The
railroad company's report for 1887,
upon which the commission based its
estimate, does not furnish the data
by which the actual cost of CARRYING
coal from the Lehigh and Mahanoy
mines to Perth Amboy can be ascer-
tanned. The commission, therefore, re-
sorted to an estimate of the CARRYING
cost.
THAT estimate, however. as we have
seen, rests upon an erroneous principal
and is unreliable. Hence, the order
based thereon cannot be sustained and
is not to be judicially enforced. We
have only to add that the evidence be-
fore us is quite convincing that the
actual cost of transporting coal from
the Lehigh and MahanOy regions to
Perth Amboy was and is considerably
more than S5 cents per ton
In the companys answer defense of
legal character was also made. 1t
was to the effect that the Interstate
Commerce Commission was not author
lied to fix the rates Of transportation,
etc. In this way the question was
raised of the power of the commission
to fix maximum rates for transportation,
as was here done.
Regarding this, Judge Acheson said
that since the argument of this case
that question had been considered by
the supreme court in other cases. The
findings in those cases are recited, and are
against the commission.
Judge Acheson concludes his opinion
by saying: "The views of the supreme
court decisvcly show that the Interstate
Commerce Commission is not clothed
with the power to fix rates which it un-
dertook to exercise in this case. The
petition of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission must be dismissed
a decree to that effect was directed to
be drawn.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad and Coke
Bros Il Co. are now supposed to be on
the best of terms, and under special
contract between them the firm runs
solid trains of its own, with its own train
crews, all the way from the Lchigh re-
| gion to tidewater.