The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-05-31

The Discovery Made By Tie Progressive
Farmer Last Falt-The Supreme Court
SAYS We Were Fight-The Southern
and S. A. L. Must Pay the Pine ol
$1,000 Rach--An Diacrimination E1-
cent to Persons Excepted by Railroad
commission Act Illegal.
The Supreme Court last week affirm
ed the decision Of Judge Timberlake in
Wake Superior Court IN what are
known as the ''free pass cases Of the
Southern and Seaboard Air Line Rail
roads. It VIII be remembered thHt
when the casese were tried i'm Wake
Superior Court, q special verdict was
found, the jury agreeing that issuing
free passes was illegal. They did
not believe, however, that the Bail
road officials intended TO violate the
law. Judge Timberlake accordingly
imposed on each road the minimum
hne-S1,OOO. The railroads appealed
and last week the case was decided by
our Supreme Court. Judge Montgom
cry wrote the opinion of the court. In
which he quotes the special verdict Of
the jury and also that section OF the
Railroad Commission act which dc
clares tree passes Illegal. Continuing
Judge Montgomery says:
''The question presented for our deci
sion is, does the act prohibit and make
~indictabIe the giving OF free trans
portation to passengers by common
caFriersG
Upon its face clearly it does rot i'm
all cases, because in section % the
giving Of such free transportation or.
transportation at reduced rate, 60 Ger
tain classes Of persons therein particu-
larly specified, is allowed, but the per-
son who received free transportation
in this case did not come within either
Of the exceptions Of the statute"
The court then refers to hepoints i'm
the argument by counsel on both sides
and says:
THE crucial point i'm the case liz cen
tered around the defendents' conten-
ton and assumption that the like and
contemporaneous service" i'm the trans
portation Of two individuals, one car
ried free and the other for the prescrib
cd. tariff rate in not necessali lily under
substantially similar circumstances
and conditions.' That is that the ccm
pany can take into consideration as 60
whether it viii give free ~Eransporta
ton to q passenger, the circumstances
and conditions which surround the two
persons, and if one 10 q higher 'tfRcial'
or q large shipper, or q politician OF
power, whose influence may be of SER
vice Co the company, or one of special
distinction, and the other q labortr,
then the CONDITIONS and che circum-
stances are not the same, and therefore
the statute does not spply5
.Otcourse if this contention of the
defendant Ia sound, this case ia at en-
end, aud the fres transportation of
passengers Is therefore In No case un
lawful: 80 we Will examine that posi-
ton Of the defendant, first in order.
What then, In respect 60 the trans
portrtation Of passengers in cdnnec,
tion with the statute is meant by the
words. Substantially similar circum
stances and conditionsG' IL cannot be
doubted that If each Of two persons de
sired to ship q Thousand pounds OF
freight OF like kind over a railroad be
tween the same points at the same
time, the company musG render the
same service at the same rate 60 both.
whether one of the shippers wac a
politician with q pull or 8 higher fl
cial or q member of the L gislature or
Congress, or a laborer. That wcu.d
be a like contemporaneous serVIcen
In the transportation OF a like kind OF
tr, hc, under substantially similar
circumstances.
In our opinion, section of the Act,
in plain words, prohibits the making Of
q greater charge against one person
than against another for a like and
contemporaneous service under sub
stantially similar circumstances and
conditions, applicable to the carrier of
both passengers and property, the Ian
guage is 80 clear that hemay read who
runs"
tine only possible difference be
tween two individuals is that in rela
ton to the size Of their bodies, and this
can have no bearing in the matter Of
transportation, as the difference in the
size and weight Of persons lover a Ger
tam agt). hes not yet been regarded in
the business Of hauling passengers, as
ground for making differences In pas
sanRer rates.