The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-12-24

FARGO, N. D., Dec % After
| many months of work and the
| expenditure of thousands of dollars In
| securing expert testimony, the now
famous North Dakota railroad rate
| case has been decided by United States
Judge Amidon in favor of the railroads,
| the Judge sending the opinion from ST.
Louis, where he is holding court. II
was filed in the United States district
| court here this morning. 1t is
| lengthy document and is concurred in
/ by Judge Thayer. of st. Louis
| The history of the case is as follows:
| The railway commissioners Of North
| Dakota in May. 1897, adopted a sched-
u!e OF rates which, if applied to the
| domestic tariff on business actually
done, made a reduction of the rates
Of the companies, in force, of about IA
! per cent. To become operative it was
necessary for the commission to publish
| It's schedule Of rates. The penalties
| for disregarding the schedule, had it
gone into effect, were very severe,
| amounting to S. 600 upon each ship
ment. Had the rates taken effect and
the companies not observed them, the
penalties on each days business would
have been enormous. To avoid the pen
alties of resisting the rates, after they
took effect, and the multiplicity Of
suits, for a suit could be brought for
each separate violation, the Great
| Northern. Northern Pacific and Mil
waulIee roads brought suit in the
United States court to restrain publ
cation Of the rates. By this proceeding
the reasonableness Of the rates was
brought in question. A temporary in
junction was granted restraining the
publication and upon answer Of the
commission an order was entered ap-
pointing Attorney Lowell, Of Casselton,
master in chancery to take testimony
and report to the court. The hearings
were held in st. Paul and in Milwaukee
| last summer. The rates in North Da-
kota, it was established, although the
railroad business there was light, were
the same as in Minnesota and lower
than in any state west of Dakota
The case came on for hearing before
Judge Amidon, district judge for Da-
kota, and Judge Thayer, of St Louis
! sat with him.
The states case was handled by At
torEey General Cowan, and he devoted
practically an entire year to it, assist
ed by number of experts.
When the arguments were finally
submitted Mr.. Cowan was given ten
days to submit supplemental brief,
but none being filed, Judge Amidon
acted on the case as submitted.
The court has now filed an opinion
sustaining the contention of the rail-
way companies, holding that the rates
adopted by the commission were un-
reasonable and restraining their pub
| lication. The court found that the
rates made by the commission would
not have yielded return sufficient to
pay the cost Of handling the traffic af-
| fected by them, that the state could
not inquire into and apportion to it
self as having been carried within it,
interstate earnings; that the question
of the reasonableness of the local rate
was one to be considered as a local
question, following the decision of the
supreme court of the United States in
the Nebraska case, that interstate costs
and earnings are not proper matters or
within the jurisdiction of the state. The
state of North Dakota has the right of
appeal to the supreme court of the
United States.
In the absence of the text of the
decision Of the United States district
court regarding the North Dakota rate
case, neither General Counsel NJ. D.
Grover, of the Great Northern, nor
Charles w Bum, of the Northern Pa
cific, would express an opinion of it's
merits yesterday. Both were glad,
however, that the court had decided In
favor Of the railway companies They
sent for the full text of the judges
opinion and expect to receive 1t to-
day.
FhkHnIIo AIo,sI