Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1902-03-25
A RESTRAINING
ORDER ISSUED
Eight Chicago-kansas City and Kansas City,
St. Louis Railroads Have Been Enjoinsd
from Dsviating from Their Pub
lishsd Schedules.
ISSUED ON APPLICATION OF The
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

Kansas City, Mo-, March 25.-Judg'
John f. Philips in the United States
district court here, today issued tenn
porary restraining order against eigh
Chicago-Kansas City and Kansas City
st. Louis railroads, on application Of
Judge W. A. Day, counsel for the in
terstate commerce commission, whit
asked that the roads be enjoined from
deviating from the published sched-
ules.
Before entering similar order al
Chicago. Judge Grosscup said:
But for the compliance of the de-
PENDANTS, 1 should have required the
fullest possible hearing. The matter is
one of extreme Importance and not to
be decided without the most mature
deliberation.
| Personally l believe freight rates
| should be as steady and equal as pos
| tage rates and that no discrimination
should be made. A person who turns,
over freight to a common carrier for
transportation should be made to feel
that he will enjoy the same rate . as
every other shipper. The kind of traf-
fic on which these bills are based is
much more complicated than mailable
matter, and rates. therefore, should be
subject to that much stricter regula-
tion. But the question here Is what
power the government has to enforce
the provisions of the interstate act.
If this application for an injunction
can be maintained it will make the
courts of equity the masters Of the
maintenance of rates. Such a finding
might also prove to be the vitalizlng
principle of the act.
''If any departure from the estab-
lished rates is made by any of these
railroads during the pendency of these
orders, the court will take great pains
to seek out the offenders and provide
against further violations"
In addressing the court, before the
counsel for the railroads said no op-
position would be made, Judge w. A.
Day, for the government, declared that
fewer men than can be counted on the
fingers of two hands enjoyed monop-
oily in freight rates in the United
States when grain and products of the
stock yards and the interests affiliated
with them were to be shipped. The
railways, he said, ignored all law, and
while rate cutting wenttnn prior to the
year 1901, during that. year the COM
panies became so bold that they open
ly and brazenly billed freight at illegal
rates, as the government would show.
While the regular rate on packing |
house products was published at % 1-2
cents, the government was prepared to
show that the favored shippers were
railroads illegally maintaining such |
tariffs, while all the rest of the people |
of the country were denied them. |
Judge Day declared further that the |
same practices prevailed on all traffic |
used for the ordinary neces
saries of life. He declared such prac-
tice to be in open defiance of the laws
of the land, and great restraint upon
trade.
1t is believed that the railroads |
named agreed not to contest the petit
ton for injunction at this time in order
that other roads eventually might be
brought into court and compelled to
live up to the provisions of the Sher-
man law and the interstate commerce
act