The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-03
FOR THE
RATE CUTTING
Placed Upon the Interstate Com.
merCe Commission.
SAYS IT is THEIR OWN FAULT
COMMISSIONERS THEMSELVES
NEGLIGENT.
;AYS IT is THEIR OWN FAULT

IT OUISVILLE, KY, Feb. 2.-That
the interstate commerce com
mission is itself to blame
for the rate cutting which
/ it condemns in its last annual
report, is the claim made by Walker
\ H. Hines, first vice president Of the
! Louisville & Nashville Railroad COM
pany, in a pamphlet that he has Just
| issued. Mr. Hines has given special
attention to this subject, in substance
as follows:
The commission endeavors. as It has
done for years, to excite support for
| its demand for more power by desCrib-
/ ing the prevalence of secret rate cut
ting. II held new investigations al
/ Chicago and Kansas City 10 disclose
! conditions which it has known for
/ years, delaying the publication Of its
report so as to give the results Of
/ these hearings.
The indisputable fact must be kept
/ before the public that the prevalence
/ of rate cutting is an unanswerabIe
| argument against giving the commits
I sion more power, because il is due
principally to the commissions utter
/ failure to perform its manifest duty.
! 1.-The paramount purpose of the law
/ was to secure publicity and the main
| tenance Of tariff rates.
Duties of the Commission.
1T is the express duty Of the com.
mission to keep advised and enforce
/ the law It has the widest possible
! powers of investigation, including she
right TO call for the production of al
I nj
! can require the district attorneys OF
4 the United States to prosecute all
viOlatOrs. These powers have been
/ upheld by the courts The commission.
D however, has not only failed TO devote
/ its time and energy to discovering and
/ prosecuting violations OF the law but
/ il has by its supineness acqUiesced II
( and encouraged them, and has done all
/ in its power TO break down the force
/ of the act and make it a dead letter
/ by constantly proclaiming that the
courts have made its enforcement I'M
! possible. Whereas not a single De-
/ cisiOn has impaired the commission
power TO prevent rate cutting.
AS an illustration of its methods. j
states in its last annual report thai
the courts have held that To convict
for paying a rebate it is necessary 10
1 GAtOW HUI ulEAElg A-toL eli-
company paid d rebate to d paTucuas
shipper. but it must also be shown thai
ii did not pay the same rebate u
some other shipper, which. as d pTac-
teal matter, is almost Impossible
Denies the Law Is Invalid.
This statement is not true. Inc
very decision referred TO distlnclN
holds that the mere fact Of paying d
rebate from TIE tariff rate is in llse-
an Offense, regardless of what was
paid by anybody else. and the d--
/ makes this offense punishable py q
fine which may be as much ~ S7-'
for each instance, where the tariff ra'7
has been departed from.
The commission seems to have Indl-
Investigations upon the subject not ~
enforce tie act, but simply to al'e-
tise its contention that the act is ~
enforceable. Moreover. no part oi ~
new power now asked by the coIlii-l
sion would have the remOtest tenut-.,-
TO prevent this rate cutting, and ---S
report shows that this is now the T'"
/ to be cOntelNIed with. 49,.
Il make no attempt to excuse --
railways for violating the law, o1- -
insist that the commissions dJ-l-u--
IS inexcusabIe. Offended because .i-1
courts overruled its erroneous ass1l.l. 4.
tons of power in other directions o..
has been sulking for years-tTylH7
create the false impression thai w
act is worthless and seeking TO use ~ Il.
rate cutting which it could and QUIZ.
to have prevented as d basis Tor u-
handing radical powers which "o-'
in no way tend 10 correct IT,