The age-herald., 1902-02-03
COMMISSION IS
 ITSELF ID BLAME.
Walker D. Hines Explains Why
 Rate Cutting is Not Prevented
NO EFFORTS ENFORCE LAW
Viee-President of L. 6 N. Railroad Says interstate Commerce Com mission Has Not Stopped Cut
 ting But Encourages It.

Louisville, February 2-That the inter state commerce commission is itself to blame for the rate cutting which it con demns in it's last annual report is the claim made by Walker D. Hines, first vice president of the Louisville and Nash vile Railroad Company in a pamphlet. which he has just issued. MT Hines has given special attention to this subject. His contention is in substance as follows:
 "The commission endeavors, as 1t has done for years, to excite support for it's demand for more power by describing the prevalence of secret rate-cutting It held new investigations at Chicago and Kansas City to disclose conditions which it has known for years, delaying the publications of it's report as to give the results of these hearings.
 "The indsputable fact must be kept before the public that the prevalence of rate cutting is an unanswerable argu- ment against giving the commission more power, because it is due principally to the commissions utter failure to per- form its manifest duty.
 To Secure Publicity.
 ''The paramount purpose of the law was to secure publicity and the maintenance of tariff rates. It is the express duty Of the commission to keep advised and en- force the law. It has the widest possible powers of investigation including the right to call for the production of all books. documents and papers, and 1t can require the district attorneys of the Uni ted States to prosecute all violators. These powers have been upheld by the courts. The commission, however. has not only failed to devote it's time and energy to discovering and prosecuting violations of the law. but it has by it's supineness ac- quiesced in and encouraged them and has done all in it's power to break down the force of the act and make 1t a dead letter by constantly proclaiming that the courts have made it's enforcement impos- sible. Whereas, not single decision has impaired the commissions power to pre- vent rate cutting
 tAs an illustration of it's methods, it states in its last annual report that the courts have decided that to convict for paying a rebate 1t is necessary to show that the railroad company merely paid rebate to a particular shipper. but it must
 
 same rebate to some other shipper which as a practical matter is almost impos- sible. This statement is not true The very decision referred to distinctly holds that the mere fact of paying rebate from the tariff rate is in itself an offense regardless of what was paid by anybody else and the act makes this offense pun ishable by a fine which may be as much as $50O0 for each instance where the tariff fa ha
 New Power Wouldn't Prevent 1t.
 "The commission seems to have made conditions upon the subject not to en- force the act. but simply to advertise its contention that the act Is one enforce able. Moreover. no part of the new power now asked by the commission would have the remotest tendency to prevent this rate cutting and this report shows that this Is now the evil to be contended with
 'I make no attempt to excuse the rail- roads for violating the law, but l insist that the commissions attitude is inex- cuseable. Offended because the courts ov- erruled its erroneous assumptions or power in other directions, it has been sulking for years, trying to create the false impression that the act is worthless and seeking to use the rate cutting which 1t could and ought to --ave prevented as basis for damage radical powers which would in no way tend to correct it.