The Lamar register., 1902-01-29
CAN'T ENFORCE LAW
RAILROADS DISREGARD ALL CON-
TROL.
Report Of Interstate Commerce Com
-. mission Shows That It is PowerIess
to Prevent Discrimin ations.

-. mission Shows That It Is Poweriess
to Prevent Determinations.
Washington, Jan. 23.-The annual
report of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, which was transmitted to
Congress to-day, renews the declara-
tion made in previous reports that In
Its present condition the act to regu-
late commerce cannot be enforced. As
to remedial legislation, the commission
renews the statement made in its pre-
vious annual report, that it has lit
tie to suggest and nothing new to pro-
pose"
The feature of the report Is the III
most sensational statement of the rela-
tions existing between the railroads
and comparatively few heavy ship
pers. Referring to the commissions
recent investigations into the amount
of packing house products and of
grain and grain products, the report
Utys:
"The facts therein developed are Of
such u character that no thoughtful
person can contemplate them with in-
difference. That the leading traffic
officials of many of the principal rail-
way lines, men occupying high posi-
tions and charged with the most i'm
portant duties, should deliberately vlo-
late the statute law of the land and
in some cases agree with each other
to do SO; that 1t should be thought by
them necessary to destroy vouchers
and to so manipulate bookkeeping as
to obliterate evidence of the transac-
tions; that hundreds of thousands OF
dollars should be paid in unlawful re-
bates to Il few great packing houses; I;
that the business of railroad transpor-
tation should to such an extent be con-
Quoted in open Disregard of law, must
| be surprising and offensive to all right
minded persons. Equally startling ut
least Is the fact that the owners of
these packing houses, men whose
names are known throughout the COM
mercial world, should seemingly be
eager to augment their gains with the
enormous amounts of these rebates
which they receive in plain defiance
Of federal statute
| Referring to the court decisions that
penalties cannot be imposed upon cor
oorations violating the act, and that
only their agents can be punished, the
commission says:
"Now, the object of rate cutting is to
get business and make money, and the
! corporation, If anyone, profits by the
/ illegal act. 1t is the real offender and
ought certainly to pay the penalty as
well us it's officer. If every illegal act
! Of that character subjected the offender
to n substantial forfeiture. so that the
money result of the transaction was
likely to be the other way, the induce
ment to commit such offenses would
be greatly diminished"
! Summarizing the results Of its invest
igation of the handling of packing
house products, the commission says.
sometimes rebates were paid. some
times the freight was billed at the cut
rate, and sometimes the published rate
was reduced when the freight money
was paid. The important fact disclos-
ed from the testimony Is that packing
house products are habitually carried
/ from points of origin to the seaboard
! at rates below the published tariff of
| to 10 cents per 100 pounds"
The additional statement is made that
! all of the traffic officials who admitted
that these secret low rates were being
given the favored shippers maintained
that the published tariffs, the rates ex'
acted of the smaller shippers, were toe
| low.