Evening star., 1902-01-23
NO POWER TO PUNISH

HeCeSSdIy To destroy vouchers ana TO SO
manipulate bookkeeping as to obliterate
evidence Of the transactions; that hundreds
Of thousands of dollars should be paid in
| unlawful rebates to a few great packing
houses: that the business Of railroad trans
portation. the most important but one in
the country today, paying the highest sal
aries and holding out to young men the
greatest inducements, should to such an ex-
tent be conducted in open disregard Of law,
must be surprising and offensive to all
right minded persons.
The report says: Equally startling at
least Is the fact that the owners of these
packing houses, men whose names are
known throughout the commercial world.
sheuld seemingly be eager to augment their
gains with the enormous amounts of these
rebates which they receive in plain defiance
of federal statute.
Protection for the Public.
''The commission is not unnindfuI of the
palliating circumstances under which rail-
way traffic officials act. These have been
fully stated in previous reports, and the
commission has stated in that correction
what, in its opinion, is the proper remedy.
We certainly believe that existing laws
should be so amended that railway man
ayers who desire to observe them can do
so without risk of sacrificing their prop
erty.
But we also believe that the appli-
Cation of this remedy is fraught with GER
tain dangers and that it should no. be ap-
piled unless the public is fully protected
against those consequences, and that the
public as well as the railways, and even
more than the railways, requires at the
present time adequate protection; that in
view of those great combinations which
have been formed and are now forming,
by which railway competition. which upon
the present theory Of this law is greatly
relied upon to secure just and reasonable
rates and facilities will be largely eli!ni-
n a6 oafh hnI oh ha IaI l,1-
which the government can exercise in fact
that control over railway rates and opera
tfons which courts without number have
asserted that it possesses and which many
persons suppose that it now exarts. All
this has been said in previous reports, and
nothing could be added by repetition Of it
here. The commission believes today, as
1t has in the past, that this whole law
should be revised upon some correct theory
and some workable basis. '
1T is possible, however, that the same
causes which have prevented serious con-
sideration Of this subject in the past may
continue to operate in the futute. In shat
event, in view Of the gross violations Of
the statute herein referred to, we would
suggest that If it Is not possible to amend
this law in its more essential features it
ought at least to be possible t. deal with
those coercive features of the act which
are intended to prevent pra .tices of this
character. If these practices are right ard
necessary they ought not to be unlawful; ;
Corporation Not Liable.
while 1t was undoubtedly the intent of
the tenth section Of the act to impose a
penalty upon the corporation itself under
its peculiar phraseology, it has, however,
been judcially determined that the cor
poration is not liable. The agent alone can
be punished. Now, the object of rate cut
ting Is to get business and make money.
on6 he finv
the illegal act. 1t Is the real offender, and
ought certainly to pay the penalty as well
as its officer. 1t Is anomalous and unjust
that She representative or employe only
should be liable to prosecution, while The
real offender the corporation, the principal
and beneficiary in the transaction, Is not
II every illegal act Of that character sub
jected the carrier to substantial for
feitnre, so that the money result Of the
transaction was likely to be the other way
the inducement to commit such offenses
would be greatly diminished.
Publication of Rates.
'The act requires carriers to publish in
terstate rates and adhere to such published
tariffs. But the tenth section, as construed
by the courts, does not punish otherwise
than by possibly nominal fine, a departure
from the published tariff unless there is
actual discrimination between shippers To
convict for paying rebate it Is necessary
to show not merely that the railway COM
pany paid rebate to a particular shipper
but it must also be shown that it did not
pay the same rebate to some other shipper
with respect to the same kind of traffic
moving at the same time under similar
conditions.
LAS a practical matter this Is almost al
ways impossible For this reason prosecu-
tions otherwise sustainable can rarely be
successful: and this is particularly the
&c
lization of rates, and consequently the
greatest need for the application of crimi-
nal remedies. Departure from the pub
lished rate is the thing which can be
shown and the thing which should be yis-
tied with fitting punishment.
Amendment Recommended,
"The criminal provisions of the law
should be further and generally amended
with the view Of removing their ambigu-
tiles and giving to those provisions the
strength and enforcibility which comes
from deiniteness Of statement
THE twentieth section should be amend
ed so as to open the books of the carriers
to the inspection of the commission or it's
agents. Such publicity would be of the
greatest service in exposing and Furnishing
illegal practices Of this kind, and it is diff
ncuIt TO see any good reason why this
ought not to be permitted, provided proper
restrictions are put upon the use to be
made of knowledge thus obtained
Inese amendments would not afford any
satisfactory system for the regulation Of
Interstate railways, but they probably
would stop such gross infractions of law
as now frequently occur.
I'VE wish to still further suggest that If
the powers OF this commission are not to
be generally enlarged. some method should
at least be devised by which such orders
as 1t can make may be enforced within a
reasonable time