Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1902-02-03
PUTS BLAME ON. COMMISSION
Railroad Vice President Declares IL
Responsible for the Cut
ting of Rates.

LOUISVILLE, KY, Feb. 2.--That the In
terstate Commerce commission is itself TO
blame for the rate-cutting which It con-
demns in its last annual report. is the
claim made by Walker d. Hines. first vice
president OF the Louisville g. Nashville
Railroad company, in q pamphlet just is
sued. Mr.. Hines has given special atten-
tion TO this subject. His contention is in
substance as follows:
The commission endeavors. as It has done
Tor years, to excite support for Its demand
for more power by describing the preva-
Investigations at Chicago and kansas City
to disclose conditions which It has known
for years, delaying the publication of its
report SO as to give the results of these
The indisputable fact must be kept before
the public that the prevalence Of rate.
against giving the commission more power,
because II is due principally to the COM
missions utter failure to perform It's
The paramount purpose Of the law was
to secure publicity and the maintenance
Of the commission to keep advised and en-
force the law. 1t has the widest possible
powers of investigation, Including the right
TO call for the production of all books,
documents and papers, and Il can require
the district attorneys OF the United states
to prosecute ali violators. These powers
have been upheld by the courts. y
The commission, however. has not only
failed to devote its time and energy to
discovering and prosecuting violations of
the law, but it has by It's supineness
acquiesced in and encouraged them and
has done ALI in its power to break down
the force of the act and make Il dead
letter by constantly proclaiming that the
courts have made its enforcement impos-
sible, whereas, not a single decision has
impaired the commissions power to pre-
vent rate-cutting.
AS an Illustration of its methods 1t states
In its last annual report that the courts
have held that to convict for paying n
rebate II Is necessary to show not only
definitely that the railroad company paid
rebate to a particular shipper. but that
II must also be shown that 1t did not pay
the same rebate to some other shipper,
which as a practical matter is almost i'm
possible. This statement is not true. The
that the mere fact of paying a rebate from
the tariff rate is in itself an offsnse, re-
gardless of what was paid by anybody
else, and the act makes this offense pun
ishable by a fine which may be as much as
5000 for each instance where the tariff
rate has been departed from.
vestigations upon the subject. not to en-
force the act, but simply to advertise Its
contention that the act is not enforceable.
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 now shows that
this Is the evil to be contended with.
make no attempt to excuse the rail.
that the commissions attitude Is mex
cusable. Offended because the courts over
ruled its erroneous assumptions Of power
in other directions, 1t has sbeen sulking for
years trying to create the false impress
sion that the act is worthless and seeking
to use the rate-cuttfng which II could
nd ought to haze e. @d Ssss
In tend to correct IL.