Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-06
To CURB: THE TRUSTS
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|. 81 o.
de = -
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never been thought tosdepend upon the title
to capital stocks ef prQducing companies.
His Suggestion as First Step.
My suggestion, therefore, is that as a
first step in policy to be persistently pur-
sued until every industry large and small.
in the country can be assured of equal
| rights and opport Qnities, and until the ten
dency to monopolization of the important
industries of the country is checked, that
all discriminatory practices affecting inter-
state trade be made offenses to be enjoined
and punished Such legislation to be d.
rected alike against those who give and
| those who receive the advantages thereof
and to cover discrimination in prices as
against competitors in particular localities
resorted to for the purpose of destroying
competition in Interstate and foreign trade,
as well as discrimination by carriers.
Such practices are SO obviously unreason-
able that to inhfbit them would be meas
ure of regulation of commerce to keep 1t
free and unrestrained and not an attempt
to exercise arbitrary power. Such legisla-
tlon. 10 certainly reach producers guilty OF
practices injurious to national and inter-
national commerce, should, In my judgment,
take the form Of penalizing the transporta-
ton OF the goods produced by the guilty
parties, and the federal courts should be
given power to restrain such transporta-
ton at the suit of the government
1t may be said that under the Act to
regulate commerce shipper may be
punished for receiving rebates or special
rates less than the lawful published rates;
and that it Is unnecessary to provide ad
ditional legislation in this respect to curb
trusts, monopolies and combinations. This,
however. Is an erroneous statement.
Whatever the Congress may have de-
signed in the art fO to q.
garding the punishment Of shippers for
participation in violation of that act. as
construed by the courts their punishable
offenses fall under two heads:
First. Where the shipper has solicited or
participated in instances Of unjust discrimi-
nation. and
Second. In cases Of fraud perpetrated by
him against the carrier. ex. gr., by false
representation of the contents Of a pack
age.
Holding Of the Courts.
AS to the first. the courts have held that
to constitute unjust discrimination it is
necessary to prove that at the time the
lower unlawful rate was being granted to
the favored shipper the higher lawful rate
was imposed against another shipper on
like commodities between the same points.
In many cases of departure by a carrier
from its published tariffs the favored ship
per has enjoyed his advantage for SO long
d llIHc tftdl rivals nave UlSdJpcdTcu LII
such cases. and they are the most numer-
Gus. no illegal discrimination exists; >conse-
quently the recipient OF the unlawful re-
bates escapes the penalties of the act to
regulate commerce.
The act prohibits the carrier from charg-
ing any one a greater or less rate than the
rates named in its schedules; but the pen
alties provided therefor have been held by
the courts not to be applicable to any car
rier that is an Incorporated company.
The officers or agents of such incorporated
company, who grant the rebate or make the
unlawful concession in rates. are subject to
indictment and punishment. That, however,
Is generally an iffpracticable remedy, be-
cause the agent who makes the concession
Is usually the only person by whom it can
be ascertained that the rebate has been
paid; and when he has testified In relation
to the matter he has thereby obtained am
neSty from prosecution.
Even II the corporation and its officers
could be effectively reached by criminal
proceedings, the law leaves unrestrained. the
persons, corpora tons and combinations who
are beneficiaries of the unlawful rebates.
This casus omissus OF the act to regulate
commerce should be supplied by imposing
beneficiary alike, and the right Of the courts
to restrain such practices at the suit Of the
United States, right not settled, and now
vigorously challenged, should be made GER
tain.
1 think the operation of such an act should
be limited to the transportation by common
carriers subject to the act to regulate COM
merce. This is necessary for the reason
that there is no requirement Of law that
rates shall be published by common car
r!ers. except by railroad or railroad and
water carriers acting as one line When
the act to regulate commerce vas under
consideration it was deemed fmpra ctica BILE
if not unwise to attempt to regulate the
rates of water or other common carriers
It was understood. that in the nature Of
things water rates could not be stable.
OBJ m hat holt / 49,
water competition must be unrestricted AS
1t is the least expensive means of transport
tation. it. wherever it could directly or in
directly compete with carriers by rail-
would. approximately. furnish basis for
rates by railroad. and measurably keep such
rates within the limits Of extortion.
Law to Prevent Rebates.
So that If provision Is made by law to
prevent rebates. a standard or established
schedule must be referred to; and as the ad-
mitted abuse Of magnitude has been in the
favors granted by railroad companies, their
rates. which the law requires shall be made
public should be taken as the rates which
must be adhered to and made equal to all
the people under similar conditions.
1t should, therefore, be made unlawful to
transport traffic by carriers subject to the
"act to regulate commerce" at any rate
less than such carriers published rate, and
all who participate in the violation Of such
law should be punished.
An additional provision should be made to
reach corporations. combinations and asso-
Citations which produce and manufacture
wholly within a state, but whose products
or sales enter into interstate commerce. 1t
should relate, first. to such concerns as fat
ten on rebates in transportation, and, sec
ond, to concerns which sell below the gen.
,ral price Of commodity in particular To-
calities, or otherwise in particular localities
wa n 20
could be excluded with their commodities,
products or manufactures from crossing
state lines.
AS the power Of Congress over interstate
commerce Is plenary, excepting as 1t may
be limited by the Constitution, it is believed
that it may impose such a punishment for
the violation of the public policy Of the ma
ton.
comprehensive plan. should be framed
to enable the government to get at all the
facts bearing upon the OrganiZation and