The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-02
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2. 1904.
AMEND THE INTERSTATE LAW.


The opinion rendered recently by the
interstate commerce commission hold
ing that the law requires the publica-
ton of import and export rates, that
the matter has been held in suspense
and will be so held temporarily while
the carriers have an opportunity to
appeal to congress, but that publica-
ton will be vigorously enforced if no
further action is taken, calls for an
amendment of the interstate act as so
construed.
The reasons why the publication of
these rates would be destructive to
American interests have already been
explained in these columns. The law
has no application to the complete
through rate, say from st. Paul to
Yokohama. The commission insists,
however, that when such rate is made
the portion of it within the United
st. Paul to Seattle-eomes under the
interstate act, must be published, and
that the rate SO stated cannot be adj
vanced without ten days publication,
and cannot even be lowered without
the regular ordinary notice This dis
closes, Of course, also what the ocean
portion of the rate will be.
Now this ties hand and foot the
agencies that are making for the in
crease of our foreign trade. 1t puts
the steamship lines of the Pacific, and
those of the Atlantic, for that matter,
as well, at the mercy Of every tramp
steamer which happens to be in the
port. The owner or agent of this,
having nothing TO do but consult the
published tariffs, knows to a dot what
his regular competitor must charge. He
can then cut the rate, and the COM
petitor is helpless because his rates
cannot be changed without due notice
The tramp steamer gets its cargo in this
way, by taking advantage of the laws
foolishness, and sails away, not to re-
turn again for months, if ever. The
regular steamship line, being deprived
from time to time of enough of it's le-
ultimate business to make its under
taking a loss instead Of profit, will
be forced to discontinue, and the for
eign trade of the country will then be
left at the mercy of these chance car
riers, for whose benefit only it's laws
are operative.
1t is most desirable, therefore, that
the interstate law should be so amend
ed as to declare explicitly that export
and import tariffs need not be pub
lished. There is no reason why they
should be. Publication of rates is
merely a guarantee against secret rate
cutting and discrimination It is need
ed only as between competing carriers
in the same territory. We care nothing
about such alterations of rates when
applied 10 our export trade. It mat
tiers nothing to US whether one mer-
chant in Yokohama gets better terms
than another, Or whether the rates are
just and reasonable as between Yoko-
hama and Hongkong.
What cur people want is a foreign
market. To capture and retain 1t they
need all the help that the great trans
portation agencies can give. Those
agencies. to do the work, must be in
a position to meet Instantly every form
of competition. They certainly cannot
do this if they are so tied down by
regulations that every competitor Is adj
vised beforehand what their charges
VIII be, and enabled to cut under them,
while they themselves are restrained
from meeting them by the publication
of. tariffs ard the rigorous prohibition
through the interstate law of any help
from the railroad end Of the journey
to the ocean end.
The need of this nation and the need