The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-23

Corporation Commissions order, be-
cause to do so would be to allow the
defendants to interfere with inter-
State Commerce, and 1t further con-
tended that the act creating the North
Carolina Corporation Commission was
unconstitutional and void, Judge Pur-
nell issued temporary injunction and
referred the case to Judge Shepherd,
Standing Master, to find the facts and
report to the court. Judge Shepherd
heard the evidence and argument of
counsel and found and reported that
the North Carolina Corporation Com
mission and the Ice and Coal Company
did not seek to interfere with the
Railway Companys Interstate COM
merce business; that the Ice and Coal
Company paid the Southern Railway
Company about $4,000 Il year in
freights and received from 200 to 365
cars of coal each year, and that un
less these cars were placed on the side
track of the Ice and Coal Company
that it could not do business at
profit; that the Southern Railway
Companys business would be facili-
tated by so placing the cars, as they
could be unloaded from the side track
more rapidly than elsewhere; that the
side track is convenient and safe and
the Railway Company would have no
trouble in receiving back it's cars with
in the free time allowed for unload
ing; that it was the custom of the
Railway Company to build private
sidings for those doing business for it,
and such sidings are now in use in
Greensboro. Every witness who was
examined in the case, as we'll as the
written statements of the Southern
Railway Company, showed that the
ground for the Railways refusal to
place the cars as requested, was the
refusal of the Ice and Coal Company
to pay the $146 demurrage charges
claimed. The Railway Company as
serted before Judge Purnell a right to
refuse to place cars for the Ice and
Coal Company, and assigned no rea-
son for this refusal.
If the Railway Company can arbi-
trarily refuse to place cars on the
SIuC II eiSh ct oiiC illuuSIllcil pldll anu
can place them on the side track of
rival competing enterprise, then it can
force the enterprise it discriminates
against to be subservient to it in all
things, or go out of business. If a
patron of a Railway Company knows
that if it opposes the wishes of the
Railway Company in business, politi-
can be destroyed, then the Southern
Railway Company has it in its power
to dominate a large portion of the
business men of the State and WELD
an influence over them that is not for
the best interest of any one but the
| Southern Railway Company. The peo-
pie who are familiar with the methods
of the Southern Railway Company
| know that if 1t has this power it will
exercise it for evil
| Judge Purnell i'll his opinion, over
| rules Judge Shepherds findings in
] three particulars: First, he excluded
! all the evidence of the transaction out
| accrued. Second, he finds that the
| refusal of the Railway Company to
place the four cars of coal was not
| solely because of the refusal of the Ice
and Coal Company to pay the $146,
and third, that there was more than
I $4,000 involved. He further states
| that the Southern Railway Companys
interstate commerce business would
! be interferred with by the placing of
these cars.
He then cites at length many au
thorities to the effect that the State
cannot interfere with Interstate COM
merce; this proposition was not dis
puted by the counsel for the Corpora
| ton Commission and for the Green's
boro Ice and Coal Company, but they
insisted that the order to place these
cars was not an interference with in
| ter-State commerce. but on the con-
trary facilitated the delivery of the
commerce to the consignee. One case
Judge Purnell referred to is where a
package of whiskey was shipped from
one State to consignee within anoth-
err State, and as it was being carried
by the Railway Company across its
platform for the purpose of delivering
to the consignee it was intercepted by
the State authorities. The Court held
that this was interference with inter
State commerce, as the original pack
age was in transit to the consignee
until delivered. The very opposite of
that case is the one he was deciding.
where the Railway Company had re-
ceived for transportation four cars of
coal consigned to the Greensboro Ice
and Coal Company, which the Railway
Company arbitrarily, and to its own
injury ard inconvenience, as we'll as to
the injury and Inconvenience of the
Ice and Coal Company, refused to
place them on a side track where they
could be easily and eXpeditiously UNI
loaded, and the State authorities to
facilitate and not to hinder or inter-
fere with the Interstate commerce,
required its delivery. This distinction
was made by counsel in their briefs
and aroIIu1enfs bI;t WAS ignored bV