The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-13
PAID COMMISSIONS
ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST ,s. EPABST BREWING COMPANY.
Attorney General Acts in Alleged Dis criminatiOn in Favor of Famous Brewery by . Number of
 RnilrOnda.

-
 Washington, Nov. 12-Attorney Gen. l eral Moody today made statement l with regard to the petition which will be filed by his direction tomorrow in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. brought under the Elkins law to test the legality of certain commissions paid by railroads (after the receipt of the published rates), to a private car transit company controlled by the stockholders of the corporation ship ping freight In those cars over the | railroad lines. The statement fol- lows:
 The petition is against the Milwau- kee Refrigerator Transit Company. l Marquette Railroad Company. Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, Erie Company, the Chicago, Rock Is- land and Pacific Railroad Company. St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad | Company, the Wisconsin Central Rail- | road Company, the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company and Pabst Brewing Company.
 This case arises out of the follow | ing state of facts, which have been in- vestigated by the Interstate Commerce | Commission and by that body. and also | by private interests adversely affected, | brought to the attention of the Attor- | ney General and by him carefully con- | sidered.
 | Conferences have been held be- tween the Attorney General and Dis l trict Attorney Butterfield of the East | ern District of Wisconsin at Chicago and Washington and on Friday last at conference between Attorney l General, assistant to the Attorney Gen. eral, MT. Purdy. special assistant Dis \ trict Attorney Pagin, the District Att torney and Special Counsel ouarles of the Milwaukee bar. the form of the petition was determined upon:
 'It appears that the Pabst Brewing Company are large shippers of beer over the various railroads running | from Milwaukee. Some of the princi- pal stockholders of that corporation organized and own the Milwaukee Re frigerator Transit Company, a corpo- ration operating private cars To the latter corporation the control of ths
 shipments of the Pabst Brewing Com. pany was given by an agreement ep'
 tered into between the two corpora
 tfons named. The various railroads
 mentioned as defendants while receiv.
 ing as freight money the open anC
 published rates for the transportation
 of commodities. have paid to the Tran.
 sit Company in whose private cars ths
 beer was transported a commission oi
 about 12 per cent upon the amount oi | the freight money collected with tho
 effect, of course, that the net amount
 received for transportation by the rail
 road companies is so much less thar
 the published and open rate.
 This petition is designed to test tn,
 legality of such payments and i,
 brought under the provisions of the SO
 called Elkins law, which provides tha
 failure strictly to observe the pub
 lished rates shall be a misdemeano
 and further provides that 1t shall b,
 unlawful for any person. persons o
 corporations to offer, grant or give, o
 to solicit. accept or receive any rebate
 concession or discrimination in re
 spect to the transportation of an,
 property in interstate or foreign com
 merce, whereby any such propert,
 shall. by any device whatever be trans
 ported at a less rate than that name,
 in the tariffs published and filed b.
 the carrier
 ''The case is regarded as of Erea
 general importance by the Attorne,
 General and will be pressed to a
 speedy a hearing as a just regard fo
 the interests of the defendants vii : permit. With District Attorney But
 terfield, Mir. Charles Quarles of tn
 Milwaukee bar has been associated"