Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-21
DoLLIvER INTRODUCES BILL.
Continued from page ~

1 >.
| The commission, however, has ample
power to investigate every complaint
brought before it ana wherever the
rate is found to be unreasonable the
commission is authorized to correct 1t
by an order requiring the carrier to
Tx its rates in harm ony with reason
able maximum described by the com
mission.
AS suggested by the President, and,
as believed to be indispensable to the
successful administration of the law,
the order of the commission will go
into. effect at the end of thirty days
unless it is suspended or vacated by
order of decree of the circuit court.
II the order of the commission is found
by the court to be unfair to carriers or
unjust 10 the public the supreme court
has already decided that the circuit
court should vacate it. On the other
hand the supreme court has also de.
cided that properly constituted com.
mission is better ableto deal with the
question of railroad rates than any
other court can be.
Courts May Review Orders.
For this reason the new bill provides
that the court may review the action
of the commission only in SO far as
shown to be illegal Questions of fact
as to rates are not to be submitted to
the, courts, and modifying orders, if
any, issued by the court, will not at
tempt to fix reasonable rate, but will
merely refer the matter back to the
commission for rehearing.
An entirely new section has been
written and was approved at confer
ence at the White House last night be-
tween Senator Dolliver Attorney Gen
erel Moody, S. H. Cowan, Texas rail-
broad rate expert, and Presi-
dent Roosevelt authorizes the
commission to fix rates upon COM
plant, represents the latest view of
what is necessary, and reads as fol-
lows:
rThat the commission is authorized
and empowered and it shall be it's
duty, whenever, after full hearing
upon complaint made, as provided
in section IS of this act, it shall be of
opinion that anv existing rate or rates,
charge or charges whatsoever de-
manded, charged or collected by any
common carrier or carriers. subjected
| to the provisions of this act, for the
transportation of persons or property
as defined in the first section of this
act, or that any regulations or prac-
tees whatsoever of such carrier or
carriers affecting such rates are un-
Just or unreasonable or unjustly dis
criminatory, or unduly preferential or
prejudicial, in violation of the provis-
! ions of this act. to determine what
will, in its Judgment, be the just and
reasonable, maximum rate or rates,
charge or charges to be hereafter OBJ
served in such cases, and what regula-
ton or practice in respect to such
transportation is just, fair and reason
able to be hereafter followed, and to
make an order that the carrier shall
cease and desist from such violation
anu shall not thereafter publish, de-
mand, or collect any rate for such
transportation in excess of the maxi
mum so prescribed, and shall conform
to the regulation and practice so pre-
scribed."
To prevent evasion Of the law by
the improper division of rates there is
a special paragraph OF this section,
which is also important, and which
reads as follows:
"The commission may also, after
| full hearing Of the complaint, estab-
lish through routes and maximum joint
rates and prescribe the division Of
such rates as hereinbefore provided,
and the terms and conditions under
| which such through routes shall be
operated, when that may be necessary
| to give effect to any provision of this
| act, and carriers complained Of have
| refused or neglected voluntarily to es-
tablish such through routes and joint
| rates."
| Still another section gets after ter.
minal roads which are owned by larger
shippers who hitherto have secuted re-
bates by being allowed excessive pro-
portions Of through tariff The sec.
| ton on this subject reads:
IF the owner of property transport
ed under this act, directly or indi-
rectly, renders any service connected
with such transportation, or furnishes
any instrumcntality used therein, the
charge and allowance therefor shall
| be just and reasonable, and the COM
mission may, after full hearing Of the
complaint, determine what is the rea-
sonable charge to be paid by carriers
| for the service SO rendered, or the use
| of the fundamentally SO furnished,
and fix the same by an appropriate
| order, which order shall have the
same force and effect and be enforced
| in a like manner as the orders above
| provided for in this sction."
Courts to Back Orders.
| tt is of course provided that the
railroads can be compelled to obey
the orders Of the commission, and for
this purpose the machinery of the
courts is invoked through the ordinary
process Of injunction and mandamus.
| The theory Of the Dolliver bill is that
if the railroads consider an order of
the commission to be illegal in that it
tends to confiscate their property be-
cause it requires them to carry freight
at a rate less than cost they will re-
fuse to obey. Thereupon the COM
mission appeals to the court for an in
junction or mandamus, and the court
is required to issue such an order,
provided it is made to appear that the
order of the commission was lawful =
The court would have the right to in
quire under that section whether the
rate in question was confiscatory or
not. If the court found the commits
sion had established maximum rate
which was unfair to the railroads it