Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-31
Rate Regulation Must Be
Founded on Broad Principles.
NO PR|1ECEDENTs EXIST
PROBLEMS BEFORE SENATOR
ELKINs, COMMITTEE.
Proposed Commission to Control the
Charges Of the Railways and to
Give Justice to Shippers.

There are many problems that face the
Senate committee on interstate commerce
In connection with the proposition that
there shall be created commission to reg
ulate railroad rates One OF the most in
teresting problems that is receiving atten-
ton from Senator Elkins, chairman, and
other members of that committee is the
manner In which such commission could
proceed to determine the rate which would
be just to the shipper and the railroad 1t
has been pointed out to the committee that
when such a commission should undertake
to determine whether a given rate should
be decreased there would have to be
adopted a broad general principle as the
basis for the consideration of such cases.
for which there are now no presidents.
Senator Elkins is face to face with this
as one of the greatest difficulties in the
matter OF empowering commission to fix
railroad rates. Unless such authority Is
based on sound principles there is little,
doubt that the law would be nulliffed in a
short time by an appeal to the courts.
A Constitutional Provision.
paragraph of the Constitution provides
that mo preference shall be given by any
regulation of commerce or revenue to the
ports of one state over those of another;
"nor Shall vessels bound to or from one
duties in another"
That restriction, it IS said would involve
revolution in the making of railroad rates.
1t would bring about an entire readjustment
OF rates to such an, extent that the COM
merce of cities est 1blished for many years
would De placed on an entirely different
basis from that of the past. In some cases
there would be a destruction of trade almost
sumclent, 1t Is declared to threaten the
prosperity of cities and in other cases there
would be relative of Of
other ports.
New Orleans, for instance received a
lower rate from the central west than do
the Atlantic seaboard cities The haul to
New Orleans is .entfrely down grade. and
In addition to that Iessening of the cost of
TRANSFORMATION on the part of the railroads,
the New Orleans shippers have to pay
higher freight rates, to European ports than
do the Atlantic coast towns. This higher
rate to the foreign ports is taken into con-
sideration by the roads in fixing the rates
on traffic. But it is doubtful whether the
commission letting under authority of Con-
gress could take into consideration either
the grade OF the road as an element Of
cheapness in doing the business or the
heavy oceanfEates that any particular port
meets as an additional reason for making
concessions in ratest
They could, not charge seaports on the
Atlantic seabQard any higher rate because
their traffic would have to be hauled over
the mountains. meeting steep grades, ex-
pensive not only to construct in the first
instance, but also to operate.
Practice Of the Railroads.
Railroads have largely based their rates
upon the nature of the traffic to be hauled.
They have in some cases fixed rates ex-
cessively low because the traffic affected
could not be moved except with such low
rate. They have made the rate low enough
to attract the trafSc to the road In other
cases classiflcations have been so arranged
that some articles of a valuable nature
have paid a very high rate.
All sorts of considerations have been
taken into account in the fixing of the
rates. The railroads have pursued this
business from the viewpoint of railroad in
terests, and to encourage trade and conse-
quently to increase their traffic. To some
extent the interstate commerce law has
brought certain restrictions into play in
the fixing of rates, such as the long and
short-haul provision and the restriction
against the granting of rebates, so far as
the law has been enforced in the latter re-
spect.
But there remain multitude of questions
relating to the just principles on which
rates should be based that would come be-
fore government commission charged
with the duty of fixing rates.
The question will have to be considered
from an entirely different point of view
Then there VIII be necessity for a line of
decisions in relation to railroad trans
portation that in a way may be compared
terpreting the federal constitution and of
Judge Cooley in the, decisions which he
made and which have ever since been the
groundwork for all subsequent decisions
of the interstate commerce commission.
By line of such decisions it is believed
the rate-fxing commission might be
placed on sound basis for future action.
To Create Sound Basis.
But what is calling forth the attention of
members of the Senate committee on in
terstate commerce is the desirability of an
ticipating this necessity for a stable basis
for the decisions of the rate fixing commits
sion should it ever be established by law
by enacting certain basic principles for the
guidance OF the commission In order to
do that the best legal talent of the country
will be needed to determine upon prin-
ciples that will satisfactorily guide the
commission in Its work and at the same
time stand the test of the courts where they
would sooner or later be tested.
Sudden Death of Mrs. Brodt