The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-09-15
COAST STEAMSHIP HEN
 EXPLAIN POSITION
WILLING TO CONCUR WITH COMMERCE COMMISSION IN
 THROUGH RATES.
But DiscIaim Any Acknowledgement ., Commissions Jurisdiction over Then --ImpOrtant Conference Held in Washington Yesterday-Represent tives Show Why They Are Anxious to ASserf T,heir TDda,,o.,4
Assert Their Independence.

tives Show Why They Are Anxious tO
 Assert Their Independence.
 Washington, Sept. 14-An important conference was held to-day between members of the interstate commerce commission and the repres santatives of several coastwise steamship companies concerning the maintenance of estab- lished rates on shipments of freight by a combined water and rail route
 Those present in addition to the sey- en members of the commission were A. B. Browne, general counsel Norfolk & Washington Steamship Co.,, Wash ington, D. C., E. H Duff, Washington, representative of sundry coastwise lines; Theodore Geger, vice president land general manager Clyde Line Steam ship Co.,; Daniel H. Hayne, counsel Merchants and Miners Transportation Co.,. Clyde Milne, general freight agent, | Clyde Steamship Co; H. H. Raymond New York and Texas Steamship Go; (Mallory lines); John Callahan, second vice president Norfolk & Washington steamboat Co.,; J. c. Whitney, second vice president and traffic manager Merchants and Miners Transportation Co.,, and Alfred Winsor, president Bos, ton &. Philadelphia Steamship GO.
 At the conclusion of the conference the following statement concerning it was issued by the interstate commerce commission:
 The representatives of number of coastwise lines were in conference with the members of the interstate com merce commission to-day for the pur- pose of explaining to the commission their reasons for desiring to accompa- ny their concurrences in through rates in connection with the railroads with a disclaimer of assentfng to the juris- dtction of the commission or the ap- plication of the interstate commerce. law to them, while at the same time | glVlng assurances of their desire ia cooperate with the commission and the railroads ill bona fide application and l observance of established rates, and to. promote the general purposes of the statute by harmonious cooperation l with the commission, in so far as they can do so consistently with the preserv- alton of such rights as they have un- der various statutes. For Illustration l 1t is their position that they are pro- tected by the so-called Carter act ana ] other statutes, Independent of this act to regulate commerce, in respect to li- ability for losses on the sea, by fire and other wise. A provision in the twentieth section of the act to regulate commerce requires that the initial car rier giving the receipt or bill of lading shall be responsible to the shipper or owner of such bill of lading for losses by any carrier participating in the transportation. The matter of ultimate liability would be one of adjustment as between the carriers themselves, making up the through lines.
 These eoastwise lines deem it essen tial that they do not admit their con- trol by the provisions of the act to reg ulate commerce by unqualified and un- conditional concurrences In joint rates, lest in doing so they might be estopped from asserting their legal independence of the provisions of the act when it becomes necessary in case of any losses to reserve to themselves their rights and immunities from liability on &C., count of loss under these various other statutes. They assert that they want to put themselves in a position in this way to save for themselves such rights as they have under the law, and not do any act which might be construed as voluntary waiver of the same; but that it is also their desire to cooper ate for observance of established rates in all possible ways and to avoid rais- ing such rates as they think 1t wise in this manner to preserve a protec- ton against great losses which might occur at sea, and for which under all of the existing statutes they claim they would not be liable unless they had voluntary waived their rights'