The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-20
The Rate Question

Editor OF The Dispatch. n
sir,-As the passnGc Of the Hepburn
railroad rate bill in some form Is now ,
prac tlcally assured. every commercinl
community in the United states IS now nov,
vitality Interested in the question Of how
its interests may be affected BY the
amendments that will To adopted by the
Senate, and the city Of Richmond ana
other communities throughout the south
are particularly Interested In having tne
bill SO shaped that It wil not be In the
newer Of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission to fix rates for one locality or
one section witl16rcfcrencc TO their reln-
lion to rates in other localities nr sec
stions. Tho policy that has been followed
by the railroads Of the. South has been
10 Gx rates with reference to the devel-
opnlcnt Of traffic along their lines nnd the
development OF Southern industries n ,',l
Southern = communities rather than with
references to rates In other parts Of the
country The decisions Of the Interstate
Commerce C'ommiss ion In the past ana the
j1ltternnces or It's members In support OF
the proposed Legislation indicate that "
they had authority to do so. they ~ould
undertakes to establish to relative re.a-
8tion Of rates throughout the entire coun-
try, SO rs to give effect to their theories
as to the apportionnent of commerce
amor. rival localities. The Hepburn Bill
irftjtsEprcscnt form would undoubtedly
Give them authority TO go TO great
lengths in this direction, and there IS no
doubt IL 1t should be enacted as It now
stands and should be held to be constl-
Etutional the comm issoncrs could, &eithcr
directly or Indirectly. fix the relation OF
rates and determine the re'n'.H. Gown
mercal Importance that different COM
muntics should be permitted to entoI
Fortunately. the decision OF the United
States Supreme Court in the Michigan
~. 1,nr ottr lIg notice
on Congress thnt the feature of the BIZ
comforting the rntc-maklns power on the
Interstate Commerce must be amended
or the entire act will be unconsttutlonal
and void That decision makes 1t clear
that il Congress proposes 10 delegate 20
an administrative agency the flxlhg OF
specific transportation charges, 1t must
enact In the law a specific rule or a dell
mite standard, by the application. of whicE
TO Il particular freight situation, the trans
porta ton charge can be determined with
out the exercise by the Interstate Com
merce Commission Of legislative dlscre-
ton. 1t Is not necessary that the ACT
should prescribe q mathematical formula
for the determination of freight rate
such as was prescribed by the Michigan
law for the determination OF the tax rate,
but It must define the character of the
rnte SO as to leave no discretion
1t Is of great interest to the South
that this standard should be such rs to
require tho consideration of cnch rate ]
separately and on its own merits wthout
reference to any other rates. It should
not be made possible for instance, for
the commission to reduce the rate on cot
ton piece goods from the New EnSlhnai
mill points to Chicago simply because,
when compared with rates on flrst-classl
freight, the ratio from Atlanta to Chicago
is lower Yet this iss exactly what Com
missioner Prouty, In his Boston speech,
indicated that the commission would do
If 1t hnd the power, II the rate on cot
ton piece goods from New England TO
Chicago Is complained of, the commis-
sion ought to be required to determine
the question OF It's legality on evidence
confined to tho circumstances surround
Ing that rate alone, and should not be
required or permitted to determine It by
Cpnparison with tho rates from Southern
mill points. In the same way, IL the
Cincinnati Receivers and shippers Assoc
ella ton should carry out Its nvowed In
tcntlon of endeavDrng under tho new
law to revive the complaint IN the old
maximum rate Gaze t would be most lln-
fortunate for Richmond ne tho commits
sion should be permitted TO take into
consideration, in fixing tho rates from
Cincinnati! to Southeastern points, the
rates from Richmond and other Eastern
cities to these Same points IL the rates
from Cincinnati nre too high this fact
ought TO be established by evidence as u
those rates alone and the commission
should not DO permitted to do what they
attempted to do in the maximum rate |
case and eDdeavor to establish n relation
of rates from Cincinnati and Chicago to
Southeastern tcrrltory with the rates from
Richmond, Baltimore, philadelphia, New,