The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-04-11
M'CUMBER MAKES
AMENDMENTS TO
RATE BILL.
Which Are Claimed to Be the
Most Important Ones Pro
posed in the Senate.

Washington, April 10-Senator Nc
Cumber of North Dakota has offered
three amendments to the railroad rate
bill that are admitted by the best in
formed men on the question to more
simplify the bill should it become a
law than all the other amendments Of
fered.
The first of these amendments pro-
vides for the punishment of railroad
officers who accept rebates in any
form and reads as follows:
ANY person, corporation, or COM
pany who shall deliver property for
transportation to any common carrier,
subject to the provisions of this act.
or for whom. as consignor or con-
stgnee, any such carrier shall trans
port property, who shall knowingly
and willfully, by employee. agent, Of
fcer, or other wise, directly or in
directly, by or through any means or
device whatsoever, receive or accept
from such common carrier any sum
of money, or any other valuable con-
sideration, as a rebate or Offset against
the regular charges for transportation
of such property. as fixed by the sched-
ules of rates provided for in this act,
shall be deemed guilty of fraud,
which is hereby declared to be mis-
demeanor, and shall, upon conviction
thereof in any court of the United
States of competent jurisdiction with
in the district where such offense was
committed, be subjected to fine equal
to three times the sum of money so
received or accepted, and three times
the value of any other consideration
so received or accepted, to be ascer-
tanned by the trial court; and in the
trial for such offense, all such rebates
or other considerations so received or
accepted for period of six years
prior to the commencement of the ac-
ton may be received in evidence, and
the said fine shall be three times the
total amount of money or three times
the total value of such considerations
SO received or accepted, as the case
may be: Provided. that the foregoing
penalties shall not apply to rebates
or considerations received prior to the
passage and approval of this act"
Another important one provides that
storage cars shall be owned by the
common carrier, thus forever killing
the refrigerator car trust. The
amendment is self-eXplanatory and
reads as follows:
That on and after January first
nineteen hundred and nine, every rail.
road company doing an interstate
commerce business shall furnish all
freight cars, whether refrigerator, colo
storage, or other specially constructed
or designed cars for the carriage OF
special merchandise, necessary for the
conduct Of its business as common
carrier, and shall furnish at just and
reasonable rates all icing and othel
service necessary or proper for the
protection OF any goods in transit;
and on and after such date no such
railroad company shall enter into any
contract with the owner of shipper OF
any goods to ship the same in the
cars of such owner or shipper or pay
any rental for such cars"
The other amendment proposed pro-
vides for the regulation and control
of the rates of the cold storage and
refrigerator cars both before the pro-
visions of the other amendment take
effect as we'll as afterward. This
amendment reads as follows:
THAT all refrigerator cars, cold
storage cars, or other freight cars,
whether owned by any common car
rier or by any other person or corpor-
alton, used in interstate commerce
snail be covered by the provisions OF
this act; that all charges paid by any
railroad company for use or rental
of any such cars shall be just and rea-
sonable. to the end that the owner of
such cars using the same for shipment
of his own goods shall secure no I'M
fair or unjust benefit or advantage
over any other shipper of like goods,
and all unjust and unreasonable
rha rpaS Inv tho nwparc cuoh corc
for the use or rental thereof by any
other shippers or for icing or other
service in connection with the use
thereof is hereby nrnlliEited .