Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-09
HELD TO Be interference
TOWN IN S. c. WISHED TO STOP
FAST MAIL TRAINS.
Resistance Of the Company Sustain
ed by the Supreme Court-Other
Decisions Handed Down.

The question whether a railroad COM
pany can be compelled upon the order of a
state railroad commission to stop its fast
mail trains when engaged in interstate
commerce was decided today by the Su-
preme Court of the United States in the
negative in the case of the Atlantic Coast
Line Railroad Company against the
board of railroad commissioners of South
Carolina. The suit arose in connection
with an effort on the part of citizens of
the town of. Latta. S. c.. to secure the
stopping, upon being tagged, of two such
trains which daily pass through the town.
and the commission ordered that stops
should be made whenever the signal
should be hoisted. The railroad COM
pany resisted the ruling as unreasonable,
and as an interference with interstate
commerce.
The state supreme court decided against
he company. and it Immediately appealed
to the Supreme Court of the United States.
with the result that the rsllef sought Was
obtained. The opinion. of the court was
delivered by Justice Peckham, and re-
versed the decision of the South Carolina
court. The opinion held the order OF the
commission to be an interference with
interstate commerce.
Responsibility for Wreck.
The petition of La Compasnie Generate
Transatlantique for cross writ OF GER
tiorari in the proceeding between that
company and George Deslions involving
the question of responsibility for the
losses caused by the collision off Sable
Island in 1898 between the company s
steamship La Bourgogne and the Gro
martyshire. was today granted There
were over 500 lives lost by the disaster,
and the question of the degree of respon-
sibility of the company has been before
the courts ever since it occurred.
The court postponed action on the mo-
ton of the government to discuss the case
of the state of Louisiana agt. Secretary
Garfield. involving the swamp lands OF
that state, until after the hearing of the
case on it's merits.
Rebate Gases Advanced.
The court set the hearing of cases of
the United States agt: the Armour, Swift
ind other packing companies, lnvolv-
ing the charge of accepting rebates
on shipments for export. for January 20.
thus advancing the cases on the docket.
The court decided the case of the Heath
& Milligan Manufacturing Company, paint
manufa cturers of. Chicago, and large
number of other paint manufacturers 10
Gated in different parts of the country
ayt j. H. Worst, director of the North
Dakota government agricultural expert
ment station, brought to test the validity
of the North Dakota statutes of 1900 pro-
hibiting the adulteration Of white lead
and mixed paints. The opinion was rem
dered by Justice Mckenna and upheld the
law as not inconsistent with the federal
Constitution, thus affirming the decision
of the United States circuit court for the
North Dakota district.
The Supreme Court refused to order up
for review the case of the Grand Trunk
Western Railway Company agt. William
II. Gray. involving claim by Gray
against the company for $4,000 in connec-
against the company. The case originated
in Chicago The action of the Supreme
Court practically sustains the decision OF
the United States circuit court of appeals
for the seventh circuit, which was favor
able to Gray.