The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1907-08-29
TWEnTfS1ATEScU
PASSENGER RATES
More Legislation Along this.
Line IS Promised instne
Near Future.
IOWA IS uP IN FRONT.
Average Earning Per Mills North
Mason and Dixon's Lins %
Per Cent. Higher
Than South.

have either reduced rates on passenger
traffic in the last ear or AVE taken
steps preliminary to doing so. OF these.
fourteen have enacted a fiat 2-cent
rate for their principal lines OF railroad.
on file with the Interstate Commerce
commission.
Alabama has liked d rate OF az
cents per mile on all railroads over
100 miles long. This rate will GO Into
effect pending the determination Of the
constitutional. questions involved.
Arkansas has a flat 2-cent rate.
which went into effect by law April ..
though some Of the roads have refused
to reduce their rates. among them the
Rock Island and the Frisco.
Georgia has q 2-cent rate on her
rates OF the smaller roads. This be-
comes effective September. 8.
Illinois has a fiat 2-cent rate, the rail-
roads being given h privilege OF
charging 8 cents for fares paid In cash
on trains. This a went into effect
July 1.
In Iowa.
Indiana has a fiat 2-cent rate. Iowa
has a 2-cent rate on roads with gross
earnings amounting to $4,000 a mile,
2h cents on roads earning $4,000 and
3 cents on roads earning less than that
amount per mile.
Kansas has a law requiring the rail-
roads to sell straight mileage books
of 500 miles at 2 cents a mile and In
Interchangeable mileage books OF 1000
miles at 2 cents a mile.
The Michigan statute provides that
all roads having passenger earnings
of $1,000 e mile shall give a 2-cent
TENDER 81. The Minnesota law pro-
vides for a 2-cent rate and went into
effect May i.
Missouri's 2-cent law went into eff
feet June 10 and applies TO all roads
with a mileage of over forty-f1ve miles.
Nebraska has a 2-cent law which
went into effect March 8 and the pen
atty for it's violation was made SO
heavy that the railroads thought it the
part of wisdom to put 1t into effect on
the day it went into force. to remain
In effect until the constitutional ques-
tons raised are finally adjudicated In
the courts.
New York has created the public
utilities commission. which has the au-
thority to require a 2-cent rate If 1t
deems it wise to do SO.
North Carolina has a 2A-cent rate
on It's principal roads. This rate is
now effective, pending an adjudication
by the supreme court.
In Effect October 4.
.E# = AAAhoJ . q aWS-SSAAl ldCS Id w,
which will go into effect October /.
Proceedings are now being carried on
in the state courts to determine its
constitutionality. This is the only
state in which the fight against the
reduced rate Is being made In the
state courts.
West Virginia has a 2-cent rate on
all lines over fifty miles In length, with
a maximum Of 3 cents on lines Of less
h fifty miles.
Wisconsin has a 2-cent rate, which
became effective August Is. and which
ings Of yer $4,000 per mile.
Oklahoma has written a 2-cent rate
into her constitution, but it Is pro-
vided thai it may be increased IL the
corporation commission created there
under deems 1t advisable.
Ohio was the first state to declare
a 2-cent rate. It Is said the Ohio
roads are showing heavier passenger
earnings than prior to the establish
ment OF the low rate.
Vermont has established a commits
sion with authority to lower rates. The
same Is true Of Montana and South
Dakota, the latter state authorizing its
commission to establish rates Of not
over 2h cents per mile.
And More Coming.
In at least ten other states. similar
legislation Is understood to be likely
In the near future. Among them are
Texas. Maryland, Kentucky, New Jer-
sey, South Carolina and Massachusetts.
In this connection it is interesting to
note that the average earnings per
train mile in the states north OF Ma
son and Dixon line run about 20 per
cent. higher tina in the southern states
that have passed 2-cent rates.
It appears that the question as To
whether a state has the right to o
hibit a foreign corporation from re-
moving its cases from the state to the
federal courts is to some extent an
open one, the supreme court itself hay-
ing taken both views of the matter. and
that largely as the body is now con-
stituted. 1t was held in the case of
Swing VS.. Weston Lumber company
last year that a state had the UNI
doubted right to prohibit foreign in
surance companies from doing business
in it's limits or to impose conditions.
In another case, II was held the right
to remove given by a constitutions
act # congress cannot be taken away
or abridged by state statutes. This
last case is seemingly more fully to
the point In cases like those of the
Alabama and Arkansas railroads.
though there are two lines Of thought
in the supreme court on this subject
a c n StIS,y or tha osa ,;1y -