The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1907-11-08
IS HARD BLOW FOR
THE SANTA FE
ROAD
Lost Angeles Judge Fines Road
$3.50, 900 For Relating
GUILTY ON SIXTY.SIX COUNTS
Court Declared II Hard to Believe
That Corporation Did Not Know
the Law.

llOS hNNLl4T1o, Nui', WV ~ ""NoS
Olin WellbOrn In the United States
district court fined the Atchison, Tope-
ka and Santa Fe Railroad company
$3300O0 for rebating. The fine was
what the court denominated ian inter-
mediate penalty" the maximum which
might have been assessed being ST.
$4,000 and the minimum $66,OOO.
The court reviewed the case in a
written opinion In which it was stated
there were sufficient doubtful and ex-
tenuating circumstances to preclude
the possibility of maximum sentence
and vet sufficient intention of wrong
doing shown to make impossible min
imum penalty.
The Santa Fe company was convict
ed on Oct. II last by jury in the fed
eral court of granting rebates to the
Grand Canyon Lime and Cement com
pany of Arizona. 1t was found guilty
of all the sixty-six counts charged IN
the Indictment after but an hours de-
liberation.
The rebates. which were given on
shipments of lime and cement from
Nelson, Ariz., to Los Angeles, ranged
in amount from 35 cents TO $l5. The
company claimed that these amounts
were not rebates on the regular freight
rate, but We're in the form of damages
to goods which were allowed after
such claims had been regularly pre-
scented and proved in each instance
The court did not take that view Of
the case, however, and stated that II
''was not convinced by any means
that these amounts represented bona
fide settlements of claims.
1T is hard To believe" the court
said, that the agents Of the corpora
ton did not know that they were VIC
lating the law In any event such L.
norance of the law is almost equiva-
lent to n criminal knowledge of it.
81 am inclined to think that the de-
PENDANTS underlying purpose in the
transaction complained of was to fos-
ter on its own lines of road any indus
try which would permanently contrib
utC W us tullil dSUiiiSt NoiiiDtiltplS III
other localities depending upon other
lines of transportation for access TO
market"
81 am satisfied that the evidence
shows as was distinctly and forcibly
stated by Mr. Lawlor the district at
torney, that the concessions were in
tentionally and Systematically made,
and it is hard to believe that the de-
PENDANT did not know that they were
unlawful departures from its estab-
lished tariff. AT all events, ignorance
of the law under the circumstances in
this case would imply degree of neg
ligence well nigh equivalent to guilty
knowledge.
Immediately after the fine was an
nounced e. f. Camp, solicitor for the
company, moved stay of judgment
needed to prepare bill of exceptions.
Judge Wellborn fixed the stay at thir-
ty days, with the privilege Of an ex-
tension il a sufficient showing should
be made.
Judge Wellborn, who fined the com.
pany, Is sixty-four years old and q
southern Democrat. He is a native of
Georgia and Confederate veteran.
He was mem Der of the Sixth Georgia
cavalry and was wounded at the battle
OF Chickamauga. He surrendered with
the command of General Joseph Wheel
err, having reached the grade of brevet
colonel. Judge Wellborn came to Cali
fornia in 1887 and was appointed to the
federal bench by President Cleveland
in 1895.