Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-12
SANTA FE is
FOUND GUILTY
$1,25o,ooo FINE is THE MAXIM UNI
PENALTY
JUDGE SCORES ROAD IN HIS
INSTRUCTIONS
After Few Minutes DeIlberation Jury
Brings Decision Against Road
on slxty-SIx
Counts

The Santa Fe was yesterday found
guilty of rebating on sixty-six counts.
The maximum penalty is $1,250,OOO in fines.
shortly after 2:30 o'clock after being in
structed by Judge wellborn. Portions OF
the instructions were replete with SEN
tences Of scathing rebuke for the viola
tion of the interstate commerce laws.
The judge read in part: IA rate to be
uniform in its operation must necessarily
be expressed in dollars or cents, and
when so expressed, as is the case with
the rate here involved. the mode Of pay
ment is an essential part of the rate.
To so interpret the law as to allow the
carrier to disregard said mode, and to
accept a part only of its compensation in
money and the balance in commodity, or
by way of compromising a claim would
invite and open wide a door to the very
discrimination which the statutes were
designated to suppress.
II hold that the acceptance by the de-
fendant of less sum of money than that
named in it's tariff for the transportation
Of the property described in the indict-
ment, If there has been such acceptance,
was a departure from the legal rate and
that 1t is no justification for such a de-
parture, nor is it any defense to a prose-
cution thereof that the acts of the car
rier were done in compromise Of claims
for loss of property in transit"
Out Twenty Minutes
After the reading of this decision the
Jurors were closeted in the adjoining
room. Hardly twenty minutes elapsed
before the bailiff escorted them to their
Sc ThA nf fha ittt-xr 50
and in a loud voice read the verdict.
There was an impressive silence in the
court room following the reading of the
verdict, and the spell was only broken
when the court appointed next Monday as
the time when sentence would be i'm
posed.
In arguing his case yesterday afternoon
before the jury United States Attorney
Lawler said in part:
1.-THE law provides for a rate of $40 q
car for a minimum load of 10000 pounds
from Nelson to points in Southern Cali
fornia. The evidence secured by the gov
ernment proves that the railroad COM
pany accepted less than the minimum
load prescribed by law and accepted less
than the minimum rate for the car.
.It is not question of the amount of
money involved in the transaction be-
tween the Santa Fe and the Grand Can
yon Lime and Cement company I be-
lieve the entire sum ranges from only 30
cents to a maximum of $14 But there
is something more than money involved,
and it Is principle of law which must
be established If we wish to have business
matters conducted as they should. The
law says We must all be treated alike.
The prosecution has proved that the
Grand Canyon Lime and Cement COM
pany, or j. S. Schirm. was given conces-
sions that were a violation of the law
by the Santa Fe railroad l think the
jury understands the case perfectly"
In reply to the United States district
attorneys argument Mr.. Norton, attor-
ney general of the railway, insisted that
the basic argument of Mr. Lawler's was
wrong, inasmuch as he had failed to un-
derstand the distinction between rebate
and compromise. This has been the
main argument of the defense since the
case started but the decision of the judge
undermined even that, so that the rail-
road had no case whatever.
At the conclusion of the arguments yes
terday Mr.. Lawler limited that he would
indict Norton on a charge that he had
used his influence to give the free use
of a car to an agent for the purpose OF
securing witnesses in connection with the
trial.