Troy weekly news. (Troy, Idaho) 1897-1933, 1908-03-27
NSCONTROLLIMITED
,vpaRTANT DECISION FROM
INTERSTATE COMMISSION.
they Have no Jurisdiction over
oceans Traffic from This country
.0v Foreign Ports-Different Com
..s Can Pool Traffic and Commits
.,ou Cannot Interfere

decision has been promulgated
n ,oterstate commerce commits
- ono of the most important
''' :, has been called upon to de-
''' ,,o for some time. 1t is that OF
cosmopolitan Importing company,
n,,,odelnhia. organization, chartered
the laws of New Jersey, against
.s~ Hamburg-American Packet COM
lne the North German Lloyd Steam
pSn'' company. the Wilson lines, and
sup coondinavian-A American lines. !
'nV The complaipant's petition was filed
a. tbo commission nearly a year ago.
emo S time subsequently the defend
w. filed a demurrer, attacking the
'~risdiction of the interstate commerce
Commission. The opinion in the case,
vhicb is very voluminous, was pre-
nanod nv Commissioner. Franklin K.
Lane
In brief and in effect the commits
.,on decided against itself. 1t holds
,hat il has no authority over oceanic
transportation and this determines the
case adversely to the contention OF
the complainant.
In this case the complainant alleged
that the defendant steamship com
panies transport traffic under the bills
If lading between inland points of tht
limited States and foreign ports, an(
ara thereby subjected to the jurisdic
tion of the commission; that defend
ants have made an arrangement TO
the pooling of eastbound export trai
ac maintained by rail to Atlanti
ports and thence by steamship line
to points in Denmark, Sweden, MOI
way Finland and German ports i
the Baltic, and that this so-calle
Baltic pooli arbitrarily determine
the ultimate, rates from such milan
points Of the United States to sue
foreign ports, the North Atlanti
ports; and that the Hamburg-America
| Packet company maintains a monopol
Of westbound and eastbound trait
forwarded on local and on throug
bills of lading between Germany an
other continental countries and milan
! cities of the United States.
The prayer of the petition is that II
commission declare the Baltic poo
to be an illegal pooling of freights Il
der the interstate commerce act; tn
the monopoly of the Hamburg-Amel
can Packet company be declared u
lawful and that relief be granted
the complainant, which is also tran
Atlantic steamship company, doing
freight business between Americi
and continental ports.
Lane Explains Decision.
In his discussion of a few of t
reasons for the commissions decisiC
Mr., Lane says:
The commission may regulate
terstate traffic, whether by rail or
combined rail and water route, fro
point of receipt to point of deliver
but the commission in its control on
loreign commerce is limited to
regulation Of such traffic, whether
rail or by h combination of rail a
water carriers, from and to the poll
Of transshipment
The pooling of traffic by wa
carriers is plainly matter over VIII
The commission has no jurisdiction
"A rail carrier may control, and C
meet with line of steamships engae
In foreign commerce, with which
may interchange business as freely
with another rail carrier, and it n
quote a combination rate for
through movement, the agents of
'allroad company acting as the ag
OF the stna M hin oa.,anor.- L.. CO dcir,