Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-03-27
AGAINST ITSELF
Important Case Decided by the
Interstate Commission
CANNOT STOP POOLING

Trans atlantic Lines Declared to Be
Outside Its ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of Baltic Pooi' Sustained and
Complaint Dismissed
Washington, March 23.-A decision
has been promulgated by the Interstate
| commerce commission in what probably
is the most important case which the
commission for a long time has been
called upon to determine.
1t is that of the Cosmopolitan Ship
ping company, Il Philadelphia organ
ization chartered under the laws of New
Jersey, against the Hamburg American
Packet company. the North German
Lloyd Steamship company, the Wilson
| QIulD lines and the Scandinavian.
American lines.
The complainant's petition was filed
with the commission nearly year ago.
Some time subsequently the defendants
filed demurrer, attacking the iurisdic-
ton OF the interstate commerce COM
mission.
In effect. the commission decides
against itself 1t holds that it has no
authority over oceanic transportation
and thus 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 through
| lii1- of hot ;,,1o Il of
the United States and foreign ports. and
are thereby subject to the jurisdiction
of the commission: that the defendants
have made an arrangement for the pool
ing of east-bound export traffic moving
by rail to Atlantic ports, and thence by
steamship lines to points in Europe.
The prayer Of the petition is that the
commission declare the sO-called BAL
tie pool to be an Illegal pooling Of
freights under the interstate COM
merce act; that the monopoly of the
Hamburg Packet company be
declared unlawful. and that relief be
granted to the complainant, which also
is transatlantic steamship company
doing a freight business between Amer
lean and continental ports
The commission sustains the demur-
rcr and directs in an order that the COM
plant be dismissed
In his discussion of the reasons for
the commissions action in this i'm
portant proceeding. Commissioner Lane
sets out these conclusions:
The commission may regulate inter
state traffic, whether by rail or by a
combined rail-and water route from
point Of receipt TO point of delivery; but
the commission in its control over for
eign commerce is limited to the regula-
ton of such traffic, whether by railroad
or by a combination of rail and water
carriers, from and to the point of trans
shipment.
THE act provides no machinery by
which its provisions can be enforced as
TO transatlantic steamship lines; that
absence of such provision can be ex-
planned only by accepting the inter
probation that the commission has no
jurisdiction in the premises.
The pooling of traffic by water car
riers is plainly matter over which this
commission has no jurisdiction.
"a rail carrier may control, and con-
meet with, a line of steamships engaged
, in foreign commerce, with which it may
Interchange business as freely as with
another rail carrier. and it nay quote a
= combined rate for the through move
alent. the agent of the railroad company
acting as the agent of the steamship
n company in so doing"
In effect, through these conclusions
the commission decides that it has nc
= power to restrain. control or regulate
= he practices Of the transatlantic
:. steamship lines which appear as de
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