The San Francisco call., 1908-10-25
RATE LAW SCORNfD
BY PACIFIC MAIL
Attorney Peter F. Dunno, for
Steamship Company, Denies ;
Commissions jurisdiction
Demurrer to Making Rebate In
dictment Against Hartman
Companies Argued

Attorney Peter f. Dunno, appearing
in what he adroitly called an i'm
preston case" before Judge de Haven
in the United States district court yes
terday morning, sought during a two
hour argument to create the judicial
Impression and precedent that the Pa
cific Mail steamship company or any
ocean carrier engaged in foreign COM
merce is not amenable to the regula-
tions of the interstate commerce COM
mission.
Not any more than is the United
Railroads" Dunno explained.
One hundred and sixteen counts, con-
tained in two indictments against the
Pacific Mail and the Southern Pacific
companies, are pending in the courts,
and Dunno appeared for the Hartman
interests in argument on demurrer TO
set aside the indictments He was at
tended in court by Attorney Durbrow
Of his Office and Charles Heggerty of
the firm of Knight & Heggerty, attor-
neys for the Pacific Mail
The indictments will be defended
Wednesday morning next by Assistant
United States Attorney George Clark
United States Attorney Robert T.
Devlin was also in court yesterday for
the government
The indictments were brought by the
federal grand jury in September. 1907,
and accuse the Pacific Mail company
and the Southern Pacific company OF
carrying for less than the published
rate a consignment of mating from
Kobe, Japan, on the steamship Mon
golia TO San Francisco and later 10
Chicago and Columbus, o.
BALTIC POOL CASE CITED
The substance of Dunne's objections
TO the indictments were that an ocean
currier is not subject to the interstate
commerce commission act, he citing the
Baltic pool case in support OF his posi-
tion. and, secondly, that as the Pacific
Mail company was an ocean carrier
and therefore not controlled by the
Interstate commerce commission act.
il could not legally be held responsible
for a Joint and continuous rate from
Kobe Japan. to Chicago or Columbus
made with the Southern Pacific and
published by the interstate commerce
commission.
The Pacific Nail is accused" Dunno
said. of accepting the shipment of
mating at q rate less than the joint
through rate. and the Southern Paci1c
is accused of moving the mating at a
Joint. through, unitary, indivisible rate
less than that published. third
charge is that the Southern Pacific ac-
cepted tire shipment at less than the
5oint rate from San Francisco to Chi
cago The question is whether the Pa
cifc Nail can be proceeded against by
the interstate commerce commission
This is the first time the court has had
10 PASS on the question of whether or
not q water carrier is subject to the
acts of the Interstate commerce COM
mission. We contend that IL is not.
r The interstate commerce commits
sion Dunno continued. lis a body of
respectable men who have shown no
tendency TO shrink their own jurisdic-
tiop." Then he contended that in the
Baltic pool case, a suit involving the
rights Of the Nerth German Lloyd, the
urg-American and other Atlantic
lines. they were permitted without
hfnarance to form pools for the di-
vision and diversion Of freight among
various Atlantic seaboard ports Of
America.
POINTING TO SOCIALISM
That pool shows the trend of the
times toward consolidation" Dunno de-
clared. toward combination. II fore
prognosticates," he insisted with a
prodigality of prefix, cit foreprognosti-
Gates the time when the socialist we
now make fun of viii be an important
factor in politics"
Returning TO the indictments. Dunno
said that the interstate commerce COM
mission only had jurisdiction over the
inland portion of the haul. He men,
toned the import rate case" as sus-
tanning that point. He said that when
the Pacific Mail company filed its joint,
through, unitary tariffs, it did so re-
serving all rights TO question the juris-
diction of the commission and opposing
that jurisdiction.
There can be no such thing, as a
joint. through rate between q carrier
subject to an act and a carrier not
subject 10 an act" the attorney argued.
The Pacific Mail is not subject TO the
interstate commerce commission any
more than is the United Railroads. The
clOven hoof appears on the first page
of the Indictment"