The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-23
AUTHORITY OF
COMMISSION
I IS LIMITED
Land Robbers Can Be Held
Accountable for Their
MiSdeedS.
COMM VERGE AT MERCY
OF DEEP SEA PIRATES
INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT
DECISION RENDERED IN CASE
OF IMPORTING COMPANY.

Washington, March ga decision
was promulgated today by the inter-
state~commerce commission in one of
the most important cases it has been
called upon TO determine for some
time. 1t is that of the Cosmopolitan
Importing company, a Philadelphia
Organization chartered under the laws
1ef New Jersey, against the Hamburg
American Packet company; the North
German-LlOyd Steamship company,
the Wilson (HulD lines and the Scan
dinavian-AmeTican lines.
The complainants' petition was flied
with the commission nearly year
ago. Some time subsequently the de-
PENDANTS filed a demurrer attacking
the Jurisdiction of the interstate COM
merce commission. Oral arguments
on the demurrer were heard by the
commission. Ward w. Pearson appear
ing for the Cosmopolitan company,
and Former Senator John c. Spoooner,
Judge William G. ChOate and Har-
rington Putnam for the defendants .
Opinion by Lane.
The opinion i'm the case. which is
very VOluminous, was prepared by
Commissioner F'ranklin-K. Lane.
In brief and in effect, the commission
decides against itself. 1t holds that it
4 has no authority over oceanic trans
SportatiOn, and thus determines the
case adversely to the contention Of The
complainant.
In this case the complainant alleged
that the defendant steamship compa-
MES transport traffic through bills of
landing between inland points of the
United States and foreign ports and
are thereby subject TO the jurisdiction
Ipf the commission. that the defend
fAnts have made an arrangement for
the pooling of eastbOund export traffic
maintained by rail to Atlantic ports
and thence by steamship lines 20
points in Denmark, Sweden. Norway.
Finland and German points in the Bal
tic; that this so-called Baltic pool
arbitrarily determines the ultimate
rates from such inland points of tue
United States TO such foreign ports Via
the north Atlantic ports; and that the
Hamburg American Packet company
maintains a monopoly of WestbouQd
and eastbound traffic forwarded on
local and on through bills of 'lading
between Germany and other CONT
the United States. The prayer of the !
petition is that the commission de-
clare the Baltic pool" TO be an illegal |
1SoOling of freights under the inter-
ttate commerce commission act; that
the monopoly of the Hamburg Ameri- !
can Packet company to declared I'M /
lawful and that relief be granted 10 /
the complainant which also is a
transatlantic steamship company
doing a freight business between |
American and continental ports.
Demurrer of Defendants.
To this complaint the defendants de- /
INJURED on the ground. first, that tile /
commission has no jurisdiction on the /
subject matter or power TO proceed /
against the defendants; end, second, |
that the complaint sets forth no mat
ter which is cognizable by the COM
mission or which it has been given
authority to remedy
The commission sustains the demur- /
ger and directs in an order that the
complaint be dismissed.
IN his discussion of the reasons for
the commissions action Commissioner
Lane sets out these conclusions:
This commission has no Jurisdiction
as to shipments moving from ports Of
the United States to a foreign country
not adjacent when such shipments are
not carried by rail or by rail and water
from an inland point or origin to a
port of transshipment An inland
movement of export or import traffic /
taching of jurisdiction.
The commission may regulate IN
terstate traffic. whether by rail or bv /
combined rail and water route. from
point of receipt to point of delivery.
but the commission in its control over
foreign commerce is limited to the
regulation of such traffic. whether bv
railroad or by a combination Of rail h
an1 water carriers, from and TO the
pAint of transshipment
f-The pooling of traffic by water car
riers is plainly a matter over which
this commission has no Jurisdiction.
"A rail carrier may control and
connect with q line of steamships en-
gagged In foreign commerce. with 1
which 1t may interchange business as
freely as with another rail carrier. and
ii may quote combined rate for the D
through movement. the agent of the
railroad company acting as the agent 4
Continued on Page 5.