Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-23
CAN'T RULE OCEAN CARRIERS
INTERSTATE COMMISSION CON-
FESSES LACK OF POWER.
Decides Against Itself in Complaint
Againt the baltic
Pool"

The interstate commerce commission has
no power to declare the Baltic pool
the transatlantic steamship combine-an
illegal pooling of freights under the law,
nor has it jurisdiction over ocean car
riers even though they transport prop
erty which is billed through to inland
American points. thus at the last coming
under the interstate law. is the gist of
decision of the interstate commerce COM
mission Just made public. The opinion is
rendered by Commissioner Franklin K.
Lane.
Although the decision of the commission
is virtually against itself, the technical
complainant is the Cosmopolitan Shipping
COMPANY Philadelphia organization
with a New Jersey charter. trading to
northern European ports The defendants
are members of the so-cailed Baltic pool
the Hamburg-American Packet Company,
the North German Lloyd Steamship Com
pany, the Wilson and the Scandinavian
American lines.
Jurisdiction Questioned.
The compliments petition was filed
with the commission nearly a year ago.
Some time subsequently the defendants
filed demurrer. attacking the jurisdic-
ton of the interstate commerce commits
sion. Oral arguments on the demurrer
were heard by the commission. Ward w.
PierSon appearing for the Cosmopolitan
Company, and former Senator John L:
Spooner. Judge William &. Choate and
Harrington Putnam for the de1endahts'
The oral arguments were followed by eX-
tensive briefs which the commission mas
had under consideration for several weeks.
In this case the complainant alleged
that the defendant steamship companies
transport traffic. under through bills of
lading between inland points of the
United States and foreign ports and are
thereby subject to the jurisdiction OF the
commissions: that the defendants nave
made an arrangement for the pooling OF
eastbound export traffic moving by rail
to Atlantic ports and thence by steamship
lines to points in Denmark. Sweden, Nor
way, Finland and German points on the
Baltic; that this sO-called Baltic DooI !
arbitrarily determines the ultimate rates
from such inland points of the United
States to such foreign ports via the North
Atlantic ports, and that the Hamburg
American Packet Company maintains
monopoly of westbound and eastbound
traffic forwarded on local and on through
bills of lading between Germany and
other continental countries and inland
cities of the United States. The prayer
of the petition is that the commission de-
clare the Baltic pool to be an illegal
pooling of freights under the interstate
commerce act, that the monopoly of the
Hamburg-American Packet Company be
declared unlawful and that relief be
granted to the complainant, which also
is transatlantic steamship company do
ing a freight business between American
and continental ports.
To this complaint the defendants de-
INJURED. en- the ground, first that the
commission has no jurisdiction of the sub
ject matter or power to proceed against
the defendants, and, second, that the
complaint sets forth no matter which is
cognizahle by the commission or which II
has been given authority to remedy