The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-07-11
.RUJI ING IS
REVERSED.
COURT SAYS iNTERsTATE 90.
MERGE COMMISSION WAS
IN ERROR.
Reduced Rate for Switching To a..
From Chicago Stock Yards Held ).
BE UnreasonabIy Low as Fx.d.,
commission-Law in the Matt.
Elucidated.

st. Paul, MIMI, jury 6.-Judges s.,
born, Hook and Adams, in the ITnitas
States court, have rendered an intos
locutory decree whereby thew tom
porarily suspend and enjoin the on
forcement of the order of the intor
state commerce commission, which 70
duced the charge of certain railroad,
for the transfer of livestock from thoin
terminals in Chicago to the Union
stock yards from 81 to 81 per car
Judge Adams delivered the opinion ~
the court. The court held:
The terminal charges for the franc
portation of these cars from the for.
minals OF the railroads to the stool
yards was required by the acts of CON.
gress to be separately scheduled bv
the railroad companies, and they com.
piled with those acts and scheduled
this charge separately.
Former Rate Reasonable.
"The terminal charge of 81 per car
for transferring the cars over the
tracks of the Union Stock Yards Com.
pany to the stock yards and returning
the same to complainant roads was
reasonable charge. A reduction of il
to 81 per car made it unreasonable
low. The interstate commerce com.
mission made this charge unreasona-
bly, low because the rates of the rail.
road companies ON their own roads
and their through rates, composed of
the rates on their own road and ter
minal charge Of ST.. were, in their
opinion, unreasonably high. This was
an error of law. Under the acts of
congress which require segregation of
the question the justice and reasona-
bleness of such segregated rate must
be determined by itself.
Under the acts of congress the fed
eral courts have jurisdiction to set
aside or suspend an order of the in
terstate commerce commission which
results from misconception and mis-
application of the law to concede un-
disputed facts. It is not indispensable
to the correction by the federal court
of an error of law into which the COM
mission has fallen, whereby specific
rate is made unreasonably low, that
the aggressive party should prove that
the effect of this unreasonably low
rate will make it's entire business un-
profitable. It is enough that the re-
duced rate is unjust and unreasonable
Order Suspended.
"The order of the interstate COM
merce commission, whereby the charge
for the transfer Of livestock from the
terminals Of the railroad companies in
Chicago over the tracks of the Union
Stock Yards Company to the stock
yards is reduced from 81 per car to
81 per car, must be suspended and its
enforcement enjoined until the final
decision of the court or the further
order of the court"
The action was brought in the Unit
ed States district court by Receivers
Smith and Stickney, of the Chicago
Great Western, and the Chicago, Mil
waukee and st. Paul, the Chicago and
Alton, Rock Island and Santa Fe com
panies were parties to the suit. Re-
ceivers Stickney and Smith reside
here and the Hepburn and Sherman
antitrust laws, under which the &C
ton was brought, leave it optional to
bring cases in any district where one
Oh the compliments resides. Immedi-
ately after action was begun, United
States Attorney General Bonaparte
caused to be filed certificate requir-
ing the court to speed the case and
requiring at least three circuit judges
to hear and try it. The case was ar
gued May % last, and some of the
most prominent railroad attorneys Of
the country took part in the argument
or were present.
FOUR DECLARE in FAVOR OF
-s