The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-25
HEPBURN LAW IS
 UPHELD BY COURT Decision Given Affecting Stan
 dard Oil Case ELKINS ACT NOT REPEALED Justice White Renders Decision m Case of Great Northern Railroad
 Company in Which the
 Railroad Loses.
ELKINS ACT NOT REPEALED

Washington, February 24-The question whether the railroad rate law known as the Hepburn act repeals section l ot the Elkins act prohibiting rebates by ral- roads. was involved in the case of the Great Northern Railroad company vs. the United States, which was decided today by the supreme court of the United States against the railroad company and against the contention of such repeal.
 The case was instituted in the United States district court for the district or Minnesota, which court fined the railroad s1OOO each for fifteen violations of the hrsr section of the Ell1ns law.
 Justice White said that the effect of the Hepburn law in repeating the Elkins act must be considered in the light of section 1s. revised statutes, which provides that the repeal of any statute shall not have the effect of releasing any penalty or ha- bility incurred under the statute repealed. He said it was clear that the mere re- peal of conflicting laws is in no way re- pugnant to that statute and there could be no contention that standing alone the act had the result of destroying the effect of section 13.
 Quoting section 17 of the Hepburn act, which provides that the act shall not at- feet leases pending in the courts" Jus tice White said:
 .sThe difficulty of construction, if any, arises from the words following the gen eral repeating clause; But the amend naents herein provided for shall not areet causes now pending in the courts of tho Tinted States. but such causes shall be prosecuted to conclusion in the manner heretofore provided by law Ihese words. we think, do not expressly or py fair implication, conflict with the general rule established by section B, revised sta 1htes, since by their very terms they are concerned with the application to pro- ceedings pending in the courts of the United States of the methods of proceed llre created by the Hepburn law
 Any other construction would neces- sitate expunging the words shall be pros ecuted to a conclusion in the manner here tofore provided by law This follows, because if it were to be held that the in- terest and object of the lawmaker in deal ing with cases pending in the courts ot the United States was solely to depart from all but such pending cases from the general rule of revised statutes (seetion 13), then the privision as to future pro- ceedings would be unnecessary because the unrepealed as well as the newly en- acted remedies would be applicable, as far as pertinent to such pending causes. The provision commanding that the new remedies should not be applicable to causes then pending in the courts of the United States gives significance to the whole clause and serves to make clear the fact that legislative mind was concerned with the confusion or uncertainty which might be begotten from applying the new remedies to causes then pending in the courts and demonstrates therefore that this subject and this subject alone was the matter with which the provision in question was intended to deal. In other words, when the object contemplated by the provision is accurately fixed the subject is freed from difficulty and not only the letter but the spirit of the pro- vision becomes clear; that is to say it but nanifests the purpose of Congress to leave cases pending in the courts to be prosecuted under the prior remedies, thus causing the new remedies created to be applicable to all controversies not at the time of the passage of the act pending in the courts