The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1909-05-04
Appellate Court Reverses District
Judge ON Santa Fe Relating
Case That Was Tried
Mt Los Angeles.
IMPOSED BIG FINE
Higher Court Rules That Trial Judge
Erred in Refusing to Permit Testi-
mOny Showing That Shipments
Were for Below Weight and That
Charges Were for Actual Freight.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3.--Holding
that the trial court was in error in
having stricken from the record GER
tain testimony tending to show the
intent of the railroad company in ac-
cepting a lower rate than that fixed
by it's freight tariff on file with the
Interstate Commerce commission, the
United States circuit court of appeals
reversed today the decision of the
district court at Los Angeles in the
case of the United States against the
Santa Fe Railroad company wherein
the company was found guilty on &c
counts of rebating on shipments of
lime between Nelson, Ariz, and Los
Angeles, Cal, and fined $330,000. The
case was remanded for a new trial.
The appeal was heard by Judges Gill
bert, Ross and Morrow:
Following an analysis of the argu-
ment of the appellant as to the suf-
ficiency of the indictment under
which trial was had, the opinion
handed down today expresses the de-
cision of the appellate justices that
the trial court properly rejected the
demurrer, although a slight diver
gence from the wording Of the stat
utes is noted.
The testimony of F. S. Gregson,
freight agent of the Santa Fe, who
was put on the stand by the defend
ant, but whose evidence was stricken
out on motion of the prosecution, is
recounted. Gregson testified that he
had been satisfied by the shippers
that the full 100000 pounds, constitut-
ing a carload under the company's
tariffs, had been placed in the cars;
but that the railroad scales at the
point of delivery had shown a con-
siderable loss in transit. On this
showing, he said, the company had
agreed to accept payment from the
shipper, the Grand Canyon Lime and
Cement company, of Arizona, for the
amount actually delivered at the legal
carload rate of $3.50 per 100 pounds.
This evidence was stricken out of
the record and in his instructions
Trial Judge Welborn withdrew it
from the attention of the jurors.
The appellate court holds that in
as much as the freight tariff provid-
ed that shipper shall pay for all
n contained in
car and that since the full amount
necessary to obtain a carload rate
was shipped in each instance, the trial
court erred in not allowing this testi'
mony to go before the jury.
LOS ANGELES, Cal, May 3.-The
Santa Fe Railroad company was finet
$3.50 900 on Nov. Z, 1907, for violating
the Elkins law, by Judge Oliver Wei
born of the United States distric
court. The railroad company was in
dicted for giving rebates to the Crane
Canyon Lime and Cement company o
Arizona, on shipments of lime from
Nelson, Ariz., to this city. The al
legged rebates occurred between May
1905, and July, 1906, and ranged il
amounts from 35 cents to $14,O5. TIL
total of the alleged rebates was les
than $500.
The jury in Judge Welborn's cour
found the company guilty on &C count
upon which a fine might have bee
imposed of from $1,000 to 100000 o
each count. The company appealed
District Attorney Lawton, now as
sistant attorney general in the inte
rior department at Washington
fought the case for the government
Thomas J. Norton, now Of the SAINT
Fe Chicago office, defended the CON
panv,