The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-08-25


the court, Judge KOhlsaat cOncurring,
while Judge Baker delivered a dissenting
opinion. The commission. thus defeated
in its first attempt TO bring about what
is alleged to be d new system. or prin-
ciple Of rate making. will, IL is asserted.
carry the case TO the supreme court of
the United States.
Many Railways Petition.
The parties which petitioned for the in
junction were the Rock Island. the Bur
lingtOn. the Milwaukee. the Northwest
ern and the Chicago Great Western rail-
ways. The Illinois Central, the Santa Fe,
the Alton, the Missouri Pacific and the
Frisco railroads and number of inn
pOrtant shipping interests interviewed as
accomplishments
THE question raised" said Judge Gross
cup, in rendering his opinion, sin its
larger aspect is not so much question
between the shippers and the railroads
rs between the commercial and manufac-
turing interests of Denver and Of the ter
TitOTy east Of the Mississippi river on the
one side, and the commercial and manu-
featuring interests Of the Missouri river
cities on the other
The railroads, in the Missouri river rate
case, sought to have the interstate COM
meTCe commission enjOined permanently
from enforcing an order of the commits
sion made June a. 1903, relating to joint
rates from the Atlantic SeabOard to Mis-
souri, river cities. This order sought to
Atlantic seaboard to the Missouri river
that were a reduction from the sums OF
the local rates
Western Roads Complain.
This. according to western roads. threw
the burden upon them. The joint rate now
in force from the Atlantic seabOard to the
Missouri river on first class matter is
s1-47 q hundred pounds The reduction
proposed By the commission was TO Sl.SS.
The through rate now in force on the
same matter from the Atlantic seabOard
60 the Mississippi river Is 81 cents, which,
i1lilE- re- e tlsFszs fsra fr2Hi tie Aslsaissip
rivsr TO the sSiss9ari fiser go Cents,
makes the same total. S147 per hundred.
as the joint rate from the Atlantic sea-
board to the Missouri river
Speaking of the power of the commits
sion. the opinion says. we are not pre-
pared to say that the commission has the
power to enter upon a plan looking to-
ward a system Of rates wherein the rates.
for longer and shorter hauis. will taper
downward according TO distance, provid-
ing such tapering is both cOmprehensively
and symmetrically applied-applied with
design Of carrying out what may be the
economic fact. that. on the whole, it is
worth something less per mile TO carry
Tor the long distances than the short dis
tances.
But it does not follow that power Of
that character includes power. by the use
Of differentials to divide artificially the
country into traffic zones tributary TO
given trade and manufacturing centers,
the commission, in such cases, having, as
a result. to predetermine what the trade
and manufacturing centers shall be: for
such power. vaster than any one body OF
men has heretofore exercised, though
wisely eXerted in specific instances, would
be putting in the hands of the commits
sion the great power Of life and death
over every trade and manufacturing cen
ter in the United States"
A Colossal Power.
The opinion holds that the commission.
in attempting to enforce its order, sought
to exercise this colossal power Judge
though the effect Of the order in the Mis-
souri, river rate case is to discriminate in
favor of Atlantic seabOard and the Mis-
souri, river cities, against the central
traffic territory, and in the Denver case
in favor Of Denver and the eastern Miss
issipp river country, against the Missouri
river cities, the discrimination is not 'un-
due within the meaning of the inter-
state commerce act; and that therefore
the courts have no power to enjOin. The
difficulty with this argument is that 1t
draws no distinction between the power
that the commission is actually given and
a power that the commission is usurp
ing"
Judge Grosscup's opinion concluded: 1T
must be understood, however, that these
two orders of the commission are en-
Joined solely because, in our judgment,
they lay upon the commerce and manu-
featuring Of the localities affected an arti-
fetal hand that congress never intended
should be put forth and therefore are out
side the power conferred upon the COM
mission by congress; for with the ques-
ton of a reduction in rate, or readjust-
ment OF rates from which such artificial
results have been eliminated We are not
now dealing