The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-06-07
RAILROADS RESTRAINED
FROM RAISING FREIGHTS
Government Obtains Injunction
Against Western Systems.
ILLEGAL CONSPIRACY ALLEGED
Action Taken Under Sherman Act as
Result of Representations Made
by Shippers to the Attorney
General at Washington, d. G.

Hannibal, Mo.-Twenty-fve West
ern railroads were restrained by Uni
ted States District Judge David P.
Dyer from enforcing or making a
general advance in Interstate freight
rates. The Injunction was granted
on petition filed by the Government
on the allegations that the advances
in rates were agreed upon by the de-
PENDANTS without competition and in
violation of the Sherman act.
The petition on which the injunc-
! ton was issued was presented to
Judge Dyer by Edwin P. Grosvenor,
of Washington, D. c., special assist
ant to the Acknowledgement, and
Frederick N. Judson, of st. Louis,
acting as special counsel. 1t was
signed by Attorney-General Wicker
sham, William S. Kenyon, assistant to
the Attorney General, and Charles A.
Houts, United States Attorney.
The petition was filed in the United
States Circuit Court in st. Louis, and
was brought here by Judson and
Grosvenor to present to Judge Dyer,
who was holding session of the Uni
ted States Circuit Court 1t says that
unless such restraining order be is
sued the proposed advances will be-
come effective to the grave harm and
injury of the people Of the United
States.
The roads restrained from increas-
ing their freight rates are the Mis-
souri, Pacific; Chicago and Northwest
ern; Chicago, Rock Island and Pa
o;fio. Hhfoa0o D..y1ir7 o-fny, crI O,,;,,
cy; Wabash Chicago, Milwaukee and
and Alton; Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe; Chicago Great Western;
Missouri, Kansas and Texas; St.
Louis and San Francisco; Quincy,
Omaha and Kansas City; St. Paul and
Des Moines; Minneapolis and ST.
Louis; Iowa Central; Fort Dodge,
Des Moines and Southern; Chicago,
st. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha;
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern; Chicago,
Peoria and st. Louis; Chicago. Mil
yankee and Gary; Minneapolis, ST.
Paul and Sault Ste. Marie; Kansas
City Southern; Chicago, Indiana and
Southern and the Western Trunk
Line Committee.
The restraining order was issued
on the statement of the counsel for
the Government that they would i'm
mediately, by direction of the Attor-
ney-General, file an expediting certifi-
cate under the act of February IL,
1908, providing for speedy deter
mination of the issues in contention.
Free of legal verbiage, the petition
is to this effect: That the defendants
at all times are common carriers of
all kinds of interstate freight; that
the defendants are the owners and
controllers of the respective lines of
railroads; that each defendant is in
dependent of the lines of railroad OPP
Grated by the other defendants.
Generally speaking, the lines are
the only ones for the transportation
of freight and passenger traffic for
the States Of Missouri, Iowa, Mime
sofa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Da-
kota, North Dakota, Wyoming and
parts of Montana, and Michigan, Wis
consin, Illinois, Indiana and Tennes-
see.
They furnish the only means OF
communication by railroad between
the inhabitants of the States, and
they have entered into unlawful com.
binations and conspiracy to increase
freight rates.