Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-14
HIGHEST COURT TO
PASS ON D.L..8 VS.
FIGHT IN JERSEY
Railroads Effort to Keep from
Connecting with Branch at
Summit on Calendar.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14.-Because so
many big railroad suits have been set
for argument next week before the
Supreme Court of the United States,
the designation of railroad week has
been given to the days Immediately
following February 81, when the court
after a three weeks recess.
All of the cases had been advanced
Tor an early hearing in view of the
Importance of the questions involved.
The Portland gateway case" ranks
high among these. 1t is a fight over
passenger routes and joint rates be-
tween the East and Puget Sound terri
tory, via Portland, Ore. The Northern
Pacific Railway Company has declined
to join the Union Pacific and other
reads in granting a through rate over
its line from Portland to Tacoma,
Wash, and other similar points from
the East, because Il prefers TO have
the traveller journey over its longer
stretch from st. Paul, Mimi, or even
from Billings, Mont Portland inter
ests are desirous of inducing the travel
to take the southern route. II Inter
state Commerce Commission issued
an order for the establishment of joint
rates through Portland. but the North
ern Pacific look the matter into the
courts on the ground that it already
maintained a satisfactory or reasonable
route, and that the commission had no
authority to make it join in another.
The lower court sustained this view of
the matter.
The attack on the constitutionality of
H. Nf.,.l Dn1yafa law IF 1907 nXfnR
the rate on local shipments of coal. is
set for hearing during the week. The
Northern Pacific. the Minneapolis, st.
Paul and Sault Ste. Marie and the
Great Northern were %enjoined from
charging a higher rate than that fixed
by law on shipments of this character.
Such action of the State courts is up
for review.
The question of whether the rail-
roads can be compelled by the inter-
state Commerce Commission to accord
to recording agencies car load rates
on a shipment, collected from separate
prospective shippers for the purpose OF
making up a car load of freight. or
whether the agencies are Disseminated
against by being charged less thar car
load rates, also comes up for argu-
ment at the same time. The matter is
raised in a suit brought by the Della
ware, Lackawanna and Western Rail
road Company to enjoin the Interstate
Commerce Commission from enforcing
an order in favor of a shipping agency.
The first ease on the list for argu-
ment next Monday involves the ques-
ton as to whether or not the Inter
state Commerce Commission a COM
pei a railroad engaged in interstate
to grant the privilege of n
physical connection with a branch rail-
road. The Circuit Court for the south
ern district of New York has held that
while Congress may have intended,
when it passed the original interstate
act. to give "braneh rail-
roads the right to, complain to the
commission when such a request was
refused them, as well as to an indl-
vidual who desired to have a switch
installed, yet the act did not state so.
The Interstate Commerce Commission
was ~endeavoring to require the Della
ware, Lackawanna and Western Rail-
road Company to grant a connection
with the Railway Valley Railroad
Company at Summit, N. j. The former
railroad company protested on he
ground that such would interfere with
their Communication business to New
York.