The Washington herald., 1911-12-06
SPIRITED
COMMERCE COURT
Senator Poindexter Would
Abolish New Body.
INTRODUCES BILL IN SENATE
Diatribe by Washington SOIOn
Comes as Direct Result of Recent
and short Haul Decision of Inter-
state Commerce Commission.

When the gong sounded in the Senate
for the introduction OF bills, the inter
mountain country was heard from
, through Senator Miles Poindexter, of
Washington, who introduced a bill to
abolish. the United States Commerce
Court. 1t was the first bill offered. Ever
since the Commerce Court enjoined the
Interstate Commerce Commission from
enforcing its order made pursuant to the
| long and short haul clause in the last
railway act. the commercial bodies of
several of the intermountain cities,
notably Spokane, which is the home of
Senator PoindeXter. have been calling
| loudly for the determination of the court
In presenting his bill the Senator from
Washington made spirited attack on
the new tribunal. Formerly a judge of
the Circuit Court in his State, the Sem
ator, who as an insurgent is already on
record in favor of the recall OF the
judiciary by the people. avowed himself
in favor of enforcing the recall by legis-
lative mandate.
Destroyed CommIEsIon'S Efforts.
The Commerce Court he said, lin
every important case where the petition
was filed by a railroad company has de-
stroyed the effectiveness of this COM
mission.
The Spokane case" continued the
Senator, referring to the case involving
the long and short haul, which brought
the Commerce Court into action, was
carefully considered by the commission
for years. Conclusions were tested by
application to actual business before or
dered into effect The order in this case
remedied in part an egresious injustice
and rank discrimination. The railroads
have for years collected from the people
of the interior. and especially of the
Rocky Mountain States millions of dol
lars for paper transportation which had
no existence in fact The order of the
Commerce Commission would, in large
measure. have prevented this abuse in
the future. And yet the raw Commerce
Court. without special experience, on a
brief hearing, enjoins this carefully con-
sidered and thoroughly tested order.
Based on False Assumption.
AS an example of mistaken premises
and erroneous deductions. the opinion of
the Commerce Court in this case is eyre
gious and conspicuous. 1t proceeds upon
the false assumption that the order OF
the commission did not fix a certain and
definite rate to be charged. The order
fixed a certain proportion of the rates
now in effect, which is a fixed and def
mite rate. The court argues that the
commission exceeded its authority in
making this order general, so that the
charge for the short haul shall exceed
only by a certain percentage the charge
for the long haul, both as to the sched-
ules now in force and any to be hereafter
established. Clearly and manifestly the
commission has the authority to do this,
and it is it's duty to do this under the
long and short haul clause Of the inter
state commerce act.
Given no Discretion.
This law gives authority to the COM
mission to determine when and to what
extent there may be a greater charge
for the short haul than for the long haul
1t is an administrative function, dele
gated expressly to the commission for
carrying into effect a legislative policy
thereby declared. 1t is not a judicial
function. The Commerce Court is given
no authority to exercise it's discretion or
it's reason in the matter.
Yet the conduct of this newly estab-
lished court in the Chicago stock yard
case, in the New York lighterage case,
in the California lemon case. in the Nash
vile grain case, in the San Francisco
and Los Angeles switching cases, and
in the Spokane short haul case is to as
sumo as a judicial function the entire
legislative and administrative power Of
the nation in the regulation of railroad
rates and service
Its effect is to destroy absolutely the
force Of the long and short haul clause
passed by the Sixty-first Congress, as
we'll as the power of the Commerce Com
mission to perform its functions fixed by
Congress under This law. 1t renders per-
feCtIy futile the advance OF twenty years
in governmental railroad control. The
court is entirely superf1uous. AS at pres
ent constituted it has grossly exceeded
its authority, and in the very nature of
its relations to the Interstate Commerce
Commission it will be constantly prone to
arrogate to itself functions which do not
belong to it, which are not judicial, and
which can never be properly exercised
by judicial tribunal 1t should be at
once abolished"