Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-12-20
INTERSTATE COMMERCE
Continued from page ~


from New York to San Francisco be
low which the rail line shall not go
for it has no authority to fix q mini
mum rate: There is. therefore, nc
way In which it can prevent discrim
nation by the fixing of an absolute
rate at San Francisco and another
absolute rate at Reno. It can only
accomplish this purpose by prescrib
ing the difference which may properly
exist owing to the effect of this com
petition and allowing the carrier to
make whatever rate it sees fit to
the more distant point so long as 1t
observes this differential."
The report indicates the desire OF
shippers from points in the interior
of the country to obtain the same
rates to the Pacific coast that are
accorded by the railroads to their
competitors on the Atlantic seaboard
The rates are made the same by the
trans-continental lines on the ground
Of market competition.
ITO justify their rates from coast
to coast" says the report, "the rail.
roads advance water competition, and
to justify the same rates from in.
terror points to Pacific coast points
they rely on market competition, un-
der which they give lower rates to
all the interior cities two.thirds OF
the way across the continent to the
same coast cities than to inter-moun-
tain points, This is the kind OF dis
elimination the commission has at
tempted to minimize.'
While the commission recognizes the
full effect of water competition upon
the rail rates it says, I'VE have the
frank admission of the railroad mana
gers that they have subsidized or
bought some of the steamship lines
and terrorized others until they can
make the boast that the effect of
the sea has been 'neutralized.'
"A railroad policy of rate making
must certainly be subject to limita-
tons of the law, or else there is no
law. To say that there is long-and-
short-haul section under which car
rier may not charge more for the
shorter than for the longer haul, but
that the railroads may, to any extent
they please, carry out policy of blank
citing the country for the benefit of
the farther points and not the nearer
points, is to say that railroad may,
without restraint, effect ruinous dis
elimination and give no justification
save it's own determination or whim.
There can be no regulation of rates
as to discrimination or preference
under such Interpretation of the law.
"The commerce court intimates that
the mistake of the commission is in
having attempted to fix relation of
rates instead of establishing reason
able rates; but, as we have already
pointed out, there is no way in
which the discrimination found to
exist in these tariffs can be prevented
except by fixing a dffferential, since
we have no power to establish an alb
solute rate or fix minimum charge
below which the carrier is not free
to 60.
I'VE feel strongly that water com.
petition even when the widest reas-
enable latitude is given to the effect
Of market competition, cannot by any
justify higher rate from
Omaha to Reno than from Omaha to |
San Cranr1sco; from St. Paul 70 |
Spokane than from st. Paul to Seattle.
Upon the other hand, it should be
noted that the opening Of the Panama !