The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1911-09-21
To Regulate Railroad Freight
and Passenger Trans
portation.

- 1880 " SCNSA ACA2s
The question as to the right to
regulate within their limits the
rates of transportation of railroad
companies engaged in interstate
commerce, which is now pending be-
fore the supreme court of the
United States for decision is, in my
opinion, one of the most important,
questions with which that court has
had to deal in recent years; for
the question of transportation is the
most important question of com
merce and, in fact, of civilization it
self.
THE success or failure of ali eff
forts for gain depends upon the car
rying of that which is produced by
human labor from the place where
it is of little or no value to a place
where It is of value sufficient to
compensate for the cost of its pro-
duction Approximately one-third
of the cost of everything we buy
represents the expense of transpor-
tation, and this question enters as
a controlling influence into the sue
cess or failure of every single hui
man life.
"Manifestly, it is through the rail-
roads of the country that the life
blood of its commerce flows. And
those who have the power, and by
virtue OF the power exercise the
privilege of controlling the means
and determining the rates of trans
portation, have the power and exer-
else the privilege of levying tribute
upon labor and the frugality of the
people whom they serve. And the
experience of the American people
has shown that it cannot be safely
left to those who control the opera
tion of these great enterprises to fix
the rates OF transportation free from
the regulation of effective competi-
ton or the superior authority of
governmental control.
The right of the state to regulate
the transportation in interstate
commerce of railroads engaged in
Interstate commerce. is now vigor-
ously denied, for the reason that it
is claimed that the fixing of rates
in interstate commerce OF necessity
determines or, at least, directly af-
fects the rates of transportation in
interstate commerce. This conten-
ton has but recently been sustained
by the United States circuit court
for the District of Minnesota, in a
decision known as the Minnesota
Rate cases.
"A number of cases involving the
reasonableness. and, therefore. the
constitutionality of the acts of the
several states, or orders of their
boards of railroad commissioners,
fixing maximum rates for passenger
and freight traffic, were pending be-
fore the supreme court of the
United States at the time this de,
cislon was rendered. In all of these
cases the same contention had been
made in the circuit court in advance
and sustained by Judge Sanborn in
the Minnesota Rate cases. Follow
ing the decision of Judge Sanborn,
the submission of these cases pend
ing in the supreme court of the
United States, which had already
been argued and submitted, was set
aside, and they were set down again
for argument at the October term
of that court. Whether the decision
in the Minnesota Rate cases was the
cause of this action Of the supreme
court, is, of course, only a matter
of conjecture. But during the COM
ling term of the supreme court, there
will be heard cases arising out of
controversies between a number of
the states and the railroads doing
business therein as to the constitu-
tionality of maximum freight and
passenger rate laws, in each of
which the contention will doubtless
be vigorously urged that the laws
of these states or the orders OF their
boards of railroad commissioners
arc unconstitutional, because by fix
ing rates for transportation within
the states, interstate commerce is
directly burdened and affected.
"The Importance and the far
reaching effect of the decision that
will be rendered upon this point can
hardly be over-estimated If the
right of regulation of the rates OF
transportation in intra-state com
merce shall be denied the several
states. then there will be enjoyed
rby the railroad companies the right
to FIX Interstate rates o. transporta-
ton free from any supervision Of
regulation And they will thus be