The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1911-07-15

mission
1T is further ordered that all of the
express companies doing business In
Indiana be and hereby are made par
ties to the proceedings;
1T is further ordered that hearing
shall be held in room SO, statehouse, on
the third day of August. 1911. and shall
continue until disposed of. and that the
secretary of the commission cause a
certified copy of this order TO be served
on said express companies twenty days
before the date OF such hearing
| This is the second attempt of the
commission to cause a general produc-
ton on all express rates between points
within the state. The rst attempt was
made in the autumn of 1907. when the
commission began an Exhaustive inquiry
into epress rates. the first general in
quiry OF such nature ever attempted by
any commission in the county. The in
quiry extended over several months.
and March 80, 1905, the commission
ISSUED order reducing the rates on
all shipments from 15 to 20 percent.
The express companies took an appeal
to the United States district court
where Judge A. B. Anderson set aside
the order holding that the commission
had not statutory power to issue such
,order. holding that the statute on which
the commission acted did not confer the
authority which the commission assum-
ed to exercise.
With Judge Anderson's finding as a
basis, the commission set about to have
the general. assembly amend the law So
as to give the commission the authority
to initiate rate actions.
The inquiry to be stated soon will be
similar largely. TO the inquiry on which
the order of 1908 was based. and much
of the testimony obtained at that time
, concerning the history. organization
capitalization, etc. of the express COM
panies represented in this state will be
used.
The commission found that the ex-
press business In Indiana amounted to
about ST. 00o 900 year. The rate reduc-
ton proposed would have saved the
shippers from $4,000 to 100000 q
) wear. The commission received little
help from the defendant companies. II
: was set out in the nding on which the
: order was based. and was compelled I,
: unearth the evidence itself Under ths
new law the commission is assumed u
have the right to make reduction Il
1.-THE rates, and 1t now devoives on tn,
defendant companies to show that thu
: finding OF the commission is unjust OF
), unreasonable.
!; The former inquiry. on going deel
|, into the history of the express compan.
}. organizations. found that very littl'
money had actually been put into tn
: business as compared with the amour
:; taken out. Most of the capital stock
5, the commission set out was found {
4, be water.
W The former action Involved tn
II American, wells-Fargo, Adams, Unite
: States, Pacific, Southern and Souther
II Indiana, all that operated in Indiana a
:; that time. The current report of tn
state board of ia commissioners show
!; that these companies, except the South
ern Indiana to be operating now in tn
IS state, to which is added the Nations
Is Express Company. 1t is noted tina
where the railroad commission foun
o. the earnings of the express companie
/ to be about s1,00o.ooo a year, the ia
hoard has assessed the companies, II
c. Guiding the National at total of 81
q. s3o.657. the National being assesse
s. ls7o5o3 The entire railroad commits
sion will sit at the hearing.
d. The opinion in the 1907 case ws
q written by Chairman Wood, now chat
m man of the commission. and was col
a. Toured In by Commissioners Hunt an
IS nous finding of the commission. TT
r opinion included comparisons with liz
DC business in Great Britain and in STATE
K. of the union. 1t was, perhaps. the fir
d. formal investigation of the expire.
n companies and 1T has beer sought f.
by commissions of other states, inclut
b, ing the Massachusetts, and Canada
h commissions, and threw a great an din
sc structive light on the business of e,
er press companies. The Canadian con
e. mission, in its findings, followed I'll
10, findings of the Indiana commission, al
er made express rates in accordance wit
ct the rulings fixed by the Indiana Con
te. mission, especially prescribing ii
e; charge might be more where the pi,