Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-01-06
indicted Steamship Cos.
So Consider Govt. Charge.
Defendants Claim Action Brought
10 Determine Company Rights.
Government Counsel Assert Serious
Charges and llIegalities.

New YorN. Jan. 5.-Iu q reilly In the
complaint fled YESTERDAY BY the fed
yrai government against u of the prn-
ciraI transatlantic steamship lines
and - of their officers. Vice Prcsiden,
p. \. :. Franklin ol the lnternatioIa
Mercantile Marine Co, one of the de-
PENDANTS. intimated today that the suit
was a friendly one. in the nature of an
act il equity, and brought to deter
mine what rights the companies mad III
cooperating TO regulate their business.
THE suit speaks for ITSELF said
District Attorney Wise tonight. when
shown MIR. Franklins reply, ''and was
brought by the government in all S.
riouSneSS to obtain the relief asked
for in the petition In this petition. the
government seeks an order from the
United states circuit court of appeals
restraining the defendants from enter
ing at or clearing their vessels from
any American port. while they remain
in an alleged illegal agreement to re-
strain trade known as the Atlantic
conference, and entered into at London
on Feb. 3. 1905,
Mr.. Franklin's statement follows in
part
Last spring the government began
an investigation ana the lines inform
ed the United States attorney that If
any of the practices We're Illegal they
We're perfectly willing to discontinue
the same. The matter. we believe was
referred to the attorney general, and.
it being thought that there was doubt
as to the legality of certain ways in
which the steamship lines were doing
business, il was determined To bring
an equity action which would raise the
whole question OF the legality of the
practices, and. we understand that this
suit IS the result
"Of course. as to the legal and tech
ni"al noints involved. we were not suf-
ficiently familiar with the law to pass
upon these. But looking at the matter
as practical business men. il seems to
us that ocean carriers can never have
a monopoly of their business because
the ocean is free, and any person with
capital can enter into the business with
ease. The railroad has a comparative
monopoly of the territory it serves
while in the case of ocean carriers, all
the territory is competitive
The steerage business is very pc
culiar one and must be handled by the
united action of all the lines in orde,
that serious abuse may not enter into
| it. and in order to properly protect tht
| interests of the immigrant passengers
| for ocean steamers come from parts oi
the country far removed from the por
of embarkation and the steamship lines
must have thousands of agents all ovel
| the various countries. These agents
of course. cannot be paid salaries. bu
have to be remunerated by the mean:
of commissions. In the competition
| for business many of the agents were
Ispitting their commissions and SO som'
of the passengers were getting re
bate, or in other words. there was thu
same discrimination in the STEAMSHIP
business as there was in the railroad
business before the interstate com
,merce law was passed The lines fel
and still feel that all they were doing
and that is being done, is entirely lega
and is in reality for the best interest
of the steerage passengers. but If 1t i
determined in this suit that any of tn
practices are in violation of the law i
any way they shall be only too glad +
cease such practices