The Daytona daily news., 1912-02-19
EXPRESS
COMPANIES
SURRENDER
RECOGNIZE elVa AUTHORITY
IN CONDUCT OF THE BUSINESS
INTERSTATE coMMER RcE COM,
MISSION TAKES STEPS TO
BETTER CONTROL AL THE
EXPRESS COMPANIES.

the express companies OF the UnAoed
States have surrendered to civil
authority. These vast and immense
ly rich concerns until the past fewl
weeks have been apparently beyondI
the law. They have managed their
affairs In their own way and have
given q demo0sGradio0 Of arbftraryl
methods not dared by any other lords
Of transportation.
And now the interstate commerceI
commission has upon its own intativei
shows that the express companies
have made hundreds of millions OF
dollars without any apprec,able as
sets to start with or end with, that
they have bulk up a monumental bus
mess and have established them
selves m every corner of the gaobe.
Furthermore these great corpora
tions have admitted that they were
m partnership with railroads whose
utilities they used and that they
were compelled to divide their earn
ings wHh the carriers in order 10
maintain their system, of profits
The interstate commerce commits
son had received complaints about
overcharges and a-ogan& methods
ON the part of these companies for
years, but the commission vas unable
to proceed against them. The law
gave this body no direct authority
over the express companies until a
little more than year ago. when
The Elkins-Mann law passed.
No sooner had this act gone on
the statute books than the commits
sson inaugurated a Staa hunt foI
evidence against the various bis
companies. The formal and inform
al complaints that have been received
were used as a starting point. The
attorneys and statsticians for tht
commission were put to work and II
a tew months the department o
prosecution developed its case. oas
clear day the announcement wGG
made by Commissioner Lane, Ii
charge of this department, tha
crsminal prosecutions were about t.
be begun
This was the signal for the hoist
ing of the white flag. The attog
neys for the companies had declares
bravely that they would fight a
civil proceeding against thei
clients, but when the intimatio0 go
abroad that criminal PROCEEDINGS wST
Smmment these attorneys change
their tactics, The asked for a con
promise. They said they wanted I
treat with the commission and to Sc
# there were not some commo
ground upon which the companie
could do business and be not sui
jec1 to the eternal protests of the
! patrons
The read token of surrender an
the plea for mercy was the compar;
/ lively imSignifbcam announcemea
from Commissioner Lanes office tbs
four committees would be appointe
from among the express companbe
the shippers and the Interstate con
| merce commission to consider fol
/ phases of the illegal conditions und'
which the companies are now wor
4 ing.
II The suggestion for the appoint mel
Of the committees came whsn Con
missioner Lane told the attorneys f
! the companies that the comm issiS
4 had decided to prosecute owe
charges and that it had on fl
enough cases on which the impo.
ton of minimum fines would ban
U rupt every company now in the bu.
q ness.
At flrst the proposition was pE
Il sented for a single committee. b
that has now been changed 50 as
plrovide for four committees, ga
= OF which is to work along differe
n lines, and submit its findings to {
commission for approval 1t IS nC
expected that these four bodies
investigators viii be prepared
y present a tentative plan for the /
= organization of the express buSine
J of the country by the end of Il
month The date for resumption
: the expreSs companies hearing h