El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-16

/ with the commission, and a like num-
/ Der are disposed Of Every one Of these
! complaints is made public at the time
! IL is filed. The chief clerk Of the in
] terstaue commerce commission has
! table in his office, and as the COM
7 plants come IN, they are placed there
] for inspection and the representatives
3 Of newspapers all over the country
/ who visit the headquarters Of the COM
mission obtain daily information. AZ
J tel the complaints have thus been
made public, and notice served on in
/ tCrested parties, the commission sets
( date for hearing both sides OF the
questions involved
During a recent year over 200 hear
lngs and Investigations were made. a
large number OF these were held in
/ " asn1ngtOn, though the commission or
certain of its members go to various
parts Of the country to hold hearings
when Il is not convenient for the in
terested parties and their witnesses
% come to Washington During
single year as many as 10000 pages
Of testimony are taken, exclusive Of
TCluminOus exhibits.
Il the pressure OF business requires
il, the duty Of holding hearings may
be performed by special examiners
designated by the commission Aver
these hearings have been held and the
ers study II and then announce their
decision Since the establishment OF
the commissio court the decision of
the interstate commerce commission
may be appealed from to that court by
either party to the controversy, al
though in many cases the action Of
the commission is taken as final
All Must File Rates.
Every common carrier subject to
the act IS required to file every in
terstate freight and passenger rate it
LlaAeS WIN me interstate commerce
commission During an average year
the tariff publications so filed may
amount 70 more than $4,000. The law
provides that no tariff shall become
q al
given, except with the permission Of /
the interstate commerce commission. /
sometimes II is desirable that q Ger
Ialn rate may De established upon /
snort notice, and during an average /
year ABOUT 1000 such applications are 4
acted upon by the commission.
Perhaps the most far-reaching and /
fundamentally important power con-
TERED on the commission is the au-
monty TO suspend proposed advances
IN rates pending Investigation Of their /
Ieasonableness. The commission must
constantly be on guard to see that
rare changes OF contemplated orders
40 not adversely affect contests in I
sIeaI cases In order to more readily
determine all rate matters, the com
mission IS trying to secure a standard
or OF Uniform classification of all
Ifelght Many thousands Of articles
m N ust oe described in order that a COM
Plete system of uniform Classification I
may be put into use.
Penalties Wide in Range.
--O NlAAAAl4lS5lOn is REQUIRED hE law
- report 10 the attorney general all /
cases that come TO its notice of viola
IONS or the criminal sections OF the |
interstate commerce laws. During an
average year there are about 80 such
prosecutions, in fOur-fifths of which
peas OF guilty are entered The pen
SIIles assessed range from 500 ia
S4zU,OOO' and the aggregate amounts to
more man 100000 a year
IN the case Of the Hooking VALLEY
le 1d ana the Sunday Creek Coal
company, II was found that the rail-
read extended credit to the coal com
pany TO an unprecedented ex4eD+
more than $4,000, 900 Of freight biiIs
pelng left unpaid The government in
- -iS.eo pom me shipper and the car
Iler on the theory that such an ex
tension OF credit was in itself a de-
pdFUure from the published tariff aDd /
also mat when given to some shin
elimination.
SupervIses Accounts.
. Ahotler duty Of the commission fs [
mat OF supervising the accounts 81 /
the railroads and other CONNER - |
LteIs OF the country and Of gafheriDs /
SLaJlstlcs relative to their 0Dersfio,77 I
.t.ea-ll1lng that unless a uniform svs-
en- OF accounting be adopted IL ,roi1Id l
pc impossible for the commission ~ |
40 us work efficiently cona-rase
coined It with authority TO REQUIRE
ne institution Of uniform system
0I accounting. All accounts Of ey-e---
common carrier subject to the scf
LuuSt De kept according to classiff
-allOnS prescribed by the cornr7fes5o--
and II is punishable offense for 80
carrier 10 keep any other record -y1-bef
ever than those prescribed or an.
ssIONeo oy the commission. This uni
-oIH system Of accounting reOuFres
e oInmon carriers to enter al raco-Ss
81 their operation in such a Jvav 49,
me commission may know ali about
comes from, and where It goes ~
ms provision is intended to ore
ehI such unfair and unlawful 7rac-
-lces as charging up to OPERATING .
yehses money used in making a com
IOll carriers property more Va bIs
very common carrier subject ia tba
lGt must Tile a monthly statement ~
~ It's operations, and a final annual I
statement, which must agree entireiv
With the sum Of the monthly stste
3ents for the year. In its investiga-
ions Of the express companies of M |
.ountry the interstate commerce 60
mission has produced some interesffre,
acts concerning their operations nh ]
igures show that more than 10 600 0O6 |
lleces OF express matter were handled /
three months, that the AVERAGE |
. eight per piece was slightly less
han 80 pounds, and that the average
elenue per pound was 15A cents
among the more important dutfev (
y the interstate commerce commits
ion is that Of fixing rates This is
which a vast deal Of conflicting evil
ience is produced in every case The /
ailrOads themselves often make verv
contradictory statements concerning
his question. In a recent state con-
rOversy, the railroads affected de-
Jared that it would cost 500 600 a
nile TO reproduce their property. ONLY
rev months before they had sworn I
o the tax collector that these proDe--
les could be reproduced for s25 600 a
Copyright 1911, by Frederic J.
laskin.
This is part of chapter on The
Interstate Commerce Commission from
ne book The American Government (
y Erederic ]. Haskin. whfch - j. |