Arizona republican., 1912-07-26
Proceedings Before the Cor poration Commission on the Complaint of the Pa cific Creamery Company Against Arizona Roads
CORPORATION STAT
 UTE UNDER ATTACK
Two Cases, the Main One Relating to Power of Commission to Apply Scale of Rates Prepared by the Complainant


 Hearings held before the corpora tion commission in the supreme court room of the capitol yesterday, in the proceedings brought by the Pacific Creamery company. in one instance against the Arizona Eastern and the Ray and Gila Valley companies. and in another against all Arizona rail- roads. were illustrative of several things that will strike the ordinary observer as beyond the ordinary. For instance, the complainant brought in scale of freight rates. These rates were submitted to the commission and the commission was asked that the rates established by the railroad companies be declared null and void and that the rates submitted by the shippers be substituted
 Mention is made of this fact to il- lustrate just one thng-the change that has taken place within the past few years. As illustrated by these two cases it is evident that in Ari- zOna at least the entire conception of government has changed from what it was only q few years ago The schedule of rates submitted by the creamery company is to be made the legal freight rate in this state. It is assumed that the commission has au- thority under the corporation code to make this order without any action by the carriers
 The principle involved in this state ment applies to both the cases. though it is more patent in the one now be- fore the commission. and which is still on today At the conclusion of the other case, that in which an al legged transfer charge is in issue, At torney L. H. Chalmers, at the con- ClusiOn of the testimony, gave notice that the validity of the statute under which the corporation commission is acting will be attacked.
 Probably not every one compre hends the full significance of the pro- ceedings now going on. Certainly those who have not carefully followed these proceedings and the events that led up to them do not. For it is evil dent that not only is the validity of a statute to be attacked, a matter of no great importance in and of itself the significance of the fight lies in the fact that the entire theory upon which the corporation commission is proceeding will be brought into issue.
 Briefly. the Ray and Gila Valley case is this: At the junction of the Ray and Gila Valley with the Arizona Eastern transfers of freight are made. The Pacific Creamery company says the charges for this transfer are Un- just and unreasonable. The Arizona Eastern says it has no interest in any transfer charges and never has de- rived any benefit from them. The Ray and Gila Valley people-the road is owned by the Ray Consolidated Mining cOmpany-says it does not care to handle any freight or pas sengers at all,, that this is done merely as an accommodation. But it is al- legged the rate charged would be about 43 cents a mile for each hundred pounds. Also, there is a territorial statute winch says such rates shall not exceed 15 cents a mile One of the questions is whether this old stat ute applies. Also, as said above, the attorneys for the defendant company Chalbers & Kent. propose to attack the entire corporation commission statute-the statute that gives au- thOrity to the corporation commission to fix freight rates
 At the time the constitution was adopted, it will be recalled some of the members of the convention warned their colleagues that they were going too far in the delegation of authority to the state; not that they objected particularly to the delegation of that authority, but because they believed some of the things provided were SC plainly in conflict with the constitu- ton of the United States that they would be declared invalid. One ot these provisions is contained in the section which undertakes to say tha the corporation commission shall have authority to prescribe the form O. contract under which corporation, may be permitted to do business il this state. But it will be seen here that the commission is asked no merely to prescribe the form of con tract, but to prescribe the contract it self That is one of the grounds ol which the validity of the statute vii be attacked. Tn brief, it will be ar gued that the statute undertakes t confer upon the commission authorit, that is extra constitutional
 Another matter of importance arise here, and that is the proceeding to b taken in the event the case zoe farther than the corporation commis sion, as it undoubtedly will The con stitution provides generally that a appeal will lie from the commissio "to the courts; but the language
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