Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1913-06-17
VICTORY FOR STATE
u. S. SUPREME COURT HANDS
DOWN DECISION IN IMPoR-
TANT LEGAL STRUGGLE.
ONE LINE GETS A VERDICT
Holds Minnesota Has Right to Fix
Rates of Carriers So Long as They
Are Not confiscatory-Turpentin
Trust a Victor.

Washington, June 1.-THE power
of the states to fix reasonable inter
state rates on interstate railroads,
until such time as congress shall
choose to regulate these rates, was
upheld Friday in unanimous decision
by the Supreme court of the United
States in the Minnesota freight and
passenger rate cases
The decision was victory for the
state on the interstate commerce
phases of the controversy and upon
the confscatory features, with the ex-
ception of the portion affecting the
Minneapolis & st. Louis.
The so-called state rate cases
have presented to the Supreme court
one of the momentous problems of
the decade
In general terms, this group of cases
called upon the court to decide two
questions. One was whether the states
in passing maximum freight and two
cent passenger laws had unduly in
terfered with interstate commerce.
The other was whether those laws
confscated the property of the rail-
roads by requiring them to transact
business at loss.
The group consisted of As cases. All
arose out of legislation enacted by
state legislature about 1907, or just
after the federal government had
passed the Hepburn rate law. The As
cases concerned directly the laws in
six states-Missouri, Minnesota, Ken
lucky, Oregon. Arkansas and West Vlr-
ginia. Similar litigation arose in Ala
bama, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Okla
homa and South Dakota In all, it was
said that rs suits in federal courts de-
pended upon the decision In the As
cases before the Supreme court.
The Minnesota cases arose out of
suits by stockholders of the Northern
Pacific, the Great Northern and the
Minneapolis & st. Louis railroads
against the companies to enjoin them
from obeying the maximum freight and
two-cent passenger laws as unconsti-
tutional, and against the state officials
TO enjoin them from enforcing the
laws. Judge Sanborn of the United
States circuit court of Minnesota held
the laws unconstitutional, of confis-
catory nature, and that they burdened
interstate commerce. The three suits
were appealed to the Supreme court.
Convictions Of five officials of the
American Naval Stores company at
Savannah-the so-called turpentine
trust-for criminal violation of the
Sherman law were set aside by the
Supreme court because of an enron
eous instruction of the trial judge.
Officials of the department of JUS
tice did not regard the decision as
one generally unfavorable to the
criminal section of the Sherman law.
They never considered that they had
strong case.
Holding that one shipper cannot sue
for rebates as damages because COM
petitors received rebates, the Supreme
court reversed the decision of the
Pennsylvania courts awarding to the
International Coal Mining company of
the Clearfield region of Pennsylvania
a judgment of $4,000 against the
Pennsylvania railroad. Justice Pitney
dissenting, declared the decision prac-
tically annulled the right of the ship
pers to sue for damages conferred by
recent legislation, leaving a right to
sue only in the almost negligible in
stances where the goods of shipper
came into competition with competi.
tors who received rebates.