The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1913-09-26
Ignite Coal Case
Up In Court
History Of Case One Of Most I'm
portant Chapters of Litiga-
ton in Northwest

II
reopened Ignite coal cases were
before the supreme court Satur-
day. These cases are assuming
unusual Importance in view of the
doctrine advanced by Atty. Gen.
Andrew Miller, which was Laid
down in these cases when
they were previously decided in
this state in the opinion rendered
by Judge Fisk in the case en-
titled, State Of North Dakota ct
al. VS. Northern Pacific Railroad,
49, N. D. This opinion was filed
in April, 1909, and this doctrine
was laid down in the language
of the court:
"The proper test as to whether
the rates thus fixed are reasonable
or unreasonable is not whether
the rate fixed on the particular
commodity is sufficiently high
to enable the carrier to earn a
fair compensation after allowing
for the Ignite cost to the carrier
of transporting the same, but
whether, under such rates, it
will be enabled from Its total
freight receipts on all it's in
trastate traffic to earn a sum,
above operating expenses reas-
enable necessary for such traffic,
sufficient to yield a fair and rea-
sonable profit upon it's investment
. tits within the power of the legis-
lature to reduce the freight on a
particular article, provided the
carriers are enabled to earn a
fair pofit upon their intrastate
business. /"
Inasmuch as this case was car
4 ried to the supreme court OF the
United States and the rates sus-
tanned, subject to rehearing at
ter the rates had been tried, it
has become Of such Importance in
the view of the common car
riers that it is being fought
most stubbornly. While the
= amount Of trafffiic involved Is
small, the gross revenue being
not greatly in excess of 100000
from the entire Ignite coal traf-
fic in the estate, yet the doctrine
laid down by the North Dakota
court is of such a nature that the
case assumes Importance out OF
all proportion to the sum in
! volved.
The old doctrine under which
rates were regulated was that
common carriers were charging
excessive rates and the police
wse invoked by the courts to
protect the public from these
exec sive charges. Under the
doctrine laid down by the North
Dakota court rate which does
not contribute at all to the. net
earnings of the carrier, or which
might even be so low that the
revenue did not cover the opera
ting expenses is not confiscatory
GO long as the total revenue de-
rived from all of the traffic in
the state yielded q reasonable
revenue. In brief, the North Da
kota court applies the usage Of
the railroad classific fication in such
manner that rates might be
fixed 60 as to encourage indust-
rias or to benefit the people re-
4 gardless Of the actual revenue
from the commodity in question
so long as the railroad business
in the state pays 9 reasonable
profit.
On the other hand the railroad
companies contend that each and
every commodity must yield
something to the total net reve-
nue., which it is necessary for the
common carrier to accumulate in
order to attract capital and con.
tinue business. While they ad-
d NIT the classification Of commo-
dities, yet they contend that the
classif fiication are 90 adjusted that
each commodity yields certain
net profits.
The history Of this railroad
i rate case Is an interesting one.
Chapter 81 of the 1907 session
laws fixed an intrastate coal
rate which reduced the rate then
+ in force hy the YAriOaa railrOa adE