The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-18
RAILROAD RATE MAKING

The decision of the Supreme Court in the Minnesota rate case simple enough when separated from its legal verbiage and reduced to ordinary language.
 Governments all over the world have and exercise the power the rates that may be charged by public vice corporations The rate making of extends undoubtedly the entire of marketable commodities, but 1t is most frequently exercised agansC railroad rates and the rates of other corporations whose business is effected with public In England Par iament could make rate which would be binding throughout kingdom But in this country the pow has been divided between the states and the Federal government.
 Now railroads for the most part, business which is entirely within the state and business which is be- tween state another The first sort of business is usually called nra state business and the later sor interstate business.
 The nrincipal question involved in the Minnesota case was whether of Minnesota had the right to fix ntra rates The claim made that IL had no 1ch right because the whole revenue of the corporation might be thus affected The Supreme Court takes the opposite view that the state fix rates on asserts that Congress may make law withdrawing A rate making power from the states
 This is no doubt the correct view legally and physl ca111 As matter of fact Congress may make any law and will be efectua up to the point where tnere IS physical power of opposition to fe}ee5 h. oe and controls physical power to enforce it's mandate
 While the Supreme @ oGgId o congreas it is with the consent that body and such exertlon or power ceasewhen Congress insists that it shall o as whether or not the were conscatory which means small that profit would be permitted to the corpora ton upon they imposed, ii 1t should do pus1 @ The couTf anparently attempted to designate de gree of profit of percentage under which rate would or would not be confscatory How well IL sue ceeded is for the future to determine.
 Heretofore tbe Supreme Court notably m the Ne raska case said that rate will not be conscatory even if if leaves no profit whatever upon the investment This would be much the better law and certainly the better practice
 A railroad of the government chartered 10 conveniently perform governmentai serVlee Us first duty perform the service This It may be com peed to do even though the forfeiture of it's official life is required for failure.
 And this is the usual law of business. A man who contracts to deliver to another certain commodity must 7o hn4F7n ho aIInGOY los mO
 The rule, which is the business rule prevail ing between individuals is certainly not ooo rigid to bel enforced against organization to which has granted monopoly, and which ought to be under less
 difficulties keeping it's contracts than other enterprises 
 As to the inconvenience of system by which rate making power 49 separate tribunals there be tte doubt The railroads of this country systen performing function They ought to be underl 9 common governmental control
 The economically most advantageous way to handel them would be to natonalize the adjunct to the post office Until that time, it would be better satisfactory all round if Congress took all rate ak ing power Federal function together with the power of supervising stock and bond issues of railroads