The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1913-06-12
MINNESOTA WINS
STATE RATE SUIT
Supreme Court Gives Right to
Limit Rail Charges.
FAVORS THE TWO-CENT FARE
Part of Law Is Held to Be ConstItu-
tional In Unanimous Decision
Turpentine Trust 10
Victorious.

| Washington, June 10.-The state o
In the Supreme court when in the Min
| nesota rate case Justice Hughes for tn,
| court held that the rates of the Mime
apolis & St. Louis railroad were con
| fiscatory and unconstitutional but thai
the rates of the Northern Pacific ant
Great Northern were valid.
The decision was victory for the
state on the interstate commerce
phases of the controversy and upon
the conflscatory features, with the ex
ception of the portion affecting the
Minneapolis & st. Louis.
What the Cases Are.
The so-called state rate" cases have
presented to the Supreme court one OF
the momentous problems of the dec
ade.
In general terms, this group of case,
called upon the court to decide two
questions. One was whether the states
in passing maximum freight and two
cent passenger laws had unduly inter
other was whether those laws confls-
Gated the property of the railroads by
requiring them to transact business at
a 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 Vir-
ginia. Similar litigation arose in Ala
bama, Iowa, Kansas. Nebraska, Okla
homa and South Dakota. In all, 1t was
said that 76 suits in federal courts de-
pended upon the decision in the As
cases before the Supreme court
How the Suits Started.
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 entoin 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 for Minnesota held
the laws unconstitutional, of coafis-
catory nature, and that they burdened
Interstate commerce. The three suits
were appealed to the Supreme court.
Turpentine Trust Victor.
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 SUI
instruction of the trial Judge. Justice
Pitney was the only dissenter from the
opinion.
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.
Rules on Rebate Damage Suits.
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
Judgment of $4,000 against the Penn
sylvania railroad Justice Pitney, dis
senting, declared the decision practi-
cally annulled the right of the shippers
to sue for damages conferred by recent
legislation, leaving a right to sue only
in the almost negligible instances
where the goods Of shipper came into
competition with competitors who re-
ceived rebates.