The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-06-16
.UPHOLDS VALIDITY
or TW0.CENT LAWS
Supreme Court Decision Victory
for Three States

by the supreme court today. No deci-
sion was announced in the Kentucky
cases. Inter Mountain rate cases, or
Gompers Mitchell Morrison contempt
court cases.
In the Missouri ease the great ma j.
iority Of the rates, contested by the
railroads as coniiscatory. were held
valid The state freight rates of ore
son also were approved. Court ad-
journed until October.
The oonstituiionaity of the state
two-cen passenger law and ma ximum
freight law was determined in the
| Minnesota case. where the court held
a state had the right To pass such
laws, provided the rates imposed un
Ger them were not conhscatory, The
same application was made in the
| Missouri cases today. The decision is
a partial victory for Missouri as the
lower court had held the rates con-
fiscatory on all roads.
In cases in which were held confs-
catory by the supreme court, the court
modified the lowers courts DEGREES SO
that the railroad commissioner and
attorney general Of the state may APP
Ily To the court. for further action
whenever it shall appear that by rea-
son of a change In circumstances,
rates fixed by the states acts are suf-
hcient 10 yield reasonable compensa-
ton.
The supreme court held the rates
conliscatory on the ST. Louis & Han
nibal, Kansas City 4 Springfield and
Chicago < Great Western railroads
The court held the rates valid as to
the ST. Louis & South Western. the
Missouri Pacific, the ST. Louis, Iron
Mountain X Southern. the Wabash
the Chicago Milwaukee & st. Paul
and the Chicago q Alton.
The decision holding the rates con
fiscatory as to the Chicago a. Great
Western. was made To apply. by vir-
tue of a stipulation between the state
and the railroads to the Quincy, Oma-
ha e. Kansas City railroad, and the St
Joseph K Grand Island
The decision was based upon the
two-cent passenger law and maximum
freight law.
Justice Hughes, who announced the
Cecision. held that the point sought To
he made by the railroads. to the effect
| that Missouri rates were in interfer-
,nce with interstate commerce, must
I be decided against them for the same
reasons given by the court in the Min
| neSO,a rate cases.
The court also sustained the rates of
the Missouri law to the Chicago, Bur
| iington & quincy, Atchison, Topeka
santa Fe. Kansas City Southern, Mis-
souri,. Kansas city. Rock Island Paci-
! nv Gncluding the st. Louis, Kansas
city Il Colorado). and St. Louis IL san
! Francisco In each of these cases the
DEGREES in the lower court in favor OF
the railroads were reversed.
State Lost in Lower Court.
The eighteen railroads cross
ing the state had attacked, in
separate suits, the validity of state
| laws fixing the maximum rate on
freight and limiting PASSENGER fares
To two cents mile. Judge McPher-
son of the United states circuit court
for western Missouri, held the rates
were ,onfscatorY of the railroads
property and therefore unconstitu-
| iional. but he declined To hold that
! they nterfered with interstate com
| merce Both the railroads and the
state appealed to the supreme court
| i'm all thirty-six Missouri cases. Two
| cases growing out Of "the Buriing-
| ton suit" were presented To the court
! in October. 1910. but they were re-
| stored to the docket for argument with
the other Missouri cases in April 1912.
| Arkansas and West Virginia.
| Tn. Arkansas maximum freight rate
law and two-cent passenger fare law,
and West Virginia two-cent passenger
/ law were held valid by the supreme
| court
I'm the Arkansas cases. brought by
the ST Louis. Iron Mountain Il south
ern railway and by the St LOUIS
| Southwestern railway the unlteh
| States circuit court for eastern Ar
| kansas held that the maximum
freight rate orders and the two cent
| passenger fare law were unconstitn-
! tiona because they were confScatorN.
| The West Virginia case arose out OF
suit by the Chesapeake 4 ohio rail
way company to test the validity OF
the two-cent passenger law. The su-
preme court of West Virginia upheld
| ,he law.
The Oregon Cases.
The court also held valid the rates
imposed by the oregon railroad COM
Il
! mission out of Portland.
| In the oregon cases, u was claim
ed that there was an interference
| with Interstate commerce. The Ore
CON Railroad and Navigation com
pany claimed that the state railroad
commission in reducing the state
| freight rates from Portland To- east
crn oregon cities effected a reduction
/! of interstate rates To those cities. be-
cause the state rates were used as
lIasis for the interstate rates. A sim
liar claim was made by the Southern
Pacific company as to rates along its
line. The United States circuit court
for oregon upheld the rates. An at
/ tack was also made upon the consti
tutionality of the law creating the
Oregon railroad commission. That too,
was upheld by the lower court.