Middletown transcript., 1914-06-13
FEDEBA R8ARD
First IN Power
Commerce Commission Upheld
In Shreveport Case.
ONE MASTER FOR RAILROADS
Important Decision Of the Supreme
Court Places Interstate Carriers
More Under Federal Body and
Less Under state.


Washington, D. CA long step to-
ward placing railroads under "one
master instead of many" was taken by
the Supreme Court in upholding the
power of the Interstate Commerce
Commission to strike down State rates
that discriminate against interstate
commerce. The court said in sub
stance that the Minnesota and other
recent State-rate cases, in which the
railroads lost, might have been de-
cided otherwise had the roads gone to
the commission for relief instead of
the courts.
The decision was announced by JUS
tice Hughes, Justices Pitney and Lur-
ton dissenting. The case arose out
of complaint by Shreveport, La, mer-
chants that the Texas Railroad Com
mission had shut them out Of all Texas
business by compelling the railroads to
reduce Texas State rates far below
what the Interstate Commerce Com
mission allowed the railroads running
from Shreveport to Texas cities to
charge.
Power Not With State.
The court first decided that Con-
gress had power to control interstate
charges Of an interstate carrier to the
extent necessary to prevent injurious
discrimination against interstate traf-
&c, and then held that Congress had
conferred this power upon the Inter
state Commerce Commission.
at is Of the essence of the power to
regulate interstate commerce that
where it exists, it dominates" said
Justice Hughes. "The fact that car
riers are instruments of intrastate
commerce as well as of interstate COM
merce does not derogate from the COM
plete and paramount authority of Con-
gress over the latter or preclude the
federal power from being exerted to-
prevent the intrastate operations OF
such carriers from being made means
of injury to that which has been con-
fined to federal care. Wherever the
interstate and intrastate transactions
of carriers are so related that the gov
ernment of the one involves the con.
troll of the other, it is Congress, and
not the State, that is entitled to pre-
scribe the final and dominant rule, for
otherwise Congress would be denied
the exercise Of its constitutional au-
thority and the State, and not the
nation, would be supreme within the
national field"
Congress Must Control.
In removing determinations against
interstate commerce, the court held
Congress was not bound to reduce the
interstate rates below what it may
deem to be a proper standard to the
carrier and the public.
"Otherwise," said the opinion, ''it
could prevent the injury to interstate
commerce only by the sacrifice of its
Judgment as to interstate rates"
Justice Hughes who wrote the
courts decision in the State rate case
of year ago, pointed out that the
present case did not conflict with those
cases. He said that undoubtedly in
the absence of a finding by the COM
mission of unjust determinations,
intrastate rates were left to be fixed
by the carrier and subject to the au-
thority of the States.
1--WE are not unmindful of the graV-
ity of the question that is presented
when State and Federal views con-
fict," the opinion concluded. "But it
was recognized at the beginning the |
nation could not prosper if interstate
and foreign trade were governed by |
rlany masters. and, where the inter
ests of the freedom of interstate COM
merce are involved, the judgment of
Congress and Of the agencies it law
fully establishes must control"