Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1915-01-06
Attorney for State in Rail
road cises Anticipates
Continued Opposition.
TO PAY EVENTUALLY
Expressing Opinion That Cotton Belt,
Iron Mountain and Other Railroads
Will Contest Individual Claims,
Judge Hill Believes They'll Pay.

dividually to each of them and that
they will contest their payment as
long as the tedious process of litiga-
ton permits them to do So"
He firmly believes all the claims
will be paid, however.
Such is the opinion expressed in
the report filed with Governor George
w. Hays by Attorney Joseph M. Hill
Of Fort Smith, chief counsel for the
state in the litigation which resulted
in the recent decision Of the United
States supreme court in favor of the
state and shippers.
Judge Hills. report, printed In
pamphlet fcrm gives the history of
the celebrated case in all it's de-
tail, from its inception to the present
time. Its beginning, in September,
1908, when United States Circuit
Judge Van Deventer at st. Paul Mimi,
acted on petition OF the Iron Noun
tain, Cotton Belt, Frisco and Rock
Island, railroads, the various actions
and counteractions, its course
through the several courts to the high
est tribunal In the land, and finally
the fling of the report Of the master,
showing that claims aggregating ST.
134,871.S3 were favorably reported by
the master against the railroad, all
are mentioned in their proper place
in the report, which, unlike the ordf-
nary document of such importance,
makes reading that is interesting to
the layman as We'll as to the trained
legal mind.
The report shows that after the ie-
port of the master had been filed with
the United States court at Little
Rock, Federal Judge Trieber fixed a
date by which the roads must ile
exceptions to the claims granted, this
date being later changed. AS it now
stands, exceptions must be filed not
later than January II. Judge Hills
opinion indicates that he expects the
case will now take another trip
through the courts as the railroads
will fight each claim, and all of them,
individually and collectively.
He says, i'm his report to the gov
ernor: -
~ have not tt remotest doubt of
the liability OF the railroads to pay
these claims and that such eventually
will be the result. l intend at the
proper time to renew my prayer that
the railroads be required to file an
account showing the overcharges in all
instances and that they be required
to pay, in that amount and not merely
the amount of the claims. | think 1t
is a conservative estimate to state that
not one-fourth of the freight claims
have been filed and not over five per
cent of the passenger claims have
been fled"
Should this prayer be renewed by
Judge Hill and sustained by the
courts, the Iron Mountain and Cotton
Belt railroads will be compelled 20
pay to shippers and travellers All aS
gregate of something more than S4,-
SOC, 900, instead of the amount of the
claims filed and approved, $l,13i,671.-
&c.
That the state has an excellent
chance to be- reimbursed, through the
courts, by the shippers and pas3en-
gers, in whole Or in part, for the eX-
penses undergone in prosecuting this
suit against the railroads. is shown
in the following statement from Judge
Hills report:
Attorney General Moose has filed
a petition in the federal court set
ting forth that the refunds sought to
he recovered therein are the beneti-
cial result of the action of the state
in defending these suits; that the
state had paid out $4,000 for the de-
Tense of these suits and incurred
counsel fees in addition thereto; that
it has acted as the trustee for the
shippers and passengers and. out of
tho amount recovered by them, the
state should be reimbursed. / think
his nosition is sound While the pri-
mary purpose of the state in defend
ing these suits has been the restcra-
tion OF the state rates and the state
right TO prescribe and regulate rail-
road rates, vet as a direct result CT
the states successful defense of these
sGits, these refunds will be recovered
and should be charged with a share
of the states expense incurred in OBJ
talning them"
Under the heading, General re-
suits of the litigation Judge Hill
sums up as follows:
1.-THE people have already received
$113,772.13 in refunds from the Rock
Island road, and small refunds from
the louisiana & Arkansas and the
Prescott & Northwestern They will
unqueEtiOnably in time receive, in
.cllding interests, about $1,250,000 in
refunds from the Iron Mountain and
Cotton Belt and $23,959.59 from sub
sjdiary lines of the Iron Mountain.
This, however, is the smallest part
81 the profit to the state from this
litigation. With the exception OF the
Missouri & North Arkansas and the
Louisiana & Arkansas railroads. the
tWo-cent passenger statute OF 1907 is
I'LL full force throughout Arkansas as
tie result of winning the Iron Noun
tain and Cation Belt cases. Without
execution, the commission freight
rates are now in force on every mile
~ railroad in Arkansas. These rates
HRye been. In force since ~uiy, 1916
m lewing the revsrsal Of the Iron
M6untaifa and Cotton Belt cases tn