Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-05-31
Our Government
How II Operates
INTERSTATE
COMMISSION
By William Bruckars


compendium. Mighty UT NlOlsiys II
a been considered that this policy
was responsible for the very great
ness of our nation, commercially. II
seems something of a paradox
! therefore, that We should have sucl
an autocratlc body as the Interstate
Commerce commission, an agency tc
which has been delegated, even dl
rected to use, the most dictatoriaI
powers. 1t stands almost alone In
this respect, yet the records reveal
very few times when sound criticism
has been leyeled at 1t.
The common conception of the
commission Is that 1t rules the rail.
roads, but 1t goes far beyond that,
and the day Is not far distant when
It's scope of power will be broadened
beyond its present limitations. Con-
gress has cen fit to expand its au-
thority from time TO time, and
changing conditions in the transpor-
tation field now are calling for fur.
Their federal control.
AS the laws now stand, the com.
mission controls all common car
riers engaged in transportation of
commodities or passengers by rail-
road In interstate operation, trans
mission facilities of telephone, tele-
graph and cable companies, express
companies, sleeping car companies,
terminal facilities used by inter
state carriers, ear floats, a ferries,
lighters, water transportation when
that Is conducted by the same COM
pany operating a railroad In inter-
state traffic.
Over the operations of those o r
porations, the commission rules as a
monarch, backed, of course, by the
laws which congress enacted. But
congress has given powers to other
agencies of the company much less
broad and at some time or other. BIT
ter criticism has been laid on their
doorsteps and scandal has tainted
their records. The commission has
gone on since 1887. unscatched.
In the dusty pages of United
States laws, there Is a phrase which
says that the commission shall re-
quire all railroad rates and all 9TH
er rates subject to It's Jurisdiction
to be lust and reasonable" To
that one. legislative enactment,
therefore, you may attribute the ba-
sis of all charges which the carriers
make, whether In transportation of
freight or passengers.
Not so many years ago 1t was a
practice among some railroads to
give rebates to shippers and to give
free passes to private citizens or
public officials where such Indlvid-
uals might be OF help to the car
riers. These practices developed
real evils, because discrimination
among shippers became d common
result and undue political influence
resulted from the distribution of
passes. So the commission set
about putting an end to the bust
ness, and, based upon commission
findings, congress ended the condi-
ton definitely by law.
In those days also, certain of the
railroads resorted to other tricks to
obtain business and throttle com
petitors. The commission has
watched these things through the
years and has recommended legis-
lation To congress to curb them. So
the interstate commerce laws have
grown until In these days 1t Is eve
impossible for stockholders of one
railroad to elect a director or an
official for their corporation unless
the Interstate Commerce commission
consents. 1t must be said that the
commission has no concern unless
the proposed selection be an indi-
vidual holding Office In another rail-
road. Then 1t Is vitality concerned,
because it is considered that inter-
locking of directories Is an unwise
policy and likely to lead to difficult
ties for one or all of the roads so
managed. Minority stockholders
would be victims.
The commission started out with
five members. In 1906, its member
ship was increased to seven, and the
transportation act of 1920, the lat
est important piece of rail legisla-
ton, increased the membership to
eleven. And there Is work for all
to do, for the commission not only
may investigate and hear complaints
of parties claiming grievance
against railroad rates or services or
practices, but 1t has authority to
institute proceedings itself.
For example, under a law passed
in 1914, 1t was made unlawful for
any interstate railroad to own, op-
crate. lease or have any interest In
"any competing carrier by water"
In the same law, authority was
given the commission to determine
what constituted competition. SO,
1t takes little Imagination to dis
cover how far reaching this power
was, yet the decisions made under
1t have never been challenged In
court.
AS another Illustration of the
broad powers available to the com