The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-11-02
BY CUSHMAN REYNOLDS

Washington (LPA)-If you want
good view Of the grinding power
of monopoly in action, take a look
at the Georgia rail rate case which
was withdrawn a few days ago
after six years in the Supreme
Court.
Here's the background. Railroads
charge higher freight rates, espec-
tally on manufactured and process
ed goods, in the south and west
than they do in the north and east.
AS a result, many feel that the
economic development of the south
and west have been seriously hamp-
cred. In some parts of the south,
thoughtful persons even say that
freight rate discrimination is the
south's No. | economic problem.
This is the way it works. It's
comparatively cheap to haul raw
materials out of the south for pro-
cessing in the north. But once you
set up a factory in the south and
try to haul out your finished pro-
ducts for sale in New Jersey or
Ohio you find yourself paying per
haps 10 percent more than Mass
achusetts manufacturer pays for
comparable haul. That's why some
say the south has "semi-colonial"
economy.
It's like the "colonialism" Eu-
ropeans practised too long in
Africa and Asia. For instance, they
grew cotton in the tropics, but in
stead of processing it in the colony,
they shipped it to European mills.
Finally, they sold the end product
back to the natives" for big pro-
fits.
In 1914, the state Of Georgia de
cided to do something about the|
situation. That was when the lib
eral Ellis Arnall was Georgia's gov
ernor Georgia brought suit in the
Supreme Court, accusing a number
of railroads-but principally the|
dominant Pennsylvania - of con
spring to deprive southern indus
try of competitive freight rates.
Things dragged along. 1t wasI
well into 1945 before the Supreme
Court agreed to handle the case.
Then Lloyd Garrison, one-time
dean of the University of Wiscon-
sin Law School and a veteran of
public panels of one sort and an
other, was named special masterI
to take evidence and make recon-
Garrison took evidence, all right, |
but he never dug very deeply into
the case according to critics Of the
proceedings. Moreover, says the
critics, he took all the denials byl
the railroads at their face value
and so complicated are rail rates to
begin with that almost anything
can be denied impreSsively. In the
end, which was just last June, Gar
rison presented his "recommenda-
tons. He suggested that the case
be thrown out because Georgia had
failed to prove its charges. On Oct.
% Georgia admitted defeat and
agreed to drop the matter when
the railroads agreed to pay Gar
rison's fee-which may be $780,
300. The whole south and maybe
.he west were the losers.
Those close to the case say the
state Of Georgia had little choice
but to withdraw the suit for three
reasons, First, the present compos-
tion of the Supreme Court made
further litigation impractical. Sec
md, two years ago Congress pass
I'd the Reed Bullwinkle Act eX-
,mpting the railroads from the
antitrust laws, a factor which
made real relief virtually impos
,ible. Third, Herman Talmadge
not Ellis Arnall, is now goyernorl
If Georgia.
To dispose of the court, the pre-
sent members of the Supreme
bench, with the exception of JUS
ices Douglas and Black, won't digl
very deeply into the background of
any case, critics say. They will