The People and the Railways

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1888 Excerpt: ... APPENDIX P.. The decision in Ite Louisville & Nashville, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, June 15, 1887, in the matter of the petitions of The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company and others. Opinion Of The Commission. Cooley, Chairman. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company was one of the first to apply for relief under the fourth section of the Act to regulate commerce, which, after declaring the general rule that more shall not be charged or received in the aggregate by a common carrier subject to the law, for the transportation of passengers or of the like kind of property, under substantially similar circumstances and conditions for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line in the same direction, the shorter being included in the longer, proceeds then to authorize exceptions, and confers upon the Commission certain powers in respect thereto. From the first there have been two opinions regarding the proper construction of this provision for exceptions; one view being that no exception can be lawful unless made with the sanction of the Commission; and the other, apparently better supported on the words of the statute, that an order of relief is not required when the circumstances and conditions are substantially dissimilar, since the carrier, in acting upon them, would commit no breach of law, though it would be responsible in case it were found that the circumstances and conditions were misconceived or misjudged. Under this last view the order for relief would be needful only when the case was not one of plainly dissimilar circumstances and conditions, but in which, nevertheless, there might be reasons and equities that would sanction such greater charge. The Commission is informed that the interstate roads north of ...