fell with the fortunes of the railway wars. All this tended to concentrate public attention upon the abuses of reckless railway administration. These abuses are reflected in detail in the volume of testimony accompanying the report of the committee. The report proper refers to the exclusive privileges enjoyed by railways and the public functions which they perform. These make the relations and obligations of railways to the community and to the governmental authority something very dif ferent from those of the ordinary corporation, and upon such differences both the necessity and justice of regulation rest. Similar ground was taken by the Supreme Court of the United States in the leading case of Munn vs. Illinois: "When the owner of property devotes it to a use in which the public has an interest, he in effect grants to the public an interest in such use, and must, to the extent of that interest, submit to be controlled by the public, for the common good, as long as he maintains the use. He may withdraw his grant by discontinuing the use." The committee further pointed out the differences between investments in railway and ordinary business enterprises; they emphasized the public nature of the railway business, making railways quasi public servants with power to levy a tax; and, finally, the committee asserted that railways have a right to protection by the state in the enjoyment of their chartered privileges. The importance of lakes, rivers, and 1 94 U.S. 113.

canals is recognized, and the doctrine of competition among railways adhered to. On the whole, the ideas expressed in the report convey a feeling of uncertainty with respect to the exact nature of the legislation required and the probable efficacy of such legislation. This uncertainty prevailed throughout the debates on the bill which finally became law, and which, together with the two amendments, will be found verbatim in Appendix IV. It remained to the Interstate Commerce Commission and the courts to give definiteness to the provisions of the law. The manner in which this has been done will be shown in the following chapters.

CHAPTER II

LEADING PRINCIPLES OF THE DECISIONS OF THE COMMISSION 1

THE decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission, handed down since its organization in 1887, now number 293, some of which cover two or more cases decided at the same time. The facts presented in this long series of cases are kaleidoscopic. A single fact may appear a hundred times, but it always comes again in different company. Never, perhaps, does exactly the same group of facts reappear in exactly the same combination or relationship. Hence each group of facts embraced in a case and each decision based upon the same has an individuality of its own. Generally speaking, no two cases are alike in every respect, and no rule of thumb can be devised by which a decision can be rendered. Yet, though each decision has its peculiar characteristics, an analysis and comparison of many cases and decisions reveals certain common elements or underlying principles and views. To point out these common elements, views, and principles in the decisions of the Inter

1 This and the two following chapters were published in the Political Science Quarterly, September, 1902.

state Commerce Commission is the chief aim of this discussion.

The problems involved in the decisions are primarily economic, although political and social considerations are not wanting. As a compilation of economic facts alone, tested and certified, the decisions constitute a valuable contribution to industrial history. To know the world as it actually exists should be a leading task of every man. The Interstate Commerce Commission has placed at the disposal of the public the most varied, the most widely distributed, the most concrete, and the best authenticated collection of facts relating to railways in the United States that is available at the present time; and by means of these facts we may learn something of the difficulties involved in railway transportation in this country. By far the greatest number of facts relate to the problems of competition, which in turn involve questions of similarity and dissimilarity of conditions, long and short hauls, coöperation, reasonableness of rates, and discriminations. Closely allied to these questions are those relating to classifications and commodity rates. Standing somewhat by themselves, and yet not disconnected, are decisions relating to through shipments, foreign trade, routing of freight, etc. Questions relating to the enforcement of the Act to Regulate Commerce and to the giving of testimony make their appearance. The interpretation into consideration,

of the act is frequently drawn but this feature of the decisions of the commission

can best be associated with the court decisions called forth by the same.1 All of these topics have numerous subdivisions and ramifications which cross and recross one another in the complex network of relationships which the railway as an institution represents, and which is the ultimate cause of the kaleidoscopic nature of the cases brought before the commission.

Competition and the long and short haul. - The Act to Regulate Commerce assumes that railway transportation is a competitive industry and that competition among carriers should be preserved. The Interstate Commerce Commission has repeatedly asserted this in its annual reports and decisions.2 A score of decisions relate primarily to water competition in its bearing upon the long and short haul clause. The commission has held that the act permits railways to meet but not to extinguish the competition of water carriers.3 The cheapening and regulating functions of water competition have been generally recognized; but in the case of very low rates on steel products to San Francisco from the Atlantic and Mississippi valley

4

1 It should constantly be borne in mind that in this chapter only the decisions of the commission are considered, irrespective of the decisions of the courts.

2 For instance, Annual Report (1887), pp. 37, 40; Annual Report (1898), p. 20; Decisions, 1, I. C. C. 319; 2. 52; 4. 131.

3 7, 224. Hereafter, for the sake of brevity, the decisions will

be cited by volume and page numbers only.

4 Cullom Committee Report (1886); Johnson, Inland Waterways, 61; Hadley, Railroad Transportation, 93-98 and elsewhere.