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From the New York Journal of Commerce of May 22,1905.
ABSTRACT OF THE REPLY OF THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION TO A RESOLUTION
OF INQUIRY INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE
BY SENATOR ELKINS AND ADOPTED JANU¬
ARY 16, 1905.
Preparea by Jossph Nimmo, Jb., Statistician and Economist,
May 22, 1005.
The Interstate Commerce Commission has just submit¬
ted to the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce in
reply to a Senate Resolution of January i6, 1905, a
voluminous and exceedingly valuable report stating what
it has accomplished during the eighteen years of its exist¬
ence with respect to formal and informal complaints, hear¬
ings, decisions of the courts, exorbitant rates, unreasonable
rates and rebates. This report has a very important bear¬
ing upon the rate question now being considered by the
Senate Committee.
The following memorandum presents summarily the
results reached by the Commission in its report to the
Um. '
Señate^dated May i, 1905.
INFORMAL COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSION
BETWEEN JANUARY i, 1900, AND MARCH
I, 1905.
Total number of informal complaints 2,296
Number of informal complaints disposed of 2,171
Number of informal complaints not disposed of..... 125
Total 2,296
IYOvA
] ¿7 n Í5
APR18 19U
NI
2
The informal complaints have amounted to about 444 a
year, all of which have been disposed of by the Commission
without the interposition of the courts. Presumably this
is about the average result for the entire period of about
eighteen years, embracing the life of the Commission. It
may be added in this connection that from April 5, 1887,
to March i, 1905, 188 formal complaints as to exorbitant
rates and 175 formal complaints as to unjust discrimination
were settled by the Commission without any formal hear¬
ing, making a total of 3,066 cases settled informally.
The Commission states that it is unable to give the num¬
ber of informal complaints prior to January i, 1900.
FORMAL COMPLAINTS MADE TO THE COMMIS¬
SION FROM APRIL 5, 1887, TO MARCH i, 1905
—THE LIFETIME OF THE COMMISSION.
Formal Complaints.
Total number 770
Number which have come to a final hearing 400
Settled or discontinued 206
Indefinitely postponed 74
Heard but not decided 20
Partially heard 27
No hearing 43
Total 770
The immense preponderance of informal complaints over
formal complaints—2,296 of the former since January i,
1900. as against 770 of the latter since April 5, 1887—
clearly indicates the disposition of railroad ofiicers to abide
by the informal or mediatorial determinations of the Com¬
mission and to avoid the more troublesome and expen.-sive
adjudications by the courts.
" 3
It appeals, therefore, from the foregoiag statement that
2,396 infyrmal complaints and 363 formal complaints—
188 involving esrorbitant rates, and 175 involving unjust
discariminations—^have been disposed of by the Commis¬
sion informally and that only 400 of the formal hearings
have come to a final decision.
CASES OF ALE SORTS APPEALED TO THE
COURTS.
Total number of cases appealed to the courts 45
Commission sustained 8
Otherwise disposed of for various reasons stated.... .. 37
Total 45
From this it appears that the total number of oaes ap¬
pealed to the courts was, on the average, 2JÍ a year, and
that the number of cases in which the CommMon was
SEstained by Üie courts amounted to a little more than tme
cstse in each two yems.
Itappems, therefore, that of the 770 formal complaints
made to the Commission, only 45 have been appealed to
the courts, with the result that in 8 cases the Commission
was sustained and that in 37 cases it was not sustairied.
FORMAL COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSION
ALLEGING EXORBITANT RATES -AND
HOW DISPOSED OF.
£xorbitatt Bate
Total number 351
Dispœed of without formal hearing. 188
Disposed of without decision 24
Bedded 1^ the Commàsîon 139
Total 351
4
From this it appears that the total number of ; formal
complaints as to exorbitant rates amounts, on the average,
to 19 a year, and that the total number of such complaints
decided by the Commission was, on the average, a little
more than 7 each year.
CASES INVOLVING EXORBITANT RATES AP¬
PEALED BY THE COMMISSION TO THE
COURTS FROM APRIL 5, 1887, TO MARCH
I, 1905.
Exorbitant Rates.
Total cases appealed to the courts 15
In effect sustained by the courts 3
Not sustained 12
Total 15
From this it appears that during the space of eighteen
years less than one case a year involving exorbitant rates
was appealed by the Commission to the courts, and that
only one case in six years, on the average, was sustained by
the courts.
FORMAL COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSION
INVOLVING UNJUST DISCRIMINATION
AND HOW DISPOSED OF.
Total 366
Settled without formal hearing 175
Disposed of without investigation 27
Decided by the Commission 164
Total 366
5
From this it appears that the total number of formal
complaints as to unjust discriminations amounted, on the
average, to 20 a year, and that the total number of such
complaints decided by the Commission was, on the average,
9 each year.
CASES OF UNJUST DISCRIMINATION APPEALED
BY THE COMMISSION TO THE COURTS
FROM APRIL 5, 1887, TO MARCH i, 1905.
From this it appears that thirty-two .decisions of the
Commission as to unjust discriminations were appealed to
the courts in eighteen years, or less than two a year, of
which only eighty or less than one in each two years was
sustained by the courts.
VIOLATIONS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT
OF FEBRUARY 19, 1905, KNOWN AS THE
ELKINS ACT.
The Commission reports twenty-seven formal complaints
for violations of published rates or failure to publish rates
made since February 19, 1903, of which ten have been
heard and one dismissed. These twenty-seven complaints
embrace all the offences denounced by the Act—namely,
failure to file and publish , tariffs or rates and charges, re¬
bates, concessions and discriminations in respect to the
transportation of property.
Total number
Commission sustained
Not sustained
32
8
24
Total
6
As the subject of granting rebates has recently com¬
manded special public attention I suggest that the fol¬
lowing additional inquiry be submitted to the Commission:
"How many complaints have been made to the Com¬
mission as to violations of published rates through the
granting of rebates since the passage of the Elkins Act,
February 19, 1903, how many cases of such violations of
published rates have been heard by the Commission, and
what has been the nature of the decision in each case
which has been heard and decided?"
RESUME.
The general conclusion from this elaborate report by
the Commission is, that out of many millions of freight
transactions yearly the following results in the nature of
regulation have been reached :
1. Only three cases of exorbitant rates have been " in
effect " sustained by the courts ; or, on the average, one
case during each six years of the'life of the Commission.
2. Only eight cases of unjust discrimination have been
proved in the courts, which, on the average, is less than
one case during each two years of the life of the Commission.
3. The total number of formal and informal complaints
reported by the Commission is 3,066, of which only 45 or
I yi per cent have been appealed to the courts, the rest
(98 }4 per cent) having been disposed of by the Commission.
4. The total number of decisions rendered by the Com¬
mission and by the courts as to exorbitant rates and unjust
discriminations is really infinitesimal as compared with
the many millions of freight transactions yearly.
7
^ 'Tíie ibregÓing statemeats clearly prove the efficîéncy and
sttffidmcy of the Act to Regulate Commrarœ as amended.
They also reflect great credit upon the conduct of the
American Railroad System as well as npon the adminis¬
tration of the prœent statutray regulation of the railroads.
At the same time they utterly repel the revolutionary idea
of estahlidiing bureaucratic government in this country
for the regulation of interstate commerce. The very as¬
sumption that more drastic statutory legislation than that
now in force is needai is upon ite faœ preposterous.
Joseph Nimmo, Jr.
Washington, D. C., May 32, 1905.
JOSEPH NIMMO, Jr.,
stettlaticlan. and kconomiat,
huntington, 1831 f strcet n. w.
long Island, n. y. Washington, o. c.
commerce, transportation, navigation and industry.