| Show A Very Important Killing On Friday of last week the Interstate Commerce commission delivered an opinion opin-ion which is of much more than ordinary interest and it will probably upset many preconceived notions touching the matter ruled upon The case calling out the decision is thisTle this-Tle Pennsylvania company operates in IE iana the Jeff rsonYille Madison and Tndwn poiis railroad with its branch from reraonville to New Albany The Penn sj A mia received a consignment of grain Iroui the Louisville Evansville and St L iS Consolidated railroad at New Albany a J hnuli d it to JefTersonvilIe From the 1 r city to Louisville both the Pennsyl yua and the Louisville New Albany and CliuMjro have lines The complainant in tae case Bennett D Mattiuglv ordered tLe Train forwarded to Louisville by the Lousrllle New Albany and Chicago but the Pennsylvania refused to turn it ocr and hauled it by its own line Its right in refusing to forward the grain by a competitive com-petitive line as directed was t opointc lcd in qyrstioii and it was this which the corn iui sioa ruled upon Its decision is that the Pennsylvania cannot can-not he comaeled to turn traffic over to a company reaching a common point with its ovn lino and a rival of it This is more i important than may at first appear In a large measure it takes the routcing of freight out of the hands of consignors This is the old case of forced partnership in u new f prm A carrier must receive and I forward traffic offered whether it bo ten den A by shipper or carrier But it may select the route as this privilege is nOt I either directly or by implication denied it I hy the act to regulate interstate commerce com-merce Suppose the Union Pacific should receive freight from the Denver Rio Grande routed via tho Union Pacific to Omaha and t 11 the St Paul to Chicago According to tie ruling of the interstate commerce commission com-mission in the Pennsylvania case the Union Pacific may with impunity ignore tho routeing direction and forward the freight to Chicago by the way of the North vcstern its contract ally hallway Register Regis-ter |
