Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

§
Marginalia
Code · STATUTES-AT-LARGE · Vol. 36 STAT. · June 18, 1910 · Chapter 309

Chapter 309. To create a commerce court, and to amend the Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore amended, and for other purposes

13,146 words·~60 min read·/statutes-at-large/vol-36/chapter-309-2300629·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

CHAP. 309.— An Act To create a commerce court, and to amend the Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore amended, and for other purposes. June 18, 1910.[[H. R. 17536](/us/bill/61/hr/17536).][[Public, No. 218](/us/pl/61/218).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That a court of the United Commerce court created. *Post*, p. 1146.
Jurisdiction. States is hereby created which shall be known as the commerce court and shall have the jurisdiction now possessed by circuit courts of the United States and the judges thereof over all cases of the following kinds: First. All cases for the enforcement, otherwise than by adjudication To enforce orders of Interstate Commerce Commission. Except payment of money. and collection of a forfeiture or penalty or by infliction of criminal punishment, of any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the payment of money.
Second. Cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend in To enjoin, etc., orders of Commission. whole or in part any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Third. Such cases as by section three of the Act entitled “An Act To prevent unjust discriminations. Vol. 32, p. 848. to further regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the States,” approved February nineteenth, nineteen hundred and three, are authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the United States.
Fourth. All such mandamus proceedings as under the provisions Mandamus proceedings. Vol. 34, p. 593. Vol. 25, p. 862. of section twenty or section twenty-three of the Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, are authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the United States. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as enlarging the Limitation. jurisdiction now possessed by the circuits courts of the United States or the judges thereof, that is hereby transferred to and vested in the commerce court. 540 Jurisdiction exclusive.
Cases not included. The jurisdiction of the commerce court over cases of the foregoing classes shall be exclusive; but this Act shall not affect the jurisdiction now possessed by any circuit or district court of the United States over cases or proceedings of a kind not within the above-enumerated classes. Status of court. The commerce court shall be a court of record, and shall have a seal Composition. of such form and style as the court may prescribe. The said court shall be composed of five judges, to be from time to time designated and assigned thereto by the Chief Justice of the United States, from among the circuit judges of the United States, for the period of five years, except that in the first instance the court shall be composed of the five additional circuit judges to be appointed as hereinafter Designation for first period. provided, who shall be designated by the President to serve for one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively, in order that the period of designation of one of the said judges shall expire in each year Filling vacancies. thereafter.
In case of the death, resignation, or termination of assignment of any judge so designated, the Chief Justice shall designate a circuit judge to fill the vacancy so caused and to serve during the unexpired period for which the original designation was made. Subsequent designations. After the year nineteen hundred and fourteen no circuit judge shall be redesignated to serve in the commerce court until the expiration of at least one year after the expiration of the period of his last previous Presiding judge. designation.
The judge first designated for the five-year period shall be the presiding judge of said court, and thereafter the judge senior in designation shall be the presiding judge. Expense allowance to judges. Each of the judges during the period of his service in the commerce court shall, on account of the regular sessions of the court being held in the city of Washington, receive in addition to his salary as circuit judge an expense allowance at the rate of one thousand five hundred dollars per annum.
Appointment of additional circuit judges. Assignment. The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint five additional circuit judges no two of whom shall be from the same judicial circuit, who shall hold office during good behavior and who shall be from time to time designated and assigned by the Chief Justice of the United States for service in the circuit court for any district, or the circuit court of appeals for any circuit, or in the commerce court.
Precedence and succession. The associate judges shall have precedence and shall succeed to the place and powers of the presiding judge whenever he may be absent or incapable of acting in the order of the date of their designations. Quorum of court. Four of said judges shall constitute a quorum, and at least a majority of the court shall concur in all decisions. Officials. The court shall also have a clerk and a marshal, with the same duties and powers, so far as they may be appropriate and are not altered by rule of the court, as are now possessed by the clerk and marshal, respectively, of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Offices. The offices of the clerk and marshal of the court shall be in the city Appointment of officials. of Washington, in the District of Columbia. The judges of the court shall appoint the clerk and marshal, and may also appoint, if they find it necessary, a deputy clerk and deputy marshal; and such clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, and deputy marshal shall hold office during Salaries, etc. the pleasure of the court. The salary of the clerk shall be four thousand dollars per annum; the salary of the marshal three thousand dollars per annum; the salary of the deputy clerk two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; and the salary of the deputy marshal two thousand five hundred dollars per annum.
The said clerk and marshal may, with the approval of the court, employ all requisite assistance. Costs and fees. The costs and fees in said court shall be established by the court in a table thereof, approved by the Supreme Court of the United States, within four months after the organization of the court; but such costs 541 and fees shall in no case exceed those charged in the Supreme Court of the United States, and shall be accounted for and paid into the Treasury of the United States.
The commerce court shall be always open for the transaction of Court permanently open. Sessions in Washington. Elsewhere. business. Its regular sessions shall be held in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia; but the powers of the court or of any judge thereof, or of the clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal may be exercised anywhere in the United States; and for expedition Expenses outside of Washington. of the work of the court and the avoidance of undue expense or inconvenience to suitors the court shall hold sessions in different parts of the United States as may be found desirable.
The actual and necessary expenses of the judges, clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, and deputy marshal of the court incurred for travel and attendance elsewhere than in the city of Washington shall be paid upon the written and itemized certificate of such judge, clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal by the marshal of the court, and shall be allowed to him in the statement of his accounts with the United States. The United States marshals of the several districts outside of the Court rooms outside of Washington. city of Washington in which the commerce court may hold its sessions shall provide, under the direction and with the approval of the Attorney-General of the United States, such rooms in the public buildings of the United States as may be necessary for the court’s use; but in case proper rooms can not be provided in such public buildings, said marshals, with the approval of the Attorney-General of the United States, may then lease from time to time other necessary rooms for the court.
If, at any time, the business of the commerce court does not require Assignment of judges to other duty. the services of all the judges, the Chief Justice of the United States may, by writing, signed by him and filed in the Department of Justice, terminate the assignment of any of the judges or temporarily assign him for service in any circuit court or circuit court of appeals. In Temporary assignment to fill vacancies. case of illness or other disability of any judge assigned to the commerce court the Chief Justice of the United States may assign any other circuit judge of the United States to act in his place, and may terminate such assignment when the exigence therefor shall cease; and any circuit judge so assigned to act in place of such judge shall, during his assignment, exercise all the powers and perform all the functions of such judge.
In all cases within its jurisdiction the commerce court, and each Powers of court and judges. of the judges assigned thereto, shall, respectively, have and may exercise any and all of the powers of a circuit court of the United States and of the judges of said court, respectively, so far as the same may be appropriate to the effective exercise of the jurisdiction hereby conferred. The commerce court may issue all writs and process Issue of process. appropriate to the full exercise of its jurisdiction and powers and may prescribe the form thereof.
It may also, from time to time, Procedure. establish such rules and regulations concerning pleading, practice, or procedure in cases or matters within its jurisdiction as to the court shall seem wise and proper. Its orders, writs, and process Service, etc., of process. may run, be served, and be returnable anywhere in the United States; and the marshal and deputy marshal of said court and also the United States marshals and deputy marshals in the several districts of the United States shall have like powers and be under like duties to act for and in behalf of said court as pertain to United States marshals and deputy marshals generally when acting under like conditions concerning suits or matters in the circuits of the United States.
The jurisdiction of the commerce court shall be invoked by filing in Filing of petitions for relief. the office of the clerk of the court a written petition setting forth briefly and succinctly the facts constituting the petitioner’s cause of 542 Service of copies. action, and specifying the relief sought. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith served by the marshal or a deputy marshal of the commerce court or by the proper United States marshal or deputy marshal upon every defendant therein named, and when the United States is a party defendant, the service shall be made by filing a copy of said petition in the office of the Secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission Filing of answer. and in the Department of Justice.
Within thirty days after the petition is served, unless that time is extended by order of the court or a judge thereof, an answer to the petition shall be filed in the clerk’s office, and a copy thereof mailed to the petitioner’s attorney, which answer shall briefly and categorically respond to the allegations of the petition. No replication need be filed to the answer, and objections to the sufficiency of the petition or answer as not setting forth a cause of action or defense must be taken at the final hearing or by motion to dismiss the petition based on said grounds, which motion Relief if no answer be filed. may be made at any time before answer is filed.
In case no answer shall be filed as provided herein the petitioner may apply to the court on notice for such relief as may be proper upon the facts alleged Taking evidence. in the petition. The court may, by rule, prescribe the method of taking evidence in cases pending in said court; and may prescribe that the evidence be taken before a single judge of the court, with Practice and procedure. power to rule upon the admission of evidence. Except as may be otherwise provided in this Act, or by rule of the court, the practice and procedure in the commerce court shall conform as nearly as may be to that in like cases in a circuit court of the United States.
Opening of court. The commerce court shall be opened for the transaction of business at a date to be fixed by order of the said court, which shall be not later than thirty days after the judges thereof shall have been designated. Sec. 2. Appeals to Supreme Court. That a final judgment or decree of the commerce court may be reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States if appeal to the Supreme Court be taken by an aggrieved party within sixty days after the entry of said final judgment or decree.
Such appeal may be taken in like manner as appeals from a circuit court of the United States to the Supreme Court, and the commerce court may direct the original record to be transmitted on appeal instead of a transcript thereof. The Supreme Court may affirm, reverse, or modify the final judgment or decree of the commerce court as the case may require. No stay of judgment unless Supreme Court so directs. Appeal to the Supreme Court, however, shall in no case supersede or stay the judgment or decree of the commerce court appealed from, unless the Supreme Court or a justice thereof shall so direct, and appellant shall give bond in such form and of such amount as the Supreme Court, or the justice of that court allowing the stay, may require.
Appeals on injunctions. An appeal may also be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States from an interlocutory order or decree of the commerce court granting or continuing an injunction restraining the enforcement of an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission, provided such appeal be taken within thirty days from the entry of such order or decree. Priority of appeals. Appeals to the Supreme Court under this section shall have priority in hearing and determination over all other causes except criminal causes in that court.
Sec. 3. Suits to enjoin, etc., orders of Commission to be against United States. That suits to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be brought in the commerce court against the United States. The pendency of such suit shall not of itself stay or suspend the operation of the order of the Interstate Commerce Commission; but the commerce court, in its discretion, may restrain or suspend, in whole or in part, the operation 543 of the commission’s order pending the final hearing and determination of the suit.
No order or injunction so restraining or suspending Temporary suspension to prevent irreparable damage. an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be made by the commerce court otherwise than upon notice and after hearing, except that in cases where irreparable damage would otherwise ensue to the petitioner, said court, or a judge thereof may, on hearing after not less than three days’ notice to the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Attorney-General, allow a temporary stay or suspension Time limit. in whole or in part of the operation of the order of the Interstate Commerce Commission for not more than sixty days from the date of the order of such court or judge, pending application to the court for its order or injunction, in which case the said order shall contain a specific finding, based upon evidence submitted to the judge making the order and identified by reference thereto, that such irreparable damage would result to the petitioner and specifying the nature of the damage.
The court may, at the time of hearing such application, Extension. upon a like finding, continue the temporary stay or suspension in whole or in part until its decision upon the application. Sec. 4. That all cases and proceedings in the commerce court United States substituted for Interstate Commerce Commission in all cases. which but for this Act would be brought by or against the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be brought by or against the United States, and the United States may intervene in any case or proceeding in the commerce court whenever, though it has not been made a party, public interests are involved.
Sec. 5. That the Attorney-General shall have charge and control of Attorney-General to control all cases. the interests of the Government in all cases and proceedings in the commerce court, and in the Supreme Court of the United States upon appeal from the commerce court; and if in his opinion the public Special attorneys, etc, to assist. interest requires it, he may retain and employ in the name of the United States, within the appropriations from time to time made by the Congress for such purposes, such special attorneys and counselors at law as he may think necessary to assist in the discharge of any of the duties incumbent upon him and his subordinate attorneys; and Compensation. the Attorney-General shall stipulate with such special attorneys and counsel the amount of their compensation, which shall not be in excess of the sums appropriated therefor by Congress for such purposes, and shall have supervision of their action: *Provided*, That the Interstate *Proviso*.
Appearance of Commission, etc. Commerce Commission and any party or parties in interest to the proceeding before the commission, in which an order or requirement is made, may appear as parties thereto of their own motion and as of right, and be represented by their counsel, in any suit wherein is involved the validity of such order or requirement or any part thereof, and the interest of such party; and the court wherein is pending such suit may make all such rules and orders as to such appearances and representations, the number of counsel, and all matters of procedure, and otherwise, as to subserve the ends of justice and speed the determination of such suits: *Provided further*, That Parties interested may intervene. communities, associations, corporations, firms, and individuals who are interested in the controversy or question before the Interstate Commerce Commission, or in any suit which may be brought by anyone under the terms of this Act, or the Acts of which it is amendatory or which are amendatory of it, relating to action of the Interstate Commerce Commission, may intervene in said suit or proceedings at any time after the institution thereof, and the Attorney-General shall Rights of intervenors. not dispose of or discontinue said suit or proceeding over the objection of such party or intervenor aforesaid, but said intervenor or intervenors may prosecute, defend, or continue said suit or proceeding unaffected by the action or nonaction of the Attorney-General of the United States therein. 544 Rights of complainants to appear, etc.
Complainants before the Interstate Commerce Commission interested in a case shall have the right to appear and be made parties to the case and be represented before the courts by counsel under such regulations as are now permitted in similar circumstances under the rules and practice of equity courts of the United States. Sec. 6. Cases prior to opening of court. That until the opening of the commerce court as in section one hereof provided, all cases and proceedings of which from that time the commerce court is hereby given exclusive jurisdiction may be brought in the same courts and conducted in like manner and with Appeals, etc. like effect as is now provided by law; and if any such case or proceeding shall have gone to final judgment or decree before the opening of the commerce court, appeal may be taken from such final judgment or decree in like manner and with like effect as is now Pending cases transferred. provided by law.
Any such case or proceeding within the jurisdiction of the commerce court which may have been begun in any other court as hereby allowed before the said date shall be forthwith transferred to the commerce court, if it has not yet proceeded to final judgment Exception. or decree in such other court unless it has been finally submitted for the decision of such court, in which case the cause shall proceed in such court to final judgment or decree and further proceeding thereafter, and appeal may be taken direct to the Supreme Court, and if remanded such cause may be sent back to the court from which the appeal was taken or to the commerce court for further proceeding Status of transferred cases. as the Supreme Court shall direct; and all previous proceedings in such transferred case shall stand and operate notwithstanding the transfer, subject to the same control over them by the commerce court and to the same right of subsequent action in the case or proceeding as if the transferred case or proceeding had been originally Original papers, etc., to be transmitted. begun in the commerce court.
The clerk of the court from which any case or proceeding is so transferred to the commerce court shall transmit to and file in the commerce court the originals of all papers filed in such case or proceeding and a certified transcript of all record entries in the case or proceeding up to the time of transfer. Agent in Washington to be designated by carriers for service of process, etc. It shall be the duty of every common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, within sixty days after the taking effect of this Act, to designate in writing an agent in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, upon whom service of all notices and processes may be made for and on behalf of said common carrier in any proceeding or suit pending before the Interstate Commerce Commission or before said commerce court, and to file such designation in the office of the secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which designation may from time to time be changed by like writing similarly filed; and thereupon service of all notices and processes may be made upon such common carrier by leaving a copy thereof with such designated agent at his office or usual place of residence in the city of Washington, with like effect as if made personally upon such common Service in default of designation. carrier, and in default of such designation of such agent, service of any notice or other process in any proceeding before said Interstate Commerce Commission or commerce court may be made by posting such notice or process in the office of the secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Sec. 7. Interstate commerce regulations. Vol. 24, p. 379; Vol. 34, p. 584, amended. That section one of the Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce," approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended so as to read as follows: " “Section 1. Application. Transportation by pipe lines, etc., between States. Telegraph, telephone, and cable companies included. That the provisions of this Act shall apply to any corporation or any person or persons engaged in the transportation of oil or other commodity, except water and except natural or artificial gas, by means of pipe lines, or partly by pipe lines and partly by railroad, or partly by pipe lines and partly by water, and to tele-545graph, telephone, and cable companies (whether wire or wireless) engaged in sending messages from one State, Territory, or District of the United States, to any other State, Territory, or District of the United States, or to any foreign country, who shall be considered and held to be common carriers within the meaning and purpose of this Act, and to any common carrier or carriers engaged in the transportation Railroad, etc. of passengers or property wholly by railroad (or partly by railroad and partly by water when both are used under a common control, management, or arrangement for a continuous carriage or shipment), from one State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, to any other State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, or from one place in a Territory Within a Territory. to another place in the same Territory, or from any place in the United States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place in Foreign shipments. the United States through a foreign country to any other place in the United States, and also to the transportation in like manner of Transshipments. property shipped from any place in the United States to a foreign country and carried from such place to a port of transshipment, or shipped from a foreign country to any place in the United States and carried to such place from a port of entry either in the United States or an adjacent foreign country: *Provided, however*, That the provisions *Proviso*.
Within one State not included. of this Act shall not apply to the transportation of passengers or property, or to the receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of property wholly within one State and not shipped to or from a foreign country from or to any State or Territory as aforesaid, nor shall they apply to the transmission of messages by telephone, telegraph, or cable wholly within one State and not transmitted to or from a foreign country from or to any State or Territory as aforesaid.
“The term ‘common carrier’ as used in this Act shall include Express and sleeping car companies. “Railroad” to include bridges, etc. express companies and sleeping car companies. The term ‘railroad’ as used in this Act shall include all bridges and ferries used or operated in connection with any railroad, and also all the road in use by any corporation operating a railroad, whether owned or operated under a contract, agreement, or lease, and shall also include all Switches, terminal facilities, etc., also. switches, spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities of every kind used or necessary in the transportation of the persons or property designated herein, and also all freight depots, yards, and grounds used or necessary in the transportation or delivery of any of said property; and “Transportation” to include cars, facilities for storing, icing, etc. the term ‘transportation’ shall include cars and other vehicles and all instrumentalities and facilities of shipment or carriage, irrespective of ownership or of any contract, express or implied, for the use thereof and all services in connection with the receipt, delivery, elevation, and transfer in transit, ventilation, refrigeration or icing, storage, and handling of property transported; and it shall be the duty of Carriers to furnish, etc. every carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to provide and furnish such transportation upon reasonable request therefor, and to establish through routes and just and reasonable rates applicable Through routes. thereto; and to provide reasonable facilities for operating such through routes and to make reasonable rules and regulations with respect to the exchange, interchange, and return, of cars used therein, Return of cars, etc. and for the operation of such through routes, and providing for reasonable compensation to those entitled thereto.
“All charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered in the Charges to be just and reasonable. Telegraph, etc., messages. transportation of passengers or property and for the transmission of messages by telegraph, telephone, or cable, as aforesaid, or in connection therewith, shall be just and reasonable; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service or any part thereof is prohibited and declared to be unlawful: *Provided*, That messages by *Provisos*. Classification. telegraph, telephone, or cable, subject to the provisions of this Act, may be classified into day, night, repeated, unrepeated, letter, com-546mercial, press, Government, and such other classes as are just and reasonable, and different rates may be charged for the different Contracts by telegraph, etc., companies with carriers. classes of messages: *And provided further*, That nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent telephone, telegraph, and cable companies from entering into contracts with common carriers, for the exchange of services.
Classifications of property, etc., to be just and reasonable. “And it is hereby made the duty of all common carriers subject to the provisions of this Act to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable classifications of property for transportation, with reference to which rates, tariffs, regulations, or practices are or may be Regulations. made or prescribed, and just and reasonable regulations and practices affecting classifications, rates, or tariffs, the issuance, form, and substance of tickets, receipts, and bills of lading, the manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering property Facilities for baggage, etc. for transportation, the facilities for transportation, the carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, and all other matters relating to or connected with the receiving, handling, transporting, storing, and delivery of property subject to the provisions of this Act which may be necessary or proper to secure the safe and prompt receipt, handling, transportation, and delivery of property subject to the Unjust classifications, etc., of interstate and foreign commerce unlawful. provisions of this Act upon just and reasonable terms, and every such unjust and unreasonable classification, regulation, and practice with reference to commerce between the States and with foreign countries is prohibited and declared to be unlawful.
Passes, etc., prohibited. “No common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act shall, after January first, nineteen hundred and seven, directly or indirectly, issue or give any interstate free ticket, free pass, or free transportation Exceptions. for passengers, except to its employees and their families, its officers, agents, surgeons, physicians, and attorneys at law; to ministers of religion, traveling secretaries of railroad Young Men’s Christian Associations, inmates of hospitals and charitable and eleemosynary institutions, and persons exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work; to indigent, destitute, and homeless persons, and to such persons when transported by charitable societies or hospitals, and the necessary agents employed in such transportation; to inmates of the National Homes or State Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Homes, including those about to enter and those returning home after discharge; to necessary care takers of live stock, poultry, milk, and fruit; to employees on sleeping cars, express cars, and to linemen of telegraph and telephone companies; to Railway Mail Service employees, post-office inspectors, customs inspectors, and immigration inspectors; to newsboys on trains, baggage agents, witnesses attending any legal investigation in which the common carrier is interested, persons injured in wrecks and physicians and nurses attending such persons: *Provided*, That *Provisos*.
Interchange for employees, families, etc. this provision shall not be construed to prohibit the interchange of passes for the officers, agents, and employees of common carriers, Epidemics, etc. and their families; nor to prohibit any common carrier from carrying passengers free with the object of providing relief in cases of general epidemic, pestilence, or other calamitous visitation: *And provided Exchange of telegraph franks. further*, That this provision shall not be construed to prohibit the privilege of passes or franks, or the exchange thereof with each other, for the officers, agents, employees, and their families of such telegraph, telephone and cable lines, and the officers, agents, employees and their families of other common carriers subject to the provisions Persons, included as “employees.” of this Act: *Provided further*, That the term ‘employees’ as used in this paragraph shall include furloughed, pensioned, and superannuated employees, persons who have become disabled or infirm in the service of any such common carrier, and the remains of a person killed in the employment of a carrier and ex-employees traveling 547 for the purpose of entering the service of any such common carrier; and the term ‘families’ as used in this paragraph shall include the “Families” extended. families of those persons named in this proviso, also the families of persons killed, and the widows during widowhood and minor children during minority of persons who died, while in the service of any such common carrier.
Any common carrier violating this provision shall Penalty for violations. be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each offense, on conviction, shall pay to the United States a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, and any person, other than the persons excepted in this provision, who uses any such interstate free ticket, free pass, or free transportation shall be subject to a like penalty. Jurisdiction of offenses under this provision shall Jurisdiction. be the same as that provided for offenses in an Act entitled ‘An Act Vol. 32, p. 847. to further regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the States,’ approved February nineteenth, nineteen hundred and three, and any amendment thereof.
“From and after May first, nineteen hundred and eight, it shall be Railroads not to carry products in which interested. unlawful for any railroad company to transport from any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, to any other State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or to any foreign country, any article or commodity, other than timber and the manufactured products Timber excepted. thereof, manufactured, mined, or produced by it, or under its authority, or which it may own in whole or in part, or in which it may have any interest, direct or indirect, except such articles or commodities as may be necessary and intended for its use in the conduct of its business as a common carrier.
“Any common carrier subject to the povisions of this Act, upon Switches and cars to be furnished by carriers. application of any lateral, branch line of railroad, or of any shipper tendering interstate traffic for transportation, shall construct, maintain, and operate upon reasonable terms a switch connection with any such lateral, branch line of railroad, or private side track which may be constructed to connect with its railroad, where such connection is reasonably practicable and can be put in with safety and will furnish sufficient business to justify the construction and maintenance of the same; and shall furnish cars for the movement of such traffic to the best of its ability without discrimination in favor of or against any such shipper.
If any common carrier shall fail to install and operate Enforcement. any such switch or connection as aforesaid, on application therefor in writing by any shipper or owner of such lateral, branch line of railroad, such shipper or owner of such lateral, branch line of railroad may make complaint to the commission, as provided in section thirteen of this Act, and the commission shall hear and investigate the same and shall determine as to the safety and practicability thereof and justification and reasonable compensation therefor, and the commission may make an order, as provided in section fifteen of *Post*, p. 551. this Act, directing the common carrier to comply with the provisions of this section in accordance with such order, and such order shall be enforced as hereinafter provided for the enforcement of all other orders by the commission, other than orders for the payment of money.
” " Sec. 8. That section four of said Act to regulate commerce be Long and short hauls. Vol. 24, p. 380, amended. amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier subject Aggregate charge for shorter not to exceed longer distance over same route.to the provisions of this Act to charge or receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of passengers, or of like kind of property, for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line or route in the same direction, the shorter being included within the longer distance, or to charge any greater compensation as a through route than the aggregate of the intermediate rates subject to the provisions of this Act; but this shall not be construed as Nor to equal. 548 authorizing any common carrier within the terms of this Act to charge or receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a longer *Provisos*.
Allowance in special cases. distance: *Provided, however*, That upon application to the Interstate Commerce Commission such common carrier may in special cases, after investigation, be authorized by the commission to charge less for longer than for shorter distances for the transportation of passengers or property; and the commission may from time to time prescribe the extent to which such designated common carrier may be Temporary continuance of present rates. relieved from the operation of this section: *Provided further*, That no rates or charges lawfully existing at the time of the passage of this amendatory Act shall be required to be changed by reason of the provisions of this section prior to the expiration of six months after Applications for changes. the passage of this Act, nor in any case where application shall have been filed before the commission, in accordance with the provisions of this section, until a determination of such application by the commission.
Competition with water routes. Increase of reduced rates restricted. “Whenever a carrier by railroad shall in competition with a water route or routes reduce the fates on the carriage of any species of freight to or from competitive points, it shall not be permitted to increase such rates unless after hearing by the Interstate Commerce Commission it shall be found that such proposed increase rests upon changed conditions other than the elimination of water competition.” " Sec. 9.
Schedules of rates, etc. Vol. 24, p. 382; Vol. 25, p. 855; Vol. 34, p. 587, amended. That section six of said Act to regulate commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended by adding four new paragraphs at the end thereof, as follows: " Schedules not giving effective date unlawful. “The commission may reject and refuse to file any schedule that is tendered for filing which does not provide and give lawful notice of its effective date, and any schedule so rejected by the commission shall be void and its use shall be unlawful.
Penalty for noncompliance with regulations, orders, etc., of Commission. “In case of failure or refusal on the part of any carrier, receiver, or trustee to comply with the terms of any regulation adopted and promulgated or any order made by the commission under the provisions of this section, such carrier, receiver, or trustee shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred dollars for each such offense, and twenty-five dollars for each and every day of the continuance of such offense, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil action brought by the United States.
Penalty for failing to give, or misstating rates for shipment. “If any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, after written request made upon the agent of such carrier hereinafter in this section referred to, by any person or company for a written statement of the rate or charge applicable to a described shipment between stated places under the schedules or tariffs to which such carrier is a party, shall refuse or omit to give such written statement within a reasonable time, or shall misstate in writing the applicable rate, and if the person or company making such request suffers damage in consequence of such refusal or omission or in consequence of the misstatement of the rate, either through making the shipment over a line or route for which the proper rate is higher than the rate over another available line or route, or through entering into any sale or other contract whereunder such person or company obligates himself or itself to make such shipment of freight at his or its cost, then the said carrier shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred and fifty dollars, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil action brought by the United States.
Name of resident agent to be posted at every freight station. “It shall be the duty of every carrier by railroad to keep at all times conspicuously posted in every station where freight is received for transportation the name of an agent resident in the city, village, or town where such station is located, to whom application may be made for the information by this section required to be furnished on 549 written request; and in case any carrier shall fail at any time to have such name so posted in any station, it shall be sufficient to address such request in substantially the following form: ‘The Station Agent of the -------------- Company at --------------- Station,’ together with the name of the proper post-office, inserting the name of the carrier company and of the station in the blanks, and to serve the same by depositing the request so addressed, with postage thereon prepaid, in any post-office.
” " Sec. 10. That section ten of said Act to regulate commerce, as Penalties. Vol. 24, p. 382; Vol. 25, p. 857, amended. heretofore amended, be now amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 10. That any common carrier subject to the provisions of Violations of act by carriers, officers, etc., a misdemeanor. his Act, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, any director or officer thereof, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or person acting for or employed by such corporation, who, alone or with any other corporation, company, person, or party, shall willfully do or cause to be done, or shall willingly suffer or permit to be done, any act, matter, or thing in this Act prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who shall aid or abet therein, or shall willfully omit or fail to do any act, matter, or thing in this Act required to be done, or shall cause or willingly suffer or permit any act, matter, or thing so directed or required by this Act to be done not to be so done, or shall aid or abet any such omission or failure, or shall be guilty of any infraction of this Act for which no penalty is otherwise provided, or who shall aid or abet therein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any district court of the United Penalty.
States within the jurisdiction of which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars for each offense: *Provided*, That if the offense for which any person shall be *Proviso*. Punishment for unlawful discrimination in rates, etc. convicted as aforesaid shall be an unlawful discrimination in rates, fares, or charges for the transportation of passengers or property, such person shall, in addition to the fine hereinbefore provided for, be liable to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
“Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or, Issuing false billing, classification, etc., by carrier, a misdemeanor. whenever such common carrier is a corporation, any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting for or employed by such corporation, who, by means of false billing, false classification, false weighing, or false report of weight, or by any other device or means, shall knowingly and willfully assist, or shall willingly suffer or permit, any person or persons to obtain transportation for property at less than the regular rates then established and in force on the line of transportation of such common carrier, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the Punishment.
United States of competent jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the court, for each offense. “Any person, corporation, or company, or any agent or officer Attempting to secure lower rates, by false billing, etc., by shipper, a misdemeanor. thereof, who shall deliver property for transportation to any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or for whom, as consignor or consignee, any such carrier shall transport property, who shall knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, himself or by employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, by false billing, false classification, false weighing, false representation of the contents of the package or the substance of the property, false report of weight, false statement, or by any other device or means, whether with or without the consent or connivance of the carrier, its agent, or officer, obtain or attempt to obtain transportation for such property at less than the 550 regular rates then established and in force on the line of transportation;
Making false claim for damages, etc., in transit, a misdemeanor. or who shall knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, himself or by employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, by false statement or representation as to cost, value, nature, or extent of injury, or by the use of any false bill, bill of lading, receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent, or to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, obtain or attempt to obtain any allowance, refund, or payment for damage or otherwise in connection with or growing out of the transportation of or agreement to transport such property, whether with or without the consent or connivance of the carrier, whereby the compensation of such carrier for such transportation, either before or after payment, shall in fact be made less than the regular rates then established and in force on the line of transportation, shall be deemed guilty of fraud, which is hereby Punishment. declared to be a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was wholly or in part committed, be subject for each offense to a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding *Proviso*.
Artificial persons. two years, or both, in the discretion of the court: *Provided*, That the penalty of imprisonment shall not apply to artificial persons. Attempting, etc., to secure unjust discrimination from carrier, by bribery, etc., a misdemeanor. “If any such person, or any officer or agent of any such corporation or company, shall, by payment of money or other thing of value, solicitation, or otherwise, induce or attempt to induce any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or any of its officers or agents, to discriminate unjustly in his, its, or their favor as against any other consignor or consignee in the transportation of property, or shall aid or abet any common carrier in any such unjust discrimination, such person or such officer or agent of such corporation or company shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction within the Punishment. district in which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the Action for damages. court, for each offense; and such person, corporation, or company shall also, together with said common carrier, be liable, jointly or severally, in an action to be brought by any consignor or consignee discriminated against in any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction for all damages caused by or resulting therefrom.
” " Sec. 11. Complaints for violations. Vol. 24, p. 383, amended. That section thirteen of said Act to regulate commerce be amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 13. Filing of complaints against carriers for violations. That any person, firm, corporation, company, or association, or any mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society or other organization, or any body politic or municipal organization, or any common carrier, complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, in contravention of the provisions thereof, may apply to said commission Notification to carrier. by petition, which shall briefly state the facts; whereupon a statement of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the commission to such common carrier, who shall be called upon to satisfy the complaint, or to answer the same in writing, within a reasonable time, to Effect of reparation. be specified by the commission.
If such common carrier within the time specified shall make reparation for the injury alleged to have been done, the common carrier shall be relieved of liability to the complainant only for the particular violation of law thus complained of. Investigation by Commission. If such carrier or carriers shall not satisfy the complaint within the time specified, or there shall appear to be any reasonable ground for investigating said complaint, it shall be the duty of the commission to investigate the matters complained of in such manner and by such means as it shall deem proper. 551 “Said commission shall, in like manner and with the same authority Commission to investigate complaints by State commission, or on its own motion. and powers, investigate any complaint forwarded by the railroad commissioner or railroad commission of any State or Territory at the request of such commissioner or commission, and the Interstate Commerce Commission shall have full authority and power at any time to institute an inquiry, on its own motion, in any case and as to any matter or thing concerning which a complaint is authorized to be made, to or before said commission by any provision of this Act, or concerning which any question may arise under any of the provisions of this Act, or relating to the enforcement of any of the provisions of this Act.
And the said commission shall have the same Enforcement of orders. powers and authority to proceed with any inquiry instituted on its own motion as though it had been appealed to by complaint or petition under any of the provisions of this Act, including the power to make and enforce any order or orders in the case, or relating to the matter or thing concerning which the inquiry is had excepting orders for the payment of money. No complaint shall at any time be dismissed Direct damage not necessary. because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant.
” " Sec. 12. That section fifteen of said Act to regulate commerce, as Violations. Vol. 24, p. 384; Vol. 34, p. 589, amended. heretofore amended, is hereby now amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 15. That whenever, after full hearing upon a complaint Commission to determine if charges, classifications, etc., are unjust, discriminatory, etc. *Ante*, p. 550. made as provided in section thirteen of this Act, or after full hearing under an order for investigation and hearing made by the commission on its own initiative (either in extension of any pending complaint or without any complaint whatever), the commission shall be of opinion that any individual or joint rates or charges whatsoever demanded, charged, or collected by any common carrier or carriers subject to the provisions of this Act for the transportation of persons or property or for the transmission of messages by telegraph or telephone as defined in the first section of this Act, or that any individual or joint classifications, regulations, or practices whatsoever of such carrier or carriers subject to the provisions of this Act are unjust or unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or unduly preferential or prejudicial or otherwise in violation of any of the provisions of this Act, the Just and reasonable rates to be observed. commission is hereby authorized and empowered to determine and prescribe what will be the just and reasonable individual or joint rate or rates, charge or charges, to be thereafter observed in such case as the maximum to be charged, and what individual or joint classification, regulation, or practice is just, fair, and reasonable, to be thereafter followed, and to make an order that the carrier or carriers shall Orders to carriers. cease and desist from such violation to the extent to which the commission finds the same to exist, and shall not thereafter publish, demand, or collect any rate or charge for such transportation or transmission in excess of the maximum rate or charge so prescribed, and shall adopt the classification and shall conform to and observe the regulation or practice so prescribed.
All orders of the commission, Taking effect of orders. except orders for the payment of money, shall take effect within such reasonable time, not less than thirty days, and shall continue in Continuance. force for such period of time, not exceeding two years, as shall be prescribed in the order of the commission, unless the same shall be suspended or modified or set aside by the commission, or be suspended or set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. Whenever Apportionment of joint rates, etc. by Commission on failure of agreement by carriers. the carrier or carriers, in obedience to such order of the commission or otherwise, in respect to joint rates, fares, or charges, shall fail to agree among themselves upon the apportionment or division thereof the commission may, after hearing, make a supplemental order prescribing the just and reasonable proportion of such joint rate to be received by each carrier party thereto, which order shall take effect as a part of the original order. 552 New rates, classifications, etc.
Commission to determine propriety of. “Whenever there shall be filed with the commission any schedule stating a new individual or joint rate, fare, or charge, or any new individual or joint classification, or any new individual or joint regulation or practice affecting any rate, fare, or charge, the commission shall have, and it is hereby given, authority, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, at once, and if it so orders, without answer or other formal pleading by the interested carrier or carriers, but upon reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing concerning the propriety of such rate, fare, charge, classification, Suspension until decision. regulation, or practice; and pending such hearing and the decision thereon the commission upon filing with such schedule and delivering to the carrier or carriers affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for such suspension may suspend the operation of such schedule and defer the use of such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice, but not fora longer period than one hundred and twenty days beyond the time when such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice would otherwise go into effect;
Final determination. and after full hearing, whether completed before or after the rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the commission may make such order in reference to such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice as would be proper in a proceeding initiated after the rate, fare, charge, classification, *Proviso*. Extension of suspension. regulation, or practice had become effective: *Provided*, That if any such hearing can not be concluded within the period of suspension, as above stated, the Interstate Commerce Commission may, in its discretion, extend the time of suspension for a further period not exceeding Hearings on rates increased since January 1, 1910. six months.
At any hearing involving a rate increased after January first, nineteen hundred and ten, or of a rate sought to be increased after the passage of this Act, the burden of proof to show that the increased rate or proposed increased rate is just and reasonable shall be upon the common carrier, and the commission shall give to the hearing and decision of such questions preference over all other questions pending before it and decide the same as speedily as possible. Commission may establish through routes, joint classifications, and rates, etc., on failure of carriers.
“The commission may also, after hearing, on a complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, establish through routes and joint classifications, and may establish joint rates as the maximum to be charged and may prescribe the division of such rates as hereinbefore provided and the terms and conditions under which such through routes shall be operated, whenever the carriers themselves shall have refused or neglected to establish voluntarily such through Water connection included.
Electric roads not carrying freight excepted. routes or joint classifications or joint rates; and this provision shall apply when one of the connecting carriers is a water line. The commission shall not, however, establish any through route, classification, or rate between street electric passenger railways not engaged in the general business of transporting freight in addition to their passenger and express business and railroads of a different Water transportation excluded. character, nor shall the commission have the right to establish any route, classification, rate, fare, or charge when the transportation is wholly by water, and any transportation by water affected by this Act shall be subject to the laws and regulations applicable to transportation by water.
Through routes to embrace entire length of railroad. “And in establishing such through route, the commission shall not require any company, without its consent, to embrace in such route substantially less than the entire length of its railroad and of any intermediate railroad operated in conjunction and under a common management or control therewith which lies between the Exception. termini of such proposed through route, unless to do so would make such through route unreasonably long as compared with another practicable through route which could otherwise be established. 553 “In all cases where at the time of delivery of property to any Shipper’s choice of routes to be observed. railroad corporation being a common carrier, for transportation subject to the provisions of this Act to any point of destination, between which and the point of such delivery for shipment two or more through routes and through rates shall have been established as in this Act provided to which through routes and through rates such carrier is a party, the person, firm, or corporation making such shipment, subject to such reasonable exceptions and regulations as the Interstate Commerce Commission shall from time to time prescribe, shall have the right to designate in writing by which of such Issue of through bill of lading, etc., as requested. through routes such property shall be transported to destination, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the initial carrier to route said property and issue a through bill of lading therefor as so directed, and to transport said property over its own line or lines and deliver the same to a connecting line or lines according to such through route, and it shall be the duty of each of said connecting carriers to receive said property and transport it over the said line or lines and deliver the same to the next succeeding carrier or consignee according to the routing instructions in said bill of lading: *Provided, *Proviso*.
Choice of competing lines. however*, That the shipper shall in all instances have the right to determine, where competing lines of railroad constitute portions of a through line or route, over which of said competing lines so constituting a portion of said through line or route his freight shall be transported. “It shall be unlawful for any common carrier subject to the provisions Disclosing information of shipments unlawful. of this Act, or any officer, agent, or employee of such common carrier, or for any other person or corporation lawfully authorized by such common carrier to receive information therefrom, knowingly to disclose to or permit to be acquired by any person or corporation other than the shipper or consignee, without the consent of such shipper or consignee, any information concerning the nature, kind, quantity, destination, consignee, or routing of any property tendered or delivered to such common carrier for interstate transportation, which information may be used to the detriment or prejudice of such shipper or consignee, or which may improperly disclose his business transactions to a competitor; and it shall also be unlawful Receiving, unlawful. for any person or corporation to solicit or knowingly receive any such information which may be so used: *Provided*, That nothing in this *Proviso*.
Exception for legal process. Act shall be construed to prevent the giving of such information in response to any legal process issued under the authority of any state or federal court, or to any officer or agent of the Government of the United States, or of any State or Territory, in the exercise of his powers, or to any officer or other duly authorized person seeking such information for the prosecution of persons charged with or suspected of crime; or information given by a common carrier to another carrier Adjustment of accounts. or its duly authorized agent, for the purpose of adjusting mutual traffic accounts in the ordinary course of business of such carriers.
“Any person, corporation, or association violating any of the provisions Penalty for violations. of the next preceding paragraph of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each offense, on conviction, shall pay to the United States a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars. “If the owner of property transported under this Act directly or Allowance for transportation facilities, etc., furnished by shipper. indirectly renders any service connected with such transportation, or furnishes any instrumentality used therein, the charge and allowance therefor shall be no more than is just and reasonable, and the commission may, after hearing on a complaint or on its own initiative, Determination by Commission. determine what is a reasonable charge as the maximum to be paid by the carrier or carriers for the services so rendered or for the use of the instrumentality so furnished, and fix the same by appro-554priate order, which order shall have the same force and effect and be enforced in like manner as the orders above provided for under this section.
Other powers of Commission not excluded. “The foregoing enumeration of powers shall not exclude any power which the commission would otherwise have in the making of an order under the provisions of this Act.” " Sec. 13. Enforcing orders of Commission. Vol. 24, p. 384; Vol. 25, p. 859; Vol. 34, p. 590, amended. That section sixteen of said Act to regulate commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended so as to read as follows: " " “Sec. 16. Payment of money damages. That if, after hearing on a complaint made as provided in section thirteen of this Act, the commission shall determine that any party complainant is entitled to an award of damages under the provisions of this Act for a violation thereof, the commission shall make an order directing the carrier to pay to the complainant the sum to which he is entitled on or before a day named.
Proceedings in circuit court if money be not paid. “If a carrier does not comply with an order for the payment of money within the time limit in such order,. the complainant, or any person for whose benefit such order was made, may file in the circuit court of the United States for the district in which he resides or in which is located the principal operating office of the carrier, or through which the road of the carrier runs, or in any state court of general jurisdiction having jurisdiction of the parties, a petition setting forth briefly the causes for which he claims damages, and the Findings, etc., of Commission prima facie evidence. order of the commission in the premises.
Such suit in the circuit court of the United States shall proceed in all respects like other civil suits for damages, except that on the trial of such suit the findings and order of the commission shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, and except that the petitioner shall not be liable for costs in the circuit court nor for costs at any subsequent stage of the Attorney’s fee. proceedings unless they accrue upon his appeal. If the petitioner shall finally prevail he shall be allowed a reasonable attorney’s fee, Time limit for filing complaints. to be taxed and collected as a part of the costs of the suit.
All complaints for the recovery of damages shall be filed with the commission within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, and a petition for the enforcement of an order for the payment of money shall be filed in the circuit court or state court within one year from the date of the order, and not after. Joining of parties. “In such suits all parties in whose favor the commission may have made an award for damages by a single order may be joined as plaintiffs, and all of the carriers parties to such order awarding such damages may be joined as defendants, and such suit may be maintained by such joint plaintiffs and against such joint defendants in any district where any one of such joint plaintiffs could maintain Service of process. such suit against any one of such joint defendants; and service of process against any one of such defendants as may not be found in the district where the suit is brought may be made in any district Recoveries. where such defendant carrier has its principal operating office.
In case of such joint suit the recovery, if any, may be by judgment in favor of any one of such plaintiffs, against the defendant found to be liable to such plaintiff. Service of orders. “Every order of the commission shall be forthwith served upon the designated agent of the carrier in the city of Washington or in such other manner as may be provided by law. Suspension of orders. “The commission shall be authorized to suspend or modify its orders upon such notice and in such manner as it shall deem proper.
Compliance by carriers required. “It shall be the duty of every common carrier, its agents and employees, to observe and comply with such orders so long as the same shall remain in effect. Penalty for carrier not obeying orders. “Any carrier, any officer, representative, or agent of a carrier, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, or agent of either of them, who knowingly fails or neglects to obey any order made under the provisions 555 of section fifteen of this Act shall forfeit to the United States the *Ante*, p. 551. sum of five thousand dollars for each offense.
Every distinct violation Continuing violations. shall be a separate offense, and in case of a continuing violation each day shall be deemed a separate offense. “The forfeiture provided for in this Act shall be payable into the Recovery of forfeitures. Treasury of the United States, and shall be recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States, brought in the district where the carrier has its principal operating office, or in any district through which the road of the carrier runs.
“It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, under the Duties of district attorneys, etc. direction of the Attorney-General of the United States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures. The costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the United States. “The commission may employ such attorneys as it finds necessary Employment of attorneys, etc., by Commission. for proper legal aid and service of the commission or its members in the conduct of their work or for proper representation of the public interests in investigations made by it or cases or proceedings pending before it, whether at the commission’s own instance or upon complaint, or to appear for and represent the commission in any case pending in the commerce court; and the expenses of such employment shall Expenses. be paid out of the appropriation for the commission.
“If any carrier fails or neglects to obey any order of the commission Commerce court to enforce orders other than money payments. *Ante*, p. 539. other than for the payment of money, while the same is in effect, the Interstate Commerce Commission or any party injured thereby, or the United States, by its Attorney-General, may apply to the commerce court for the enforcement of such order. If, after hearing, Powers of court. that court determines that the order was regularly made and duly served, and that the carrier is in disobedience of the same, the court shall enforce obedience to such order by a writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, to restrain such carrier, its officers, agents, or representatives, from further disobedience of such order, or to enjoin upon it or them obedience to the same.
“The copies of schedules and classifications and tariffs of rates, Copies of schedules, etc., made public records. fares, and charges, and of all contracts, agreements, and arrangements between common carriers filed with the commission as herein provided, and the statistics, tables, and figures contained in the annual or other reports of carriers made to the commission as required under the provisions of this Act shall be preserved as public records in the custody of the secretary of the commission, and shall be received Receivable as evidence. as prima facie evidence of what they purport to be for the purpose of investigations by the commission and in all judicial proceedings; and copies of and extracts from any of said schedules, classifications, Certified copies. tariffs, contracts, agreements, arrangements, or reports, made public records as aforesaid, certified by the secretary, under the commission’s seal, shall be received in evidence with like effect as the originals.
” Sec. 14. That section twenty of said Act to regulate commerce, Annual statements. Vol. 24, p. 386; Vol. 34, p. 593, amended. as heretofore amended, is hereby amended by striking out the following paragraph: " “Said detailed reports shall contain all the required statistics for Matter stricken out. the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth day of June in each year, and shall be made out under oath and filed with the commission, at its office in Washington, on or before the thirtieth day of September then next following, unless additional time be granted in any case by the commission; and if any carrier, person, or corporation subject to the provisions of this Act shall fail to make and file said annual reports within the time above specified, or within the time extended by the commission for making and filing the same, or shall fail to make specific answer to any question authorized by the provi-556sions of this section within thirty days from the time it is lawfully required so to do, such parties shall forfeit to the United States the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every day it shall continue to be in default with respect thereto.
The commission shall also have authority to require said carriers to file monthly reports of earnings and expenses or special reports within a specified period, and if any such carrier shall fail to file such reports within the time fixed by the commission it shall be subject to the forfeitures last above provided;” " And by inserting in lieu of the paragraph so stricken out the following: " Annual reports of statistics; period changed. “Said detailed reports shall contain all the required statistics for the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth day of June in each year, or on the thirty-first day of December in each year if the commission by order substitute that period for the year ending June thirtieth, and shall be made out under oath and filed with the commission at its office in Washington within three months after the close of the year for which the report is made, unless additional time be Penalty for noncompliance. granted in any case by the commission; and if any carrier, person, or corporation subject to the provisions of this Act shall fail to make and file said annual reports within the time above specified, or within the time extended by the commission, for making and filing the same, or shall fail to make specific answer to any question authorized by the provisions of this section within thirty days from the time it is lawfully required so to do, such party shall forfeit to the United States the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every day it shall Monthly, periodical, or special reports, authorized. continue to be in default with respect thereto.
The commission shall also have authority by general or special orders to require said carriers, or any of them, to file monthly reports of earnings and expenses, and to file periodical or special, or both periodical and special, reports concerning any matters about which the commission is authorized or required by this or any other law to inquire or to keep itself informed or which it is required to enforce; and such periodical or special reports shall be under oath whenever the commission Penalty for failure. so requires; and if any such carrier shall fail to make and file any such periodical or special report within the time fixed by the commission, it shall be subject to the forfeitures last above provided.
” " Sec. 15. Prior proceedings, obligations, etc., not impaired. That nothing in this Act contained shall undo or impair any proceedings heretofore taken by or before the Interstate Commerce Commission or any of the Acts of said commission; and in any cases, proceedings, or matters now pending before it, the commission may exercise any of the powers hereby conferred upon it, as would be proper in cases, proceedings, or matters hereafter initiated; and nothing in this Act contained shall operate to release or affect any obligation, liability, penalty, or forfeiture heretofore existing against or incurred by any person, corporation, or association.
Sec. 16. Issue of stocks and bonds by railroads. President to appoint commission to investigate. *Post*, p. 774. That the President is hereby authorized to appoint a commission to investigate questions pertaining to the issuance of stocks and bonds by railroad corporations, subject to the provisions of the Act to regulate commerce, and the power of Congress to regulate or affect the same, and to fix the compensation of the Employment of experts, etc. members of such commission.
Said commission shall be and is hereby authorized to employ experts to aid in the work of inquiry and examination, and such clerks, stenographers, and other assistants Compensation. as may be necessary, which employees shall be paid such compensation as the commission may deem just and reasonable upon a certificate Details from departments, etc. to be issued by the chairman of the commission. The several departments and bureaus of the Government shall detail from time to time such officials and employees and furnish such information Expenses. to the commission as may be directed by the President.
For the 557 purposes of its investigations the commission shall be authorized to incur and have paid upon the certificate of its chairman such expenses as the commission shall deem necessary: *Provided, however*, That *Proviso*. Restriction. the total expenses authorized or incurred under the provisions of this section for compensation, employees, or otherwise, shall not exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars. Sec. 17. That no interlocutory injunction suspending or restraining State statutes.
Injunctions based on alleged unconstitutionality of, restricted. *Post*, p. 1162. the enforcement, operation, or execution of any statute of a State by restraining the action of any officer of such State in the enforcement or execution of such statute shall be issued or granted by any justice of the supreme court, or by any circuit court of the United States, or by any judge thereof, or by any district judge acting as circuit judge, upon the ground of the unconstitutionality of such statute, unless the application for the same shall be presented to a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, or to a circuit judge, or to a district judge acting as circuit judge, and shall be Hearing before three judges. heard and determined by three judges, of whom at least one shall be a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States or a circuit judge, and the other two may be either circuit or district judges, and unless a majority of said three judges shall concur in granting such application.
Whenever such application as aforesaid is presented to a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, or to a judge, he shall immediately call to his assistance to hear and determine the application two other judges: *Provided, however*, That one of such three *Provisos*. Qualification of judges. Notice to state officials, etc. judges shall be a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States or a circuit judge. Said application shall not be heard or determined before at least five days’ notice of the hearing has been given to the governor and to the attorney-general of the State, and to such other persons as may be defendants in the suit: *Provided*, That if of opinion Temporary restraining order to prevent irreparable damage. that irreparable loss or damage would result to the complainant unless a temporary restraining order is granted, any justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, or any circuit or district judge, may grant such temporary restraining order at any time before such hearing and determination of the application for an interlocutory injunction, but such temporary restraining order shall only remain in force until the hearing and determination of the application for an interlocutory injunction upon notice as aforesaid.
The hearing Precedence, etc., to hearings. upon such application for an interlocutory injunction shall be given precedence and shall be in every way expedited and be assigned for a hearing at the earliest practicable day after the expiration of the notice hereinbefore provided for. An appeal may be taken directly Direct appeal to Supreme Court. to the Supreme Court of the United States from the order granting or denying, after notice and hearing, an interlocutory injunction in such case.
Sec. 18. That this Act shall take effect and be in force from and To take effect in sixty days. Sections 12 and 16, immediately. after the expiration of sixty days after its passage, except as to sections twelve and sixteen, which sections shall take effect and be in force immediately. Approved, June 18, 1910.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.