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out the object for which said board was created and which are contemplated by this act; and for the purposes of this act the said commissioners shall have power to require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all books, papers, tariffs, schedules, contracts, agreements and documents relating to any matter under investigation, and to that end may invoke the aid of any court of this state in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents under the provisions of this section. And any court of this state within the jurisdiction of which such inquiry is carried on, shall in case of contumacy, or refusal to obey a subpœna, or other proper process issued to any common carrier or person subject to the provisions of this act, or other person, issue an order requiring such common carrier or other person to appear before said commissioners (and produce books and papers if so ordered) and give evidence touching or in relation to the matter in question; and any failure to obey such order of the court shall be punished by such court as a contempt thereof; the claim that any such testimony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such evidence, shall not excuse such person or witness from testifying; but such evidence or testimony shall not be used against such person on the trial of any criminal proceeding.

2061. Complaint. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 13. Any person, firm, corporation or association, or any mercantile, agricultural or manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal organization, 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 commissioners by petition which shall briefly state the facts whereupon a statement of the complaint thus made with the damages if any are alleged shall be forwarded by the said commissioners 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 be specified by the commissioners. If such common carrier within the time specified shall make reparation for the injury alleged to have been done or shall correct the wrong complained of, said carrier shall be relieved of liability to the complainant only for the particular violation of law thus complained of. If such common carrier 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 said commissioners to investigate the matters complained of in such manner and by such means as said commissoners shall deem proper and said commissioners whenever they may have sufficient reason to believe that any common carrier is violating any of the provisions of this act shall at once institute an inquiry in the same manner, and to the same effect, as though complaint had been made. No complaint shall at any time be dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant or complainants or petitioners.

2062. Investigation; report. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 14. Whenever an investigation shall be made by said commissioners after notice as provided by section thirteen, of this act [§ 2061], it shall be their duty to make a report in writing in respect thereto, which shall include the findings of fact upon which the conclusions of the commissioners are based, together with its or their recommendation or orders as to what reparation, if any, should

be made by the common carrier to any party, or parties, who may be found to have been injured; and such finding, so made shall thereafter in all judicial proceedings be deemed and taken as prima facie evidence as to each and every fact found. All reports of investigation made by said commissioners shall be entered of record, and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the party who may have complained and any other person or persons directly interested, and to any common carrier that may have been complained of. 2063. Findings; notice. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 15. If in any case in which an investigation shall be made by said commissioners it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the commissioners, either by the testimony of witnesses or other evidence that anything has been done or omitted to be done in violation of the provisions of this act or of any law cognizable by said commissioners by any common carrier, or that any injury or damages has been sustained by the party or parties complaining or by other parties aggrieved in consequence of any such violation it shall be the duty of said commissioners forthwith to cause a copy of their report in respect thereto to be delivered to such common carrier, together with a notice to said common carrier to cease and desist from such violation, or to make reparation for the injury so found to have been done, or both within a reasonable time to be specified by the commissioners; and if within the time specified it shall be made to appear to the commissioners that such common carrier has ceased from such violation of law and has made reparation for the injury found to have been done in compliance with the report and notice of the commissioners, or to the satisfaction of the party complaining, a statement to that effect shall be entered of record by the commissioners and the said common carrier shall thereupon be relieved from further liability or penalty for such particular violation of law.

2064. Enforcement of orders. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 16. Whenever any common carrier as defined in and subject to the provisions of this act shall violate or refuse or neglect to obey any lawful order or requirement of the said board of railroad commissioners, it shall be the duty of said commissioners, and lawful for any company or person interested in such order or requirement to apply in a summary way, by petition to the district or superior court in any county of this state in which the common carrier complained of has its principal office, or in any county through which its line or road passes or is operated, or in which the violation or disobedience of such order or requirement shall happen, alleging such violation or disobedience as the case may be; and the said court shall have power to hear and determine the matter, on such short notice to the common carrier complained of as the court shall deem reasonable; and such notice may be served on such common carrier, his or its officers, agents or servants in such manner as the court shall direct; and said court shall proceed to hear and determine the matter speedily as a court of equity and without the formal pleadings and proceedings applicable to ordinary suits in equity but in such manner as to do justice in the premises; and to this end such court shall have power, if it think fit to direct and prosecute, in such mode and by such persons as it may appoint all such inquiries as the court may think needful to enable it to form a just judgment in the matter of such petition; and on such hearing the report of said commissioners shall be prima facie evidence of the matter therein, or in

any order made by them stated; and if it be made to appear to such court on such hearing or on the report of any such person or persons, that the order or requirement of said commissioners drawn in the question, has been violated or disobeyed, it shall be lawful for such court to issue a writ of injunction, or other proper process mandatory or otherwise to restrain such common carrier from further continuing such violation or disobedience of such order or requirement of said commissioners and enjoining obedience to the same; and in case of any disobedience of any such writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, it shall be lawful for such courts to issue writs of attachment, or any other process of said court incident or applicable to writs of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, against such common carrier, and if a corporation, against one or more of the directors, officers or agents of the same, or against any owner, lessee, trustee, receiver or other person failing to obey such writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise; and said court may, if it shall think fit, make an order directing such common carrier or other person so disobeying such writ of injunction or other process mandatory or otherwise, to pay such sum of money not exceeding for each carrier or person in default the sum of one thousand dollars for every day after a day to be named in the order that such carrier or other person shall fail to obey such injunction or other proper process mandatory or otherwise; and such monies (moneys) shall, upon the order of the court, be paid into the treasury of the county in which the action was commenced and one-half thereof shall be transferred by the county treasurer to the state treasury; and the payment thereof may without prejudice to any other mode of recovering the same be enforced by attachment or order, in the nature of a writ of execution, in like manner as if the same had been recovered by a final decree in personam in such court, saving to the commissioners and any other party or person interested the right to appeal to the supreme court of the state under the same regulations now provided by law in relation to appeals to said court as to security for such appeal except that in no case shall security for such appeal be required when the same is taken by said commissioners; but no appeal to said supreme court shall operate, to stay or supersede the order of the court, or the execution of any writ or process thereon; and such court may in every such matter order the payment of such costs and attorney and counsel fees as shall be deemed reasonable. Whenever any such petition shall be filed or presented, or be prosecuted by the said commissioners, or by their direction it shall be the duty of the attorney-general of the state to prosecute the same, and in such prosecution he shall have the right to have the assistance of any county attorney of the county in which any such proceedings are instituted, and it is hereby made the duty of any such county attorney to render such assistance; and the costs and expenses on the part of said commissioners of any such prosecution shall be paid out of the appropriations for the expenses of said board of commissioners.

2065. Commissioners to make schedules. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 17. The board of railroad commissioners of this state are hereby empowered and directed to make for each of the railroad corporations, doing business in this state, as soon as practicable, a schedule of reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of freight and cars on each of said railroads. and said power to make schedules shall include the power of classification of

all such freights, and it shall be the duty of said commissioners to make such classification; provided, that the said rates of charges to be so fixed by said commissioners shall not in any case exceed the rates which are or may hereafter be established by law; and said schedules so made by said commissioners, shall in all suits brought against any such railroad corporations, wherein is in any way involved the charges of any such railroad corporation for the transportation of any freight or cars or unjust discrimination in relation thereto be deemed and taken in all courts of this state as prima facie evidence that the rates therein fixed are reasonable and just maximum rates of charges for the transportation of freight and cars upon the railroads for which said schedules may have been respectively prepared. Said commis sioners shall from time to time, and as often as circumstances may require, change and revise said schedules, subject to the same provision that the rates fixed are not to be higher than now or hereafter established by law. When any schedule shall have been made or revised as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of said commissioners to cause notice thereof to be published for two successive weeks in some public newspaper published in the city of Des Moines in this state, which notice shall state the date of the taking effect of said schedule and said schedule shall take effect at the time so stated in such notice and a printed copy of said revised schedule shall be conspicuously posted by such common carrier in each freight office and passenger depot upon its line or lines. All such schedules, so made, shall be received and held in all such suits as prima facie the schedule of said commissioners without further proof than the production of the schedule desired to be used as evidence, with a certificate of said railroad commissioners, that the same is a true copy of the schedule prepared by them for the railroad company or corporation therein named, and that notice of making the same has been published as required by law; provided that before finally fixing and deciding what the original maximum rates and classifications shall be, it shall be the duty of the railroad commissioners to publish ten days' notice in two daily papers published in Des Moines setting forth in such notice that at a certain time and place they will proceed to fix and determine such maximum rates and classification; and they shall at such time and place and as soon as practicable afford to any person, firm, corporation or common carrier who may desire it an opportunity to make an explanation or showing or to furnish information to said commissioners on the subject of determining and fixing such maximum rates and classification; and in any event the original schedule of rates and classification of freights on all lines of railroads in Iowa shall be fixed and shall go into effect within sixty days from the taking effect of this act.

The supreme court of the United States has decided that a statute of Minnesota giving the board of railroad commissioners authority to make a schedule of rates which shall be conclusive as to what are reasonable charges, without any opportunity for judicial investigation as to whether they are reasonable is unconstitutional. Chicago, M. & St. P. R. Co. v. Minnesota, 134 U. S., 418; Minneapolis Eastern R. Co. v. Minnesota, 134 U. S., 467:

Judge Brewer, of the United States Circuit Court for the southern district of Iowa, granted a preliminary restraining order against the commissioners to prevent them from putting into effect a schedule of rates under this section until it could be determined whether such rates would afford some compensation to the owners of railroad property. Chicago & N. W. R. Co. v. Dey,

et al. Railway Commissioners, 35 Fed. Rep., 866. Subsequently it was held that the evidence did not show that the rates would not be compensatory, and the restraining order was dissolved and a preliminary injunction refused. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co., v. Dey, et al., Railroad Commissioners, 38 Fed. Rep., 656.

2066. Complaint of violation of schedule. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 18. Whenever any person upon his own behalf, or class of persons similarly situated, or any firm, corporation or association, or any mercantile, agricultural or manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal organization, shall make complaint to said hoard of railroad commissioners, that the rate charged or published by any railroad company, or the maximum rates fixed by said commissioners in the schedules of rates made by them under the provisions of section seventeen of this act [§ 2065], or the maximum rate that now or hereafter may be fixed by law is unreasonably high or discriminating, it shall be the duty of said commissioners to immediately investigate the matter or such complaint. If such complaint appears to be well founded and not trivial in character, the board shall fix a day for hearing the same and shall notify the railroad company of the time and place of such hearing by mailing a notice properly directed to any division superintendent, general or assistant superintendent, general manager, president or secretary of such company, which notice shall contain the substance of the complaint so made, and the board shall also notify the person or persons complaining of such time and place.

Under this and the two following sections the complaint may be narrowly of a single matter or broadly of the rates fixed by the commissioners. They are not limited in their investigation to a single shipment but may establish a full schedule of rates for a single road. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Dey, et al., Railroad Commissioners, 38 Fed. Rep., 656.

2067. Hearing; evidence. 22 G. A., ch. 28, § 19. Upon such hearing so provided for, the said commissioners shall receive whatever evidence, statements or arguments either party may offer or make pertinent to the matter under investigation; and the burden of proof shall not be held to be upon the person or persons making the complaint, but the commissioners shall add to the showing made at such hearing whatever information they may then have, or can secure from any source whatsoever, and the person or persons complaining shall be entitled to introduce any published schedules of rates of any railroad company, or evidence of rates actually charged by any railroad company for substantially the same kind of service, whether in this or any other state; and the lowest rates published or charged by any railroad company for substantially the same kind of service, whether in this or any other state, shall, at the instance of the person or persons complaining be accepted as prima facie evidence of a reasonable rate for the services under investigation, and if the railroad company complained of is operating a line of railroad beyond the state of Iowa, or if it appears that it has a traffic arrangement with any such railroad company, then the commissioners in determining what is a reasonable rate, shall take into consideration the charge made, or rate established by such railroad company or the company with which it has traffic arrangements for carrying freight from beyond the state to points within the state, and from within the state to points beyond

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