The St. Paul & Duluth.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul.

The Minneapolis & St. Louis.

The Minneapolis Eastern.

The Railway Transfer Co. of Minneapolis.

From this order, so served, the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Co. appealed to the District Court for Ramsey County, on the twenty-first day of July.

The grounds of this appeal are stated as follows:

The said order was made without jurisdiction in the said Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners to make the same.

2. The rates charged by the said appellant for the switching services referred to in said order, according to the regular tariff of the said appellant therefor, are reasonable and just.

3. The rates for such services sought to be fixed and established by the said order are unreasonable and unjust, because the same will not afford to the said appellant a reasonable compensation for such services.

4. The said order was served on this appellant more than (10) ten days prior to this date, to-wit: on July 8, 1887, and no judicial proceedings to enforce the same have ever been commenced by the Attorney General of said State in any court thereof.

On the sixth day of August, 1887, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Company served on the commission notice of an appeal to the District Court for the Second Judicial District of Minnesota for Ramsey County.

The grounds of this appeal are not stated in the notice.

On the 25th of July, 1887, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Company filed its bill of complaint in the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Minnesota, against the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, asking this court, for reasons therein stated, to declare the order referred to void and of no effect, and asking that the defendants be perpetually enjoined from proceeding any further under said order, or in any way or manner enforcing, or attempting to enforce the same against this company, and that until the final hearing the defendants be so temporarily enjoined.

On the 25th day of July, 1887, the court, upon the filing of this bill of complaint, made an order requiring defendants to show cause, on the 1st day of August, 1887, at ten o'clock, why a provisional or temporarv injunction should not issue, as prayed for in said bill, and com

manding and enjoining the defendants from doing anything to enforce said order until the further order of the court.

To this complaint the commission made answer in due time, and a motion was made to dissolve the restraining order.

The motion was heard by Judge Nelson, at Chambers, and on the 12th day of December, 1887, he filed his opinion granting the motion, thus dissolving the injunction. The opinion is published in full in this report, and is commended to your attention.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Company also appealed to the District Court for the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota from this order, and in the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Minnesota, the same proceedings were had on the part of this company as above stated in the case of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Company.

The Northern Pacific Company also appealed from the same order under date of July 28, 1887, to the District Court of Ramsey County. The Minneapolis Eastern Railway Company also appealed from the same order to the District Court for the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota.

The Railway Transfer Company, of Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Company likewise appealed from this order to the District Court for the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota

The St. Paul & Duluth Company has not appealed from the order, but has been notified by the commission that no steps would be taken to enforce the same until the questions involved had been heard and determined by the courts.

MILK RATES ON THE I. & M. DIVISION OF THE C., M. & ST. P. RY. CO.

In May, 1885, the attention of the board was called to the subject. of milk rates between Farmington and St. Paul, and between North. field and St. Paul, by shippers living at Farmington, the charge being that whereas the distance from Farmington to St. Paul was thirteen miles less than from Northfield to the same place, yet the charge for transportation was the same.

This was claimed to be an unjust discrimination against Farmington. The complaint and report of the board thereon may be found. in the report of the board for 1885, page 429-430

Notwithstanding the opinion given by the board in 1885, that the case stated did not constitute an unjust discrimination, the same parties in 1887 brought the same question before the new commission.

At about the same time the Boards of Trade Union of Farmington,

Northfield, Faribault and Owatonna made complaint to the commission that the rates made by the C., M. & St. P. Ry. Co. on milk were unreasonably high, and prayed that the company be required to change the same and adopt such rates and charges as the commission should declare to be equal and reasonable.

This complaint alleged that the rate from Owatonna to St. Paul and Minneapolis was four cents per gallon, and from Faribault, Dundas, Northfield and Farmington was three cents per gallon.

The commission thus had both questions before it, one that there was an unjust discrimination in charging as much from Farmington, which is nearest to St. Paul, as was charged from Northfield and Faribault, and the other that there was an unjust discrimination in charg ing more from Owatonna, which is most distant from St. Paul, than was charged from the other stations intermediate, and that all the rates were excessive.

The complaining parties and the company were all heard at the same time.

After hearing the testimony produced and the statements of all the parties, the commission after consideration of the subject, made an order, a copy of which will be found in this report, that the rates from Owatonna and Faribault (being the more distant points) to St. Paul and Minneapolis should not exceed two and one-half cents per gallon.

The examination of the question having developed the fact that the Minnesota & North western Railroad Company, running a road parallel to the Iowa & Minnesota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, had a rate of two and one-half cents per gallon on all milk transported by it, regardless of distance, the commission expressed its aproval of this arrangement of that company.

The order of the commission upon this subject was dated Aug. 3 1887.

It appearing, in October, that the company had not complied with the order of the commission, the commission published the tariff of rates which they had declared to be equal and reasonable, and caused the same to be posted at all the regular stations on the line of the lowa & Minnesota division in this State, as provided in subdivision (f) of sec. 8, of the act approved March 7, 1887.

The company still neglecting and refusing to carry out the recommendations made and published by the commission, application has been made, through the attorney general, to the Supreme Court of the

United States, pursuant to subdivision (g) of sec. 8, of the act last re ferred to.

The answer of the railway company to this application to the Supreme Court for a mandamus is given in full in this report, to the end that the people of the State of Minnesota may be advised of the attitude o this company in relation to the act approved March 7, 1887.

PASSENGER RATES ON THE ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS & MANITOBA, AND NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANIES.

The question of passenger rates in Minnesota received the consideration of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission in 1886, and on June 4th of that year an order was made that the maximum rate for the transportation of passengers should not exceed three cents per mile for all tickets purchased before entering the cars, provided that no railroad company should be required to carry any passenger for less than five cents.

The Duluth & Iron Range road was excepted from this order, whi was to go into effect July 1, 1886, and o1 June 26th the Burlingtc.. Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company was allowed to char three and one-half cents per mile.

On the 29th of June, 1886, the order was modified so far as the St P., M. & M. Railway Company was concerned, as shown by the fol lowing resolution of the Board:

"WHEREAS, At the time of the issuing of the order of this board in the matter of passenger rates, on June 4, 1886, the investigation int the business of the company for the current year had not been made and the decrease in business was not apparent, therefore, Resolved, ir view of such decrease in earnings, and especially in view of this reduc tion in freight rates by said company, the board deem it just and ex pedient that said order be modified in its application to the St. Paul. Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company to cover round-trip tickets only."

On the 18th day of August, 1886, the order was modified as far as the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was concerned, by the follow ing resolution of the Board:

"WHEREAS, The Northern Pacific Railroad Company has made a reduction in freight rates corresponding with that made by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company of Aug 1, 1886.

"Resolved, That pursuant to understanding with this board, the order of this board in the matter of passenger rates, dated June 4, 1886. be and it is now modified in its application to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, providing that said Northern Pacific Railroad Company may charge the same local passenger rates as are nov charged by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company.'

The reasons for these modifications to these two companies are given in the resolutions above quoted. On round trip tickets the rate was reduced to three cents per mile. On single trip tickets the companies charged the former rate.

On the 19th of May, 1887, these companies were notified to appear before the commission and show cause, if any there be, why the rate of fare on their lines in the State should not be changed, so that the rate should be fixed at three cents per mile, as had been done on the other roads of the State, with the exceptions noted, by the order of June 4, 1886. The hearing was fixed for June 14, 1887. On that day the hearing was postponed at the request of the companies to June 17th. On June 17th the attorney for the companies appeared and made argument why the order should not issue, and asked until July 1st to file statistics showing why the order should not issue. The request was granted.

On July 14th these statistics were filed

On Nov. 10, 1887, the commission, after examining the whole subect in connection with the annual reports of the companies in queson for the year ending June 30, 1887, issued the order requiring the ›mpanies to change their passenger rates.

This order was served Nov. 11, 1887. The final order was served on the companies Dec 1, 1887.

The St. P., M & M. Ry. Co. appealed from this order Dec. 1, 1887, to the district court of Ramsey county. The court is asked to set aside and vacate the order upon the following, among other grounds: First The order is made without jurisdiction in the board of railroad and warehouse commissioners to make the same.

Second. The rates of fare charged by the appellant for the transportation and for the service referred to in said order according to the regular tariff of appellant therefor are reasonable and just.

Third.-The rates sought to be fixed and established by said order are unreasonable and unjust, because the same would not afford to the appellant a reasonable compensation for such transportation

The act of March 7, 1887, subdivision (d), section 15, provides that no appeal as aforesaid shall stay or supersede the order appealed from in so far as such order shall relate to rates of transportation or to modes of transacting the business of the appellant with the public, unless the court hearing or deciding such case shall so direct.

Upon the application of the company in this case the court directed. a stay of proceedings under the order. Here the case rests at the writing of this report so far as the St. P., M. & M. Ry. Co. is concerned.