Digest of Decisions of the Courts and Interstate Commerce Commission Under the Act to Regulate Commerce from 1887 to 1908

[ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND OPINIONS.]

such unlawful issue. It should also at once call attention of the Commission and of the one that issued the tariff to such erroneous action.

Tariff lawful as to carriers shown as participants under lawful authorizations and unlawful as to carriers named as participants without lawful authorities.-If one or more carriers are, without proper authority, so shown as participating in any tariff and other carriers are lawfully shown as parties thereto, the use of the publication is unlawful as to the carriers that are named as parties thereto without proper authority and lawful as to those that are parties to it under proper authority. The carrier over whose line shipments or passengers are sent under a joint tariff is bound by the terms of that tariff if it has lawfully concurred therein, and, if it has not lawfully concurred therein, may not accept earnings in accordance therewith, but must demand for the service performed its lawful earnings according to its lawful tariffs.

Responsibility for unlawful incorporation of a carrier in a tariff.-Responsibility for the unlawful incorporation of any carrier in a tariff will rest upon the carrier that issued the tariff, or, if the tariff is issued by a joint agent and attorney for two or more carriers, will rest upon that one of his principals that accepts and forwards the business under that tariff.

Policy of Commission on complaints. In passing upon a complaint of overcharge growing out of improper or unlawful inclusion of any carrier's name in the list of participating carriers in the tariff under which the business was accepted and forwarded the Commission will apply the principles above stated.

84. Extensions of time on limited tickets-Extension may include members of family traveling together-Extensions in cases of quarantine-Provision for extension must be in tariffs (issued November 15, 1907).-Carriers may provide in their tariffs that limited passenger tickets may be extended in case of the illness of the passenger holding such ticket. Tariffs must give the title of the officer who shall have authority to give such extension, and such officer shall be required by the carrier to keep a memorandum of each instance in which such extension is given, and the data upon which it is allowed. Such information shall be subject at any time to be called for by the Commission. This rule must be applied strictly and in good faith, and upon the carrier is placed the responsibility of strict conformity thereto. Only such illness as makes travel dangerous to the health of the traveler will justify the extension herein provided for. The extension may also be granted to one or more members of the family of the passenger who is ill when traveling together, and to persons who are subject to an established quarantine. Stop-over privileges for a limited time may be granted for the same causes and under the same conditions and restrictions as justify extension of time on limited tickets. No extension of time upon limited tickets or stop-over privilege will be recognized as valid unless provision therefor is made in the carrier's published tariffs.

85. Withdrawal of filed tariffs not permitted. Not infrequently the Commission is requested to return to carriers tariff publications which have been received and filed by the Commission in the ordinary course of business. Such requests are usually based on the desire to substitute some corrected or changed publication for the one that has been filed. Manifestly it would be improper for the Commission to permit such substitutions or to surrender any tariff publication duly and properly received and filed by it, unless such surrender is caused by rejection of such publication by the Commission because of illegality or irregularity in connection therewith. To surrender publications duly filed and permit the substitution of others would involve a species of falsification of the records which could not be permitted.

86. Ocean carriers-when not subject to the act.-Ocean carriers between ports of the United States and foreign countries not adjacent are not subject to the terms of the act to regulate commerce; nor to the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Export and import tariffs.-The inland carriers of traffic exported to or imported from a foreign country not adjacent, must publish their rates and fares to the ports and from the ports, and such rates or fares must be the same for all regardless of what ocean carrier may be designated by the shipper or passenger.

Through rates or fares may be shown. As a matter of convenience to the public they may publish in their tariffs such through export or import rates or fares to or from foreign points as they may make in connection with ocean carriers. Such

[ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND OPINIONS.]

tariffs must, however, distinctly state the inland rate or fare as above provided; and need not be concurred in by the ocean carrier, because, concurrence can be required from, and is effective against, only carriers subject to the act.

Must be filed and posted. Whichever plan of publishing these rates and fares is followed the tariffs must be filed and posted, and may be changed only upon statutory notice or under special permission for shorter time.

Through export and import billing.-Export and import traffic may be forwarded under through billing but such through billing must clearly separate the liability of the inland carrier or carriers and of the ocean carrier, and must show the tariff rate of the inland carrier or carriers.

INDEX, TARIFF CIRCULAR 15-A.

Index to Administrative Rulings and Opinions, See Post, Page 806.

[Abbreviations: n, note; p, preface. Other letters indicate paragraphs.]