The Mankato Free Press

I. C. C. WILL PROBE

Sleeping Car Rates Are to Be Investigated at Once.

Pullman Company Accused of Charging High Prices.

George Loftus Is Behind Move to Lower the Figures.

Tariff Between Twin Cities and Chicago Is Excessive.

St. Paul, Dec. 11.—It is now the Pullman sleeping car company which the federal government has decided to place on the grill, and this at the instance, primarily, of a Minnesota man, George S. Loftus of St. Paul

Under an order made by the interstate commerce commission, an investigation is to be made by Commissioner Franklin K. Lane to determine the right of the company to charge as much for upper berths as for lower, and whether the charges it imposes are just and reasonable.

More than 13,000,000 persons are interested in the determination of these questions, that being the number which annually patronize the sleeping cars.

The matter was brought to the attention of the commission in the form of three complaints filed by Mr. Loftus. The complaints were referred to the Pullman company for answer, but that company declined to make any extended reply, merely denying generally the allegations made and declaring that it did not make unjust and discriminatory charges. It asserted further that it was not amenable to the interstate commerce laws, contending that it is not engaged in transporting passengers, but merely in the business of providing them with accommodations in the way of chairs, beds and food.

The interstate commerce commission takes a different view. The railroad rate law enacted during the last congress specifically declared that sleeping car companies were interstate carriers, and as such amenable to all the laws regulating interstate commerce.

After careful consideration of the contention of the companies, the commission has ruled that the Pullman company is subject to its authority, and instructions have been given to Mr. Lane to begin an investigation.

Mr. Lane will be in St. Paul Thursday, Dec. 19. He has been informed that Mr. Loftus will be prepared with witnesses to establish the truth of his allegations. It is not known whether the Pullman company will seek to rebut the testimony offered, but it is presumed it will not attempt to do so, because such a course might be interpreted as an evidence of its acceptance of the authority of the commission.

The impression prevails here that the company will seek to obtain a ruling from the courts.

The allegations filed by Mr. Loftus are comprehensive and intended to cover the whole sleeping car question. He claimed that it is unjust to charge the same for an upper as for a lower berth. The former is not as desirable, and in his judgment the price should be less. Mr. Loftus declared that sleeping car charges were excessive unreasonable, unjust and in violation of law. He has filed with the commission evidence showing that a passenger pays $2 a berth for the journey from St. Paul to Chicago, a distance of 410 miles, and $1.50 for the same accommodation for a trip from St. Paul to Superior, 150 miles. In the judgment of Mr. Loftus not more than $1.50 for a lower and 75 cents for an upper berth should be charged on the journey between St. Paul and Chicago, while the St. Paul-Superior charges should not be more than $1 for a lower and 50 cents for an upper berth.

Properly to determine whether the rate is reasonable or unreasonable, the commission must ascertain authoritatively what the profits of the sleeping car company amount to. The annual reports of the Pullman company show that the gross earnings of the company are in the neighborhood of $25,000,000—three times as much as they were ten years ago. The investigation into the charges of the Pullman company is an indication of the intention of the government to continue its campaign against corporations which are the subject of charges.