It does not apply to the transportation of persons or property, etc., wholly within a state and not to or 'from a foreign; country. It also extends to bridges and ferriee used in connection with any railroad and to express and sleeping car companies. It declares that all charges for services rendered in connection therewith shall be reasonable and just and prohibits all unjust and unreasonable charges. The charging of any greater or less compensation for any service rendered any shipper or person than is charged or collected from another for a like and contemporaneous service, etc., is declared to be un lawful.
The act provides that if any carrier shall fail to install and operate switch connections, and furnish cars to the beet of its ability, without discrimina tion, the Commission may, on complaint filed, make an order directing the carrier to comply with the act.
Free passes and transportation prohibited except in certain specified cases.
It forbids the giving any undue or unreasonable preference to one person, etc., or iocaiity over an other person or place, or to one description of traf fic over another, and prohibits the carrier from subjecting any shipper, locality, or traffic to any unglue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage. It imposes a duty to afford reasonable, proper, and equal facilities to connecting carriers, for the inter change of business, without discrimination.
It prohibits charging any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of persons or of like kind of property for a shorter than is charged for a longer distance over the same line in the same direction, the shorter being included with in the longer distance, except by authority of the Commission.
It prohibits railroad companies transporting any article or commodity other than timber, which it may own, in whole or in part, or in which it has any interest, except such commodities as may be necessary and intended for its own use in its busi ness as a common carrier.
It prohibits any agreement between carriers for the pooling of freights of competing railroads or for dividing their joint earnings.
It provides that the carriers shall print schedules of their rates, duly classified, and file copies with , the Commission and poit.Copies in all their stations and offices for public inspection. These must speci fy terminal charges and any rules affecting the rates. These rates can only be advanced thirty days after public notice and an amendment of the sched ules accordingly; nor can they be reduced except after three days' similar notice and the like amend ment. Copies of all agreements between two or more
carriers for making 'a line of through transportation are also required to be Sled with the Commission. . If joint tariffs of rates are provided for, copies of these tariffs must be Sled with the Commission. Such publicity is to be given to these joint as the Commission may direct. This section con tains the same requirement as to thirty days' no tice of any advance and three days' notice of any reduction in the joint rates, as is prescribed respect ing the rates of the individual carrier.
It Is the duty of carrier to furnish written state ment of rate on request and to keep posted name of agent to whom application for rate may be made. It prohibits any scheme hetween carriers to pre vent the continuous transportation of property with out change of cars. No breaking of bulk, etc., un less necessary, shall be considered as breaking the continuous passage.
It provides that any carrier committing a breach of this act shall be liable in damages to the person injured, including a counsel fee to be taxed as costa. Any person aggrieved may complain before the Commission or bring suit in a federal court having jurisdiction, for damages. In the latter cases the court may compel all officers, etc., to appear and testify and to produce the hooka of the company ; but no evidence which they may give shall be used against them in any criminal proceeding.
Any carrier, or, if a corporation, any officer, etc., thereof, guilty of an infraction of the act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to a fine of not to exceed $5,000, or if the offence is an unlawful discrimination in rates, to imprisonment for not to exceed two years, or both In the discretion of the court. False billing, classification etc., of goods is made a misdemeanor, whether by the carrier or its officer, or by the shipper, and so is the act of in ducing a common carrier to discriminate unjustly. It creates the Commission, who have authority, by sec. 12 to inquire into the management of the business of common carriers and to enforce the act ; they may institute proceedings for that purpose and for the punishment of violations of the act; they may require the production of all necessary books, contracts, etc.