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it pleases them; without ample power to enforce the production of evidence; and without any power to enforce their findings.

Robinson v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. (1912), 222 U. S. 506, is in principle exactly like the Abilene Case, and was decided upon its authority. There, the schedule published and filed conformably to the Act made a differential between coal loaded into the car from wagons and coal loaded from a tipple. Robinson's shipments having come under the higher rate, he sued to recover from the company $150 which was the excess paid by him over what would have been required if his coal had been loaded from a tipple. There was an agreed statement of facts, but in it was no suggestion that the schedule had been the subject of complaint before the Interstate Commerce Commission or had been found by that Commission to be unjustly discriminatory, or that any order had been made about it. Naturally and properly this court held that there was no right of action. The pith of the reasoning is lucidly expressed in the opinion of the court (by Mr. Justice Van Devanter) as follows (pp. 508, 509):

"The Act, c. 104, 24 Stat. 379; c. 382, 25 Stat. 855; c. 61, 28 Stat. 643; c. 708, 32 Stat. 847, whilst prohibiting unreasonable charges, unjust discriminations and undue preferences by carriers subject to its provisions, also prescribed the manner in which that prohibition should be enforced; that is to say, the Act laid upon every such carrier the duty of publishing and filing in a prescribed mode, schedules of the rates to be charged for the transportation of property over its road, declared that the rates named in schedules so established should be conclusively deemed to be the legal rates until changed as provided in the Act, forbade any deviation from them while they remained in effect, invested the Interstate Commerce Commission with authority to receive complaints against rates so established, and to inquire and find whether they were in any wise violative

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of the provisions of the Act, and, if so, what, if any, injury had been done thereby to the person complaining or to others, and further authorized the Commission to direct the carrier to desist from any violation found to exist, and to make reparation for any injury found to have been done. Provision was also made for the enforcement of the order for reparation, by an action in the Circuit Court of the United States, if the carrier failed to comply with it.

"Thus, for the purpose of preventing unreasonable charges, unjust discriminations and undue preferences, a system of establishing, maintaining and altering rate schedules and of redressing injuries resulting from their enforcement was adopted whereby publicity would be given to the rates, their application would be obligatory and uniform while they remained in effect, and the matter of their conformity to prescribed standards would be committed primarily to a single tribunal clothed with authority to investigate complaints and to order the correction of any non-conformity to those standards by an appropriate change in schedules and by due reparation to injured persons.

"When the purpose of the Act and the means selected for the accomplishment of that purpose are understood, it is altogether plain that the Act contemplated that such an investigation and order by the designated tribunal, the Interstate Commerce Commission, should be a prerequisite to the right to seek reparation in the courts because of exactions under an established schedule alleged to be violative of the prescribed standards."

The Abilene and Robinson Cases maintain the binding force of published rates and differentials established pursuant to the Act, until modified by the Commission in the manner provided by the Act.

The present decisions give the same force to discriminatory practices established by the carrier without leave of the Commission, not included in the published rates

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and differentials, the practices being in direct violation of the Act.

Interstate Commerce Commission v. Illinois Central R. Co. (1909), 215 U. S. 452, was a suit brought by the Railroad Company in the United States Circuit Court to restrain the enforcement of an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission respecting car distribution. The issues were recited in the opinion of the court (by the present Chief Justice, then Mr. Justice White) as follows (p. 465):

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Being unwilling to comply with the order of the commission, the Illinois Central Railroad Company commenced the suit which is now before us to enjoin in all respects the enforcement of the order of the commission. It was averred that although the company was adequately equipped with coal cars and with sufficient motive power and operative forces, yet at times an inadequate supply of coal cars to meet the demand arose from the circumstances which we have previously stated. It was alleged that the regulations adopted by the company for ascertaining the capacity of the mines and for the distribution of cars were in all respects just and reasonable, and it was charged that the order of the commission, directing the taking into account of private cars in the distribution of cars, was unjust, unreasonable, oppressive and unlawful, because it deprived the owners of such cars of the right to the use of their own property. It was further alleged that, as to the foreign railway fuel cars, the order was also unjust, unreasonable, oppressive and unlawful, because such cars constituted no part of the equipment of the road, and, failing to count them, could not constitute an unlawful discrimination or the giving of an unjust preference within the intendment of the act to regulate commerce. Besides charging that the order to count the company fuel cars was unjust, unreasonable, etc., it was averred that the attempt of the commission to deal with such cars was

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beyond its power, and was but an effort to deprive the company of its lawful right to freely contract for the purchase of the fuel necessary for the operation of its road. In addition, the proceedings in the suit brought by the Majestic Coal Company were set out, the granting of a temporary injunction therein as to counting foreign railway fuel cars and private cars was alleged, and it was charged that in any event, as to those two classes of cars, the order of the Commission was not lawful since it compelled the company to violate the injunction which was yet in force. The Commission answered by asserting the validity in all respects of the order by it made, substantially upon the grounds which had been set out in its report and opinion announced when the order was made. All the averments in the complaint as to want of power were traversed and it was expressly charged that the subject of the distribution of coal cars as dealt with by the order was within the administrative power delegated to the commission by the terms of the Act to Regulate Commerce."

The Circuit Court enjoined the Commission from enforcing its order "in so far as it directed the taking into account the company fuel cars in the distribution of coal cars in times of car shortage, and in so far as it directed the future taking such cars into account." The Interstate Commerce Commission appealed to this court, and the decree was reversed on the ground that so far as it related to the company fuel cars the order of the Commission was within its administrative power.

Baltimore & Ohio R. R. v. Pitcairn Coal Co. (1910), 215 U. S. 481, arose on a petition of the Coal Company for a mandamus upon the Railroad Company to restrain discrimination in the distribution of cars in the "Fairmont region" of West Virginia, alleged to be in violation of § 3 of the Interstate Commerce Act. The petition was filed January 16, 1907, in the United States Circuit Court, under § 10 of the act of March 2, 1889 (25 Stat.

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855, 862, ch. 382), sometimes called § 23 of the Interstate. Commerce Act, because printed under that number in the pamphlet compilation of Interstate Commerce Laws. This section provided that for a violation of any of the provisions of the act of 1887 and amendments, preventing the relator from having interstate traffic moved at the same rates as are charged, or upon terms or conditions as favorable as those given by said common carrier for like traffic under similar circumstances, to any other shipper, "a mandamus might be issued commanding such common carrier to move and transport the traffic, or to furnish cars or other facilities for transportation for the party applying for the writ." There were numerous grounds of complaint, some of which were abandoned at the hearing, and of the others the United States Circuit Court (154 Fed. Rep. 108, 120) overruled all except one, and with respect to that awarded a writ of mandamus. There were cross writs of error from the Circuit Court of Appeals, which court affirmed the judgment so far as questioned by the defendant's writ of error, and reversed it in part so far as questioned by the relator's writ of error (165) Fed. Rep. 113, 132). Upon review in this court it was pointed out in the opinion (by the present Chief Justice) at p. 492, that the question was, whether the court could grant the relief prayed consistently with the provisions of the Act to Regulate Commerce; and (p. 493): "That a prohibition, by way of mandamus, against the act is sought and an order, by way of mandamus, was invoked, and was allowed which must operate, by judicial decree, upon all the numerous parties and various interests as a rule or regulation as to the matters complained of for the conduct of interstate commerce in the future. When the situation is thus defined we see no escape from the conclusion that the grievances complained of were primarily within the administrative competency of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and not subject to be judically enforced, at least

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