them to apply the same rates as fixed for the Coast Line and Southern Railway Company by Orders No. 36 and No. 37. On March 5, 1908, Order No. 38 was issued on the railroads therein named, and read as follows: To the Columbia, S. C., March 5, 1908. ORDER NO. 38. Alcolu Railroad Company, Bennettsville & Cheraw Railroad Company, Carolina & Northwestern Railroad Company, Branchville & Bowman Railroad Company, Raleigh & Charleston Railroad Company, Due West Railroad Company, Central Railway of South Carolina, Charlotte, Monroe & Columbia Railroad Company: It appearing, after investigation, that the present maximum passenger rate of three (3c.) cents per mile is no more than a reasonable and just remuneration for the passenger service now offered and rendered by the above-named steam railway companies in South Carolina; and it further appearing that each of said railway companies is in fact an independent, short line, it is ORDERED; That each of the above-mentioned railway companies be, and is hereby, authorized to charge, as heretofore, a rate for transporting passengers, not exceeding three (3c.) cents per mile as now prescribed by law. E. P. WARING, JR., Secretary. B. L. CAUGHMAN, Chairman. JNO. H. EARLE, Commissioners. i These new passenger rates were put into effect on April 1, 1908, with slight modifications, allowing two hundred pounds of baggage instead of one hundred and fifty pounds free on all intrastate travel, and correcting the child limit to six years. Shortly before the application of these reduced rates vigorous opposition arose against the conditions under which it was proposed to sell and use mileage books, particularly against that feature of the mileage system which the railroads, without the approval of the Commission, inaugurated denying the use of mileage coupons on trains or for the checking of baggage, and requiring each holder of a mileage book to exchange mileage coupons at the ticket offices for passenger tickets before baggage could be checked or transportation secured from train conductors as had been previously practiced. It was claimed and urged by a large number of the traveling public that this regulation was burdensome on the public and an unjust and unnecessary imposition, inasmuch as it required the public to wait at ticket offices and baggage rooms for a length of time that was necessarily unreasonable. The railroad companies, on petition of citizens interested, were invited by the Commission to a conference on the 30th day of March, 1908. This conference was so held and the subject of mileage was thoroughly discussed. The complainants presented a strong protest against the new method proposed for handling mileage coupons. The railroad officials declined to act upon the ground that the new regulation was necessary for the protection of their revenue. They insisted on giving this new method a fair trial and argued vigorously against the authority of the Commission to interfere. This conference resulted in granting more time for a trial of the proposed change. On July 20, 1908, in compliance with a petition from various organizations of commercial travelers, a second conference on this subject was arranged by the Commission at its office in Columbia, S. C. At this conference the experience of the public in connection with the new method of handling mileage coupons was extensively discussed and considerable testimony stenographically taken. This testimony is now on file in our office. The opinion of the Commission in this case, as rendered August 11, 1908, is as follows: MAJORITY OPINION. On petition of various officials and members of the Travelers' Protective Association and of the Order of United Commercial Travelers of America, resident in South Carolina, a conference on this subject with the representatives of the most important railroads operating in this State was held before the Commission in its office at Columbia, S. C., on March 30, 1908. The petitioners protested at this conference against the new mileage system it was then proposed to inaugurate on April 1, 1908, claiming that the conditions under which 2 cents interchangeable mileage was to be sold after April 1, especially that provision requiring an exchange of mileage for passenger tickets at ticket offices and no longer allowing such mileage to be pulled on trains, would prove seriously inconvenient and burdensome to the public. The railroad officials insisted that the delays and inconvenience anticipated by the traveling men would not prove so serious as was expected; that the railroads would furnish all necessary facilities for handling passengers and give ample protection to the public. It was explained that this new mileage, good over thirty-five or forty roads, would be issued on April 1 by agreement between about all the important roads as members of the Southern Passenger Association operating in the South, and that the rate of 2 cents per mile, the restrictions and the contract under which it was to be sold had been filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission, according to law. The main contention of the railroad authorities was that the new method would afford a much needed safeguard to the revenues of the roads. It was declared that the railway companies were suffering serious loss on account of mileage coupons being mislaid or lost by conductors, and that there was the further risk of these mileage coupons being lost or mislaid through clerical handling. The result of this conference was that no change in the proposed new system was agreed upon. The railroads asked that at least ninety (90) days' trial should be made of the new method by the public before condemning it, agreeing to correct any seriously burdensome features that might develop in the meantime. On petition of Mr. W. C. Mikell, of Columbia, Chairman of the U. T. C. Committee, a second conference between the railway officials and the members of the Order of United Commercial Travelers of America and members of the Travelers' Protective Association. was held after due notice before the Commission on July 20, 1908. The only important new matter developed at this last conference was the various statements of the traveling men, as to the actual experience of the public in the past ninety (90) days' use of the new mileage books sold since April 1. For information as to these de tailed statements and other evidence taken at the hearing we submit as a part of the file in this matter a full stenographical report of the entire proceedings prepared by Stenographer Deal. The Commission has from the first regarded and treated the two hearings held on this subject as conferences for the purpose of discussing the objections raised against the new Southeastern mileage system, with the view of presenting the matter to the railroad authorities and, if possible, arriving at some satisfactory agreement with them. No such agreement has been reached. It appears from the statements made at the conference of July 20 that the traveling men there present, and others not present, would prefer to have the railroads in South Carolina issue a 2-cent mileage book of similar form to that now sold under agreement between the members of the Central Passenger Association, covering the States of Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. This mileage is interchangeable within a prescribed territory, sells for 21⁄2 cents per mile or a gross rate of $25 for one thousand miles, and upon the return of the cover of the mileage book by the original purchaser, and the certificate of the validity of the use of the entire mileage ticket in accordance with the terms of its contract, a refund of $5 is made, thus making the net rate $20 per one thousand miles or (2) two cents per mile. This mileage is good on trains and for baggage check. Having failed to secure by conference any change or modification in the restriction under which this mileage is now issued, the Commission has deemed it a duty to investigate its legal authority in the matter and has arrived at the following conclusion: First. There is no authority of law conferred upon the South Carolina Railroad Commission by which the Commission can require the railroad companies to so change the present form of contract under which interchangeable mileage books are now sold in South Carolina as to render such mileage good on trains, or otherwise require change in this mileage contract to meet the wishes of the petitioners. Second. As a matter of law the Commission cannot require the railroads to issue interchangeable mileage books which undertake to force the crediting of one road by another, at any price, or under any contract. Third. Clearly the Commission has the authority to require the necessary facilities for handling passengers in a manner needed to promote the security, convenience and accommodation of the public. In other words, if the railroads fail to furnish the force necessary at stations for the proper handling of passengers and baggage with reasonable dispatch, the Commission has power to act. From the observations made by the undersigned commisssioners, and from the evidence of numerous persons traveling in this State, the Commission is convinced that on account of the increased labor now required of station passenger agents since the introduction of the new method of exchanging mileage at office windows, there is just ground for complaint by the public against the inconvenience and delays now experienced, especially at certain junctional ticket offices in the State. Therefore, for the purpose of promoting accommodation due the public, it is ordered: First. That the Southern Railway Company furnish additional force to the extent of at least one competent person to assist at all reasonable hours in selling tickets and, exchanging mileage at its union passenger stations in Greenville and Spartanburg, S. C. Second. That the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company likewise furnish additional help to the extent of at least one competent person to assist at all reasonable hours in selling tickets and exchanging mileage at its union passenger station at Florence S. C. Third. That the said Southern Railway Company and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, jointly or severally, be, and are hereby, ordered to provide at least one competent person in addition to those now employed, whose duty it will be to assist at all reasonable hours in selling passenger tickets and exchanging mileage for tickets at the union passenger ticket office maintained by these two railroad companies in Columbia, S. C., and Charleston, S. C. Fourth. This order shall be effective not later than thirty (30) days from September 1, 1908. T. B. LUMPKIN, Secretary. JOHN H. EARLE, MINORITY OPINION. On petition of various officials and members of the Travelers' Protective Association and of the Order of United Commercial Travelers of America, resident in South Carolina, a conference on this subject with the representatives of the most important railroads |