fitness, and from which he only retired to the sincere regret of the
American people. Under Judge Cooley's leadership the commission has been
more than a purely executive board. It was under the Constitution not in
the power of Congress to clothe the Interstate Commerce Commission with
full judicial authority without giving its members, like other Federal
judges, tenure for life, instead of a term of years. The inherent force
of the commission's decisions in its interpretation of the law made them
in many cases virtually the equivalent of judicial rulings.

A few of the most important decisions of the commission may be mentioned
here. Construing the long and short haul clause, they held that, in case
of complaint for violating this section of the act, "the burden of proof
is on the carrier to justify any departure from the general rule
described by the statute, by showing that the circumstances and
conditions are substantially dissimilar." They also decided that "when a
greater charge in the aggregate is made for the transportation of
passengers or the like kind of property for a shorter than a longer
distance over the same line in the same direction, the shorter being
included in the longer distance, it is not sufficient justification
therefor that the traffic which is subjected to such greater charge is
way or local traffic and that which is given the more favorable rates is
not; and that it is not "sufficient justification for such greater
charge that the short-haul traffic is more expensive to the carrier,
unless when the circumstances are such as to make it exceptionally
excessive, or the long-haul traffic exceptionally inexpensive, the
difference being extraordinary and susceptible of definite proof; nor
that the lesser charge on the longer haul has for its motive the
encouragement of manufactures or some other branch of industry, nor that
it is designed to build up business or trade centers."

Upon the question of publicity of the railroad business the commission
held that, as the books of the defendant carriers, as to rates charged,
facilities furnished and general movements of freight, are in the nature
of semi-public records, the officers and agents of defendant carriers
ought to give promptly to a complainant any statement of facts called
for, if such statement may probably have importance on the hearing.

Judge Brewer's opinion as to what constitutes a reasonable rate was
evidently not shared by Judge Coo