been
appropriated in the "River and Harbor Bills" that are passed by almost
every Congress.

The Interstate Commerce Law.--The importance of railroad
transportation led to the enactment, in 1887, of the "Interstate
Commerce Law," controlling this form of commerce. The law became
necessary because of certain abuses which had arisen. In many instances
the railroads gave lower freight rates to certain persons than to others
doing the same kind of business; again, the merchants or manufacturers
of certain cities were favored by more liberal rates than could be
obtained by those who were engaged in the same industries in other
cities. As a result, the business of many persons and places suffered
injury, while the business of their rivals prospered through the
advantages given to them by the railroads.

In consequence of these and other evils, various laws, beginning with
that of 1887, have been passed to control not only railroad and
steamboat lines, but also telegraph, telephone, express, and
sleeping-car companies in so far as they are engaged in interstate and
foreign commerce.

Some provisions of these laws will now be stated, (1) Charges must be
just and reasonable. The Interstate Commerce Commission has power to
decide what is reasonable, and to _fix rates,_ after an investigation.
(2) It is unlawful to give one person or corporation a better rate than
another for the same service. This is called "discrimination." Passes
cannot be granted, except to employees. (3) All rates must be posted
where they can be consulted by any person. (4) All companies engaged in
interstate commerce must open their books to inspection by the
commission and must make reports that they require. (5) If any person
objects to a decision of the commission, he may appeal to the Commerce
Court, which has been created to consider such cases.

The Control of Trusts.--Among the abuses arising in connection with
interstate commerce are those which result when persons enter into
agreements or combinations to prevent free competition; for under these
circumstances prices are raised, or certain persons are favored in
trade. In 1890, Congress passed a law prohibiting such combinations "in
restraint of trade or commerce among the several States or with foreign
nations." This is known as the Sherman Anti-trust Law.-Now, a trust is
simply a large corporation which has absorbed or killed off, more or
less completely, other establishments engaged in the