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Notice before rate is established.

Make rules to govern hearings.

Testimony, books, etc.

Actions against railroad commission.

SEC. 9. Before any rate shall be fixed or established by the said commission, it shall give the telephone company to be affected thereby at least thirty days' notice of the time and place when and where a hearing will be given said telephone company concerning the fixing or establishing of said rate, and the commission shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses as in cases arising under act number three hundred of the public acts of nineteen hundred nine.

SEC. 10. The said commission shall have the power to adopt rules to govern its proceedings, and to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations and hearings of telephone companies and other companies before it in the estab-· lishment of rates, facilities, charges, service and other acts required of it under this act, which rules shall as near as may be conform to the practice heretofore established under act number three hundred of the public acts of nineteen hundred nine.

SEC. 11. The said commission shall have the power to administer oaths, certify to all official acts and to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers, books, accounts, documents and testimony.

SEC. 12. Any telephone company or other party in interest, being dissatisfied with any order of the commission fixing any rate or rates, charges, joint rate or rates, or any order fixing any regulations, practices or services, may within thirty days from the issuance of such order and notice thereof commence an action in the circuit court in chancery against the commission as defendant to vacate and set aside any such order on the ground that the rate or rates, charges, joint rate or rates fixed are unlawful or unreasonable, or that any such regulation, practice or service fixed in such order is unreasonable; in which suit the commission shall be served with a subpoena and a copy of the complaint. The commission shall file its answer and on leave of court any interested party may file an answer to said complaint. Upon the filing of the answer of the commission said cause shall be at issue and stand ready for hearing upon ten days' Suits to have notice by either party. All suits brought under this section shall have precedence over any civil cause of a different nature pending in such court, and the circuit court shall always be deemed open for the hearing thereof, and the same shall proceed, be tried and determined as other chancery suits. Any party to such suit may introduce original evidence in addition to the transcript of evidence offered to said commission, and the circuit courts in chancery are hereby given jurisdiction of such suits and empowered to affirm, vacate or set aside the order of the commission in whole or in part, and to make such other order or decree as the courts shall decide to, be in accordance with the facts and the law.

precedence.

Original evidence.

SEC. 13. No injunction shall issue suspending or staying Injunctions. any order of the commission, except upon application to the circuit court in chancery or to the judge thereof, notice to the commission having been given and hearing having been had thereon.

of rates, etc.

SEC. 14. If upon the trial of said action evidence shall Evidence at be introduced by the complainant which is found by the trial. court to be different from that offered upon the hearing before the commission or additional thereto, the court, before proceeding to render judgment, unless the parties in such action stipulate in writing to the contrary, shall transmit a copy of such evidence to the commission, and shall stay further proceedings in said action for fifteen days from the date of such transmission. Upon receipt of such evidence the Modification commission shall consider the same, and may alter, modify, amend or rescind its order relating to such rate or rates, charges, joint rate or rates, regulations, practice or service complained of in said action, and shall report its action thereon to said court within ten days from the receipt of such evidence. If the commission shall rescind its order when action complained of the action shall be dismissed; if it shall alter, modify or amend the same such altered, modified or amended order shall take the place of the original order complained of, and judgment shall be rendered thereon as though made Judgment. by the commission in the first instance. If the original order shall not be rescinded or changed by the commission judgment shall be rendered upon such original order.

dismissed.

SEC. 15. Either party to said action within sixty days Appeal to after service of a copy of the order or judgment of the court, supreme court. may appeal to the supreme court, which appeal shall be gov

erned by the statutes and rules of court governing chancery

appeals. When the appeal is taken the case shall, on the Precedence. return of the papers to the supreme court, be immediately placed on the calendar of the then pending term, and shall be brought to a hearing in the same manner as other cases on the calendar, or if no term is then pending shall take precedence of cases of a different nature, except criminal cases, at the next term of the supreme court.

ment to

SEC. 16. In all actions under this section the burden of Burden of proof shall be upon the complainant to show by clear and sat- proof. isfactory evidence that the order of the commission complained of is unlawful or unreasonable, as the case may be. SEC. 17. Each telephone company within the State is Annual statehereby required to make, on or before the first day of De- railroad cember of each year upon blanks to be furnished by the commission. Michigan Railroad Commission, a statement of its income and expense for the preceding fiscal year, amount of stock and other securities issued, investment in exchanges, toll lines, real estate and such other information as said commission may require, said statement to be made under the oath of the president and secretary of the company.

Manner and

form of

SEC. 18. The Michigan Railroad Commission shall have accounts, etc. the power and authority and it is hereby made its duty to prescribe the manner and the form of accounts, records and memoranda and of keeping of same, and it shall be the duty of all telephone companies within the State to keep accounts, books of accounts, records and memoranda in the manner and form prescribed by the said commission, and in no other manner and form: Provided, however, That no such regulations shall be in duplication of or in addition to any regulations covering the same subject matter made by the government of the United States or any municipality of this State.

Proviso.

Schedule of rates filed with railroad commission.

SEC. 19. Each telephone company within the State shall have on file and accessible to the public in its principal place of doing business, a schedule of the rates, charges and tolls made, charged or collected by said company for service rendered, furnished or performed, and for joint service rendered, furnished or performed and at its exchange or toll station a schedule of the rates, charges and tolls made, charged or collected by said company for service rendered, furnished or performed, and for joint service rendered, furnished or performed in connection with said exchange or toll station, and it shall be the duty of each telephone company within the State to file with the Michigan Railroad Commission a copy Failure to file. of each such schedule. It shall be unlawful for any telephone company within the State to neglect or refuse to have such schedule on file, or to neglect or refuse to file a copy of same with the said commission; and it shall be unlawful for any telephone company within the State to make any other or different charge for service than that shown in said schedule.

Railroad commission to furnish rates.

Penalty.

SEC. 20. It shall be the duty of the Michigan Railroad Commission to furnish all telephone companies within the State a copy of all rates, charges or tolls fixed or established by the said commission.

SEC. 21. If any telephone company within the State shall violate any of the provisions of the act, or shall, thirty days after the establishing or fixing thereof, have failed, neglected or refused to observe any rate, charge, toll or order fixed or established by the Michigan Railroad Commission, unless the enforcement of same shall have been enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction or shall do or commit any other thing or act in this act declared to be unlawful, or shall omit to do or perform any act or thing, the omission to do which is in this act declared to be unlawful, such telephone company shall forfeit and pay to the State of Michigan for the first offense not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, and for each subsequent offense shall pay not less than one hundred dollars nor more How collected. than two thousand dollars. Any penalty herein provided for shall be collected under the direction of the Attorney General in an action of assumpsit.

act.

SEC. 22. Every provision of this act, every section and Validity of every part of every section is hereby declared to be independent insofar as this relation shall be necessary to the validity of this act, and the fact that any provision, section, or part of any section is void shall not be held to invalidate any other portion of this act.

Approved April 24, 1911.

[No. 139.]

AN ACT to amend sections seven, ten, fourteen and twentyfive of act number three hundred of the public acts of nineteen hundred nine, entitled “An act to define and regulate common carriers and the receiving, transportation and delivery of persons and property, prevent the imposition of unreasonable rates, prevent unjust discrimination, insure adequate service, create the Michigan Railroad Commission, define the powers and duties thereof, and to prescribe penalties for violations hereof," and to add a new section thereto to stand as section two.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

of traffic.

SECTION 1. Sections seven, ten, fourteen and twenty-five Sections of act number three hundred of the public acts of nineteen amended. hundred nine, entitled "An act to define and regulate common carriers and the receiving, transportation and delivery of persons and property, prevent the imposition of unreasonable rates, prevent unjust discrimination, insure adequate service, create the Michigan Railroad Commission, define the powers and duties thereof, and to prescribe penalties for violations hereof," are hereby amended to read as follows: SEC. 7. (a) All railroads, subject to the provisions of Interchange this act, shall afford all reasonable and proper facilities by the establishment of switch connections between one another and the establishment of depots and otherwise for the interchange of traffic between their respective lines and for the receiving, forwarding and delivering of passengers and property to and from their several lines and those connecting therewith, and shall transfer and deliver without unreasonable delay or discrimination any freight or cars or passengers destined to any point on its own line or on any connecting line, and shall not discriminate in their rates and charges between such connecting lines: Provided, Precedence may Proviso. be given to live stock and perishable property. Nothing in this act shall be construed as requiring any railroad to give the use of its tracks or terminal facilities to another railroad engaged in like business. Any person or any officer Routing.

Intrastate commerce.

Interchange cars, etc.

Proviso, through billing.

Merchandise, etc., of other corporations.

Proviso.

Further proviso.

or agent of any corporation or company who shall deliver property for transportation to any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act shall have the right and privilege of routing such shipments and of prescribing and directing over what connecting line property so shipped shall be transported, and it shall be the duty of the initial carrier to observe the direction of such person or such officer or agent of any corporation or company, and to cause such freight to be transported over such connecting line as may be directed and required by such shipper. When freight is shipped in intrastate commerce and any person or officer or agent of any corporation or company who shall deliver property for transportation does not prescribe over what connecting line such property shall be transported, it shall be the duty of the initial carrier to so route the freight as to give the property the benefit of the lowest rate published between points of origin and destination;

(b) Where it is practicable and the same may be accomplished without endangering the equipment, tracks or appliances of either party, the commission may, upon application, require steam railroads and interurban and suburban railroads to interchange cars, carload shipments, less than carload shipments and passenger traffic, and for that purpose may require the construction of physical connections upon such terms as it may determine: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to require through billing of freight as between steam and electric, suburban or interurban railroads, but such suburban and interurban railroads may be used for the handling of freight in carload lots in steam railroad freight cars between shippers or consignees and the steam railroads, in the same manner and under the same general conditions, except as to motive power, as belt line railroads and terminal railroads are now or may hereafter be used for like purposes;

(c) Every corporation owning a railroad in use shall, at reasonable times and for a reasonable compensation, draw over the same the merchandise and cars of any other corporation or individual having connecting tracks: Provided, Such cars are of the proper gauge, are in good running order and equipped as required by law and otherwise safe for transportation and properly loaded: Provided further, If the corporations cannot agree upon the times at which the cars shall be drawn or the compensation to be paid, the said commission shall, upon petition of either party and notice to the other, after hearing the parties interested, determine the rate of compensation and fix such other periods, having reference to the convenience and interests of the corporation or corporations and the public to be accommodated thereby, and the award of the commission shall be binding upon the respective corporations interested therein until the same shall have been revised;

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