Commodity Credit Corp. v. Petaluma & Santa Rosa R. Co.

The case at bar presents a difficult question of tariff construction. It was decided in favor of the plaintiff railroad company by the court below. 83 F.Supp. 639 . Commodity Credit Corporation, the defendant,, has appealed.

On April 11, 1944 Commodity purchased' eight carloads of wheat from the Alberta Wheat Pool. We will use one of the cars, viz., L. & N. car No. 10913, as an example. This car was shipped by the Pool via Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the Pool paying the charges for the first leg of the trip, Commodity paying for the balance of the journey. On the first leg of the trip the car moved from Etzikom in Alberta, to Coutts, in Alberta, or Sweetgrass, in Montana. Coutts or Sweetgrass is a single town which straddles the international border. At Sweetgrass the car was taken over by Great Northern Railway. The shipping order delivered to Canadian Pacific Railway Company designated the destination of the shipment as “Ogden [Utah] and Diversion” and stated that it was “Received subject to the classifications and tariffs in effect on the date of issue of this shipping order, at Etzikom, Alta., [Alberta] April 11, 1944, from Alta. Wheat Pool.” The shipment, as originally…