Railroad Monopoly Challenged in Court
Chief Justice Greene rules against Northern Pacific's attempts to block competitors from their lines.
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Yesterday Chief Justice Greene rendered a decision in the case of Wells, Fargo & Co. vs. the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The decision is lengthy and comprehensive. It affirms the common law rule as to the duties of common carriers, which forbids discriminations between persons, and compels carriers to perform like service for all on equal terms. It grants a perpetual injunction compelling the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to afford the same facilities to Wells, Fargo & Co. as to any other express company on equal terms. The case grew out of the refusal of the defendant to transport express matter of plaintiff over its lines of railroad, and is the outgrowth of an attempt to discriminate in favor of the Northern Pacific Express Company, an offshoot of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. This company's attitude was high-handed from the outset, and it is fortunate for the public that in this case it ran against a stubborn corporation fully supplied with the sinews of war.
“After a while, perhaps this company, as well as others, may realize the fact that the public have some rights which it will be compelled to respect.”
This 1884 legal clash between the Northern Pacific and Wells Fargo illustrates the persistent struggle to ensure public access to critical infrastructure. Just as the court then ruled against corporate self-dealing in shipping, contemporary debates about net neutrality and platform access grapple with the same question: can the owners of a monopoly essential to commerce choose which competitors survive?
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