Letter to Amend Interstate Commerce Act

Description

On December 12, 1905, members of the San Bernardino County Fruit Exchange submitted this resolution to the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce in support of amending the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate the costs of shipping their crops. Although this group was mainly concerned about produce shipment rates, they also favored broader shipping regulations: “The amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act should be sufficiently broad to cover all Interstate transportation service, including all charges regulations and exactions in connection therewith, whether for facilities provided by railroads themselves, or through arrangements with others.” Subsequently, Congress revised the Interstate Commerce Act, and in 1906, it became the Hepburn Rate Act. This law was named for William Peters Hepburn of Iowa, who sponsored the legislation and chaired the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce from the 54th through the 60th Congresses (1895–1909).