“ It seems to me singular that the government can maintain a bill to prevent others from obstructing and interfering with interstate commerce, and yet cannot maintain a bill to compel carriers to fully discharge their duties in respect to such commerce. Can it be that the government has power to protect the carriers of interstate commerce, and not power to compel them to discharge their duties?
It is said that this is a suit to compel the carrier to refrain from discriminating between places; that there was no commonlaw duty to abstain from such discrimination ”

“ The violation of the Act to Regulate Commerce, complained of in the amended bill, was an asserted discrimination between localities by a common carrier subject to the act, averred to operate an unjust preference or advantage to one locality over another. The right to bring the suit was expressly rested upon a request made by the Interstate Commerce Commission to do so, in order to compel compliance with the provisions of the Act to Regulate Commerce relating to the matters complained of in the bill. ”

“ Whereas, after joining issue upon the pleadings heretofore filed in the above-entitled suit, to wit, the original bill of complaint, the demurrer thereto, the original answer, the amended answer, and the replication thereto, it has been determined by all of the parties to, and all of the parties interested in, said suit, that it is desirable and best that the questions of law arising upon the bill of complaint as amended and a demurrer thereto be first finally adjudicated any put at rest by the circuit court of appeals of the United States and the Supreme Court of the United States ”