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Elkins Act Ends Rail Rebates

1903

The Elkins Act prohibits railroad companies from giving rebates to businesses that ship large quantities of goods and giving power to those businesses to artificially lower shipping prices. The law will be reinforced with the passage of the Hepburn Act in 1906 and the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910, which give Congress and the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to control railroad shipping rates.