The United States Supreme Court held in the Trans-Missouri Case, March 22, 1897, and the Joint Traffic Association Case, Oct. 24, 1898, that railroads cannot lawfully agree on rates to competitive points. But no law or decision can well prevent railroad managers from meeting and coming to an understanding that they will adopt the same rates to such points. No contract in restraint of trade or to limit competition is necessary,—if each railroad publishes the same rates between “competitive” points and maintains them, competition as to rates is killed as effectually as if there were a pool or a traffic association with a written agreement. Footnote 394: Sen. Com. 1905, pp. 2923, 3338. Footnote 395: Sen. Com. 1905, p. 3482. Footnote 396: _Ibid._, pp. 3485, 3486. The railroad managers decided to notify offending railroads that unless rates were restored, the lowest cut rates that had been made by any line would be adopted by all, to punish the rebaters and stop them from getting business thereby. At a meeting July 26, 1882, 30 railroads being represented, a resolution was unanimously adopted, directing agents at connecting points to examine waybills, and when rates were found to have been cut, to hold the freight at the expense of the initial line until the waybills had been corrected. Footnote 397: Sen. Com. 1905, p. 1908, and index, “Rate-Making.” Footnote 398: The Senate is too full of men interested in railroads in one way or another to make it easy to pass any measure that might seriously affect either the power or the profits of the roads. Footnote 399: