86-607. Dispatches; rates; violation; penalty.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any telegraph company, its agents, or its operators to demand, charge, or receive from any individual, association, or corporation a greater sum for the transmission and delivery of any telegram or message over a given distance than it demands, charges, or receives for the transmission and delivery of any telegram or message containing an equal number of words over a greater distance. A dispatch transmitted during the night and a dispatch for publication in a newspaper may be forwarded and delivered at reduced rates if such rates are uniform for the same service.

(2) It is unlawful for any telegraph company, or press association or organization engaged in the business of forwarding dispatches by telegraph, to demand, collect, or receive from any publisher or proprietor of a newspaper any greater sum for a given service than it demands, charges, or collects from the publisher or proprietor of any other newspaper for a like service.

(3) A violation of this section is a Class II misdemeanor. In addition, such telegraph company or press association or organization shall be liable for all damages sustained by the person or party as a result of such discrimination.

Source

Annotations

In order to constitute an unjust discrimination, there must be a difference in rates under substantially similar circumstances as to services. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Call Pub. Co., 58 Neb. 192, 78 N.W. 519 (1899), 44 Neb. 326, 62 N.W. 506 (1895).