US Presidency
1910

How far as incidental to the carrying on of that commerce it may be within the power of the Federal Government to authorize the manufacture of goods is, perhaps, more open to discussion, though a recent decision of the Supreme Court would seem to answer that question in the affirmative. Even those who are willing to concede that the Supreme Court may sustain such federal incorporation are inclined to oppose it on the ground of its tendency to the enlargement of the federal power at the expense of the power of the States. It is a sufficient answer to this argument to say that no other method can be suggested which offers federal protection on the one hand and close federal supervision on the other of these great organizations that are in fact federal because they are as wide as the country and are entirely unlimited in their business by state lines. Nor is the centralization of federal power under this act likely to be excessive.