The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-01-29

n
there appears to be one point that is quite
~ clear-that of the injury done the public
by the grant OF discriminating rates OF transportation
Consequently every one who has trust remedy to
propose invariably includes in prescription for the
cure OF that evil. Other things may be matters OF
doubt and OF difference OF opinion but there is gen
eral agreement that something must be done to pre-
vent the railroads from discriminating
As result OF the universal agreement on that
point every statesman at Washington is seemingly
eager to be the first to hit the evil the head and
to hit if the hardest blow The Interstate Commerce
Commission has bill designed give it power TO
prevent determinations rebates The Department
OF Commerce bill has been provided with clause
giving 1t control corporations doing inter
state business and authority to require such cor
porations to report all matters affecting their rela-
tons to the public. The Hoar antitrust bill pro-
vides for Furnishing all determinations in freight
rates and SO does the Littleheld bill In short every
bill in sight has something the way OF bludgeon
with which to snite the recognized evil.
1t would be supposed that since many bills are
aimed at il might be the thing would be
hit and hit hard 1t seems however, that observers
of the drift of things the capital by means
sanguine that such will be the The fear is that
the reformers will get in the way OF another and
that blow aimed by one will be dashed aside by
another blow coming from the opposite direction.
The Washington correspondent OF the Boston
Transcript says: There is behind the Elkins bill to
further regulate commerce with foreign nations and
among the States movement which may produce
no less result than the abolition OF the Interstate
Commerce Commission as we know it to-day The
Ekins bill confers upon the commission authority TO
petition Circuit Court to inquire into alleged viola
.t,a ;,+ar he oplv
liminary necessary is that the commission shall
have reasonable ground for belief In other words
/ it may continue to make, now, Investigations O.
complaints lodged with it by such machinery
as it has at its command, and leave the rest tc
/ be done by the court. No more judicial powers are
conferred upon the commission by the Elkins bill
than are conferred by statutes upon the Census Bit
reau or the Bureau of Animal Industry of the De
partment OF Agriculture, the marine hospital ser
vice with its quarantine duties.
1t would be queer outcome OF the long agitation
on this subject il it resulted not in increasing tht
powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission blu
in transforming that body into harmless and com
paratively useless governmental bureau. 1t is
that should the change take place the commission
would suffer in dignity, and everything like udica
character would be stripped from it. 1t would be
come collector OF data, with an investigating at
tachment like the office of the Comptroller of tn
! Currency, but the furthest it could proceed would
be to present its reports to court OF competent urs
dction, with such evidence as it might have t6 sup
port its suspicious, and leave the rest to be worke
out by the ordinary methods OF prosecution on infor
nation"
1t is an old saying TOO many cooks spoil tn
BROTH and perhaps in the multiplicity Of bills an
plans for dealing with the trusts the railway
and their various schemes for exploiting the publ
we going to make things instead Of better
4 It will certainly be long slide backward if stri
the Interstate Commerce Commission of its dignit
and reduce it to a bureau.