Evening star., 1904-04-29
ACONTROVERSY PUTOFF
WILL BE TAKEN UP WHEN CON-
aREss REAssEMBLEs
Whether the Interstate Commission
Shall Be Transferred to the
Department of Commerce

With the adjournment of the second ses-
sion of the FffSy-elghth Congress the hopes
Of the Department of Commerce and Labor
that the legislative body would place under
that department the now separate bureau
known as lr.s interstate commerce commits
sion are temporarily abandoned. One Of
the most cherished desires Of the new de-
partment was that its influence might be
actively extended to cover the work OF the
commission that has entire charge of the
administration Of the act to regulate COM
merce. The failure of Congress to see the
matter in the same light was a great dis
appointment to the department, and there
is little doubt that when the next session
convenes In December one of the tirst prop
ostti0ns that Will be filed will be a request
from the Department OF Commerce 20 give
1t Jurisdiction over the railroad investi-
eating body.
On the other hand there is just as strong
an opposition to this measure on the part
of the commissioners and other Off clais of
the Interstate commerce commission. When
the suggestion takes tangible form In
appeal to Congress 1t will be found that
there are as strong reasons brought to
bear as to the advisability of retaining tho
commission as a distinct body as can be
brought by the advocates of amalsama-
Labor. The reasons for and against con-
solidation are thought by the supporters
OF each side to be irrefutable.
The Departments View.
The department thinks that all labor-in-
vestigating bureaus of the government
service should be placed under its juris-
diction, and gives the apparently conclu-
sive reason that the Department of Com
merce and Labor by its name alone indf-
Gates that 1t should have control of all
branches of the service where labor or
commerce are an element in the admins
tration. 1t points to the census bureau as
an example of what has been done. and
says that surely no greater reason exists
for the maintenance of the individuality OF
the Interstate commerce commission than
existed in the case of the census bureau.
a branch of the service employing many
times as many persons as the other bu-
reau. which objects to coming under the
sheltering wing of the young department
Nothing Is said of the endeavor that was
made TO get control of the government
printing office this session. but there Is good
reason for the assertion that that bureau
will also come in for the suggestion of
control by the new department when Con-
gress meets at the end of the year.
The Commissions Contention.
The interstate commerce commission. on
the 'other hand, believes that its best
work has been done without the aid of
any governing power other than that OF
Congress and that 1t can continue to
achieve the best results as a separate or
ganization. Its members are and must Of
necessity be lawyers of proven ability. At
present they are all men who have achiev-
ed distinction in their chosen vocations and
in every case they received their appoint
ments because of the attention they had
attracted to themselves by their works
They point to these facts as unanswerable
arguments against coalition with the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor and
maintain that the results which have been
the reward of arduous duties well done
could probably not have been secured IL
the body had been hampered in it's opera
tions because of responsibility to a de-
partment. In the present methods in vogue
with the commission its members hold that
they can act more quickly and transact
their business with greater facility than
IL they were obliged to conduct their in
vestigations under the guidance of another
government department They are at lib
erty at all times to send men out over the
country to investigate any question that
comes before them for adjudication. and
this can be done without referring to a
higher power for advice and permission
When their reports are made they are pro-
mulgated as law, just as the decisions of
the Supreme Court of the United States
are final law. that body alone having a
greater power than the commission In the
settlement of such cases that come before
1t for regulation under the act of Con-
gress.
Congress Declined to Act.
These two sides of the argument have
heen threshed over between the Secretary
of Commerce and Labor and the members
of the commission, and members of the
lawmaking body have been coHfidentially
advised by both sides that each side was the
only one for consideration. In this ex-
tremity Congress declined to act and the
matter will now go over until the next
session., then to become. probably, the SUBJ
Ject of considerable controversy in COM
mittee and possibly, later in the Senate
and House. But for the present the COM
mission has won and 1t is inclined to the
feeling that IL will always remain a SEN
arate and integral part of the government