News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1905-12-06
MESSAGE

|
President Roosevelt's annual messagi
has been delivered to congress Open
ing with plea for the cooperation O
all classes in continuing the country'i
prosperity and in correcting existing
evils, for square DEAF for every
body, the message first takes up the
question of corporations and railroad
rate legislation. The president says:
Corporations.
l am in no sense hostile to corpora
tons. This is an age of combination
and any effort to prevent all combina
ton will be not only useless, but in the
end vicious, because of the contempt
for law which the failure to enforce
law inevitably produces. The corpora
ton has come to stay, just as the
trades union has come to stay. Each
can do and has done great good. Each
should be favored so long as it does
! good. Bat each should be sharply
checked where it acts against law and
justice
Experience has shown conclusively
! that it is useless to Try to get any ade-
quate regulation and euporriaion of
these great corporations by state ac-
ton. Such regulation and supervision
can only be effectively exercised by a
sovereign whose jurisdiction is cock
tensiye with the field work Of the cor
porations-that is, by the national GOV
! eminent. | believe that this regulation
/ and supervision can be obtained by the
enactment of law by the congress If
this proves impossible, it will certainly
be necessary ultimately to confer in
fullest form such power upon the ma
tional government by affirmative ac-
ment Of the constitution.
The laws of the congress and of the
several states hitherto, as passed upon
by the courts, have resulted more often
in showing that the states have no
power in the matter than that the ma
tional government has power; 50 that
there at present exists a very unfOrtu-
nate condition Of things, under which
these great corporations doing an in
tCrState business occupy the position of
subjects without a sovereign, neither
any state government nor the national
government having effective control
over them. Our steady aim should be
by legislation cautiously and carefully
undertaken. but resolutoly persoyered
in, to assert tie sovereignty of the ma
tional government by affirmative &C.
ton.
This is only in form an innovation
Ill substance it IS merely 4 restoration,
for from The earliest time such ragll,a-
ton Of industrial activities has been
recognized in the action Of the law
making bodies, and all that ! propose
is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as will prevent the com
monwealth abdicating the power it has
always possessed, not only in this coUn-
try, but also in England before and
since this country became a separate
nation.
Railroad Hate Legislation.
AS l said III my message Of Dec. 6
last, the immediate and most pressing
need 50 far as legislation is concerned
is the enactment into law Of some
scheme to secure to the agents of the
government such supervision and regu-
lation of the rates charged by the rail |
roads of the country engaged in inter- !
state traffic as shall summarily and eff |
fectively prevent the imposition of IN
Just or unreasonable rates. 1t must F.
include putting Il complete stop to re- !
bates in every shape and form. This
power to regulate rates, Ike al similar
powers over the business world, aAJuIl
be exercised with moderation, cL-,.Gl
and self restraint, lat it should c.,.5ss,
so that it can be effectively c..eHl1cl
when the need arises.
In my Judgment, the most inDg"1ilt
provision wh,h sCcn lay GhJ"..i Oh
tain is that concerning Cp1l S2i.,. eJ-I-
petent administrative Lo-y lie i'.-H:"
to decide upon TIE cl.2 Bog b. ~
before it Wheeler u gen re .."2- 7
scribed by Il I"..oad H. r"Ga2a,' .' "a .
just, and if il is f0uL t. h. "a.
able and unjust then. ar,g.' I'll -
CATION of the compliant, - i..' ,-..o
the limit Of rate ba.-,.-I ---,,..,.. =. -s.,i
not be lawful 70 G1-tra :a-r 81, ,
rae, a. IT,; 'r.-a.. ..,.. ..,l,-
ed-this decision - g. 20 c--.r. Be-. ..l-.
in a reasonable t.:-c anU ~ ID. "a
from thence onward, SUBJECT t. l,T.v"
by the courts.
1t sometimes hapNens al p,c3~@-. "a
that a rate is too Il IL D.-f tN.i ID }I-