The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-08

CiHe Deen memDer OF MS caDlnet anu
probably better than anyone else is
road-rate regulation policy, and the rea-
sons for it.
The place at which this speech was
delivered is also significant. Pitts
burg is probably the greatest freight
producing city in the world. There are
great many large shippers there who
have probably enjoyed as many special
favors as the shippers of any other city
at the hands of the railroads. Senator
Knox makes very clear and strong the
justice of the president s position and
his speech should be read by every bus
mess man. =.
Mr.. Knox said:
The president believes that the power
to pass upon the reasonableness Of a
challenged railroad rate or practice
should be lodged in some tribunal upon
which can be also censtitutionally cast
the power to fix reasonable rate or
practice in lieu of a rate found by it
to be unreasonable, and that the rate so
fixed should become as nearly immedi-
ately operative as possible.
The proposition that the national gov
ernment should exercise supervisory
control over the tax upon Transports
tlon became almost self-evident from
the time that the railroads began, thu,
various devices, to concentrate this
men,.
Strike at Root of Disease. !.
The government IS effort to check this
conc centration of power under the pro
visions of existing laws should be sup
plemented by legislation which will pre-
vent the abuse of the power of taxing
the movement of persons and property
under any form of concentration or un
der any circumstances whatever.
1t commends itself to me to be wise,
craftsmanship to provide remedy for 6
mischief in whatever form it appears
rather than to waste time in matching
the ingenuity Of the lawmaker in devils
ing laws to impose penalty for {
wrong as it may appear in specific. de
vices against the ingenuity Of the law
breaker in trying to avoid it's provision.
by creating new ones. In other words
it would seem to be wiser to cure til.
disease than treat the symptoms.
The Wall Street Journal said i,
1902. in relation to the issues involvef
in the government g attitude toward
the Northern Securities company:
| 1.-The railroads at this moment stan,
in serried ranks. facing the law, an
| the settlement Of the present disput
involves a settlement on first principles
| Abuse of the railroad interests on tn
one hand, and Of the interstate railwa,
commission on the other, at this tim
is puerile.- The former may have bee1
guilty Of imprudent action and the lat
ter Of dereliction of duty, but thes
are small matters when questions O.
! first principles have to be settled, a
they have at present.
This is measurably true today.
Duty of Congress-.
The proposition is that congres
should at once enact law covering th
the future the determination of the wis
dom and necessity of legislating in re
spect to collateral and related matters
It is the duty Of congress to regulat
commerce SO as to prevent injustice an
imposition by the carriers.
The proposition to correct unreason
able railway rates and practices goe
no further than this. It is tantamoun
to the proposition to correct iniustic
and imposition.
If you provide the remedy the evi
for some time has been toward faire
dealing by the railroads with the public
The enlarged and more effective pre-
visions against rebates and unjust dis
ordinations contained in the legisla
tion Of the ffty-seventh congress al
fected fewer railroads and met with les
railway opposition than 1t would hav
met ten years earlier, as many of tn
managers Of the best roads had eT
deavored to abolish such practices be
fore the law went into effect.
Railroad Attitude Mistaken.
One makes a mistake who assume
that the best railroad conscience Of tn
country approves the extravagant pro
paganda now being carried on to COZ
! vince the public that any regulative leg
islation would be unjust to the raj
roads.
There is no railway in the Unite
States that can be in the slightest dt
gree affected by legislation giving relic
from unreasonable rates and practice
unless it. is guilty Of unreaso,
able and unjust practices. Thel
is no practice of any railway tbs
it adopts or sanctions that can be d,
clared to be unreasonable or unjust III
til it Is challenged in quasi-judicis
proceeding, and proved to be unjust an
unreasonable after the fullest hearin
and argument.
There is no order that can be mao
by any commission or board now exis
ing, or which it is proposed to Great
that can change rate Of practice thu
is unreasonable or unjust without i
order being subject to review in iud
cial proceeding in the United States ci
cult court upon the ground of the u,
reasonableness Of the order of the cor
mission, and there is no law that do,
and probably no law that could be e.
acted that could prevent the court,
satisfied that injustice had been do1
the railroads, from staying the oper
tion of the order upon terms, until IL
court had passed upon the merits of Il
controversy.
Asks Only Justice.
In other words, the railways enjoy
complete remedy against injusti
which it is not proposed to take ava
while the public has no effective remed
against injustice. More than such
remedy the public does not ask. LIE
/ than such a remedy it never shou
have been without.
Exactly such a remedy congress su
posed it gave under the original act
regulate commerce, and 1t was apple
in number Of cases before the decisit
Of the supreme court that 1t was n
t given by the act.
The administrative features of IL
, power inhering in congress to fix re
sonable rates for transportation ms
be lawfully vested in the intersta
commerce commission.
; This includes the power to vest in Il
commission authority to substitute
, reasonable rate for one found by it
be unreasonable.
, It has frequently been declared
be the law that congress cannot vest Il