The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-08
Senator Knox Upholds the
Presidents K. X. Rate Policy
The Issue Stripped of the Sophistries and Faacies loh
Which the Railroad Advocates Haze Sought to SnotF-
er H-How the Subject Looks When Presented by One
of the Cearest Thinkers and Ablest Lawyers in the
Country.

1t is equally clear that congress cam
not give an appeal from a non judicial
or administrative body to a judicial
body for the purpose Of reviewing ad
ministrative acts by correcting them
appeal; and this disposes of what I
understand to be the main contention
between the advocates Of the PROPOSE
tion that a rate fixed by the commission
should go into effect at once, and the z
advocates Of the proposition that it
should not go into effect until approved
fectly evident that If the court in the
first instance could not perform the
legislative act Of fixing a reasonable
future rate 1t could not perform the
same act upon appeal.
| No device can cure the objection to
| suspendlng the operation of the COM
missi Jon g finding until passed upon by
| the court. OF course, l do not mean
that in an Independent proceeding be-
| gun in the. court that the court could
not, in the exercise of its discretionary
powers, when satisfied that the rate
fixed by, the commission was unlawful,
enjoin its operation until final hear
ing. That is a power that inheres in
| the court that need not be conferred by
statute and probably cannot be taken
away by statute. -.
No Extension Of Power.
The competency of the commission to
pass upon the feasonableness OF a chal-
lenged rate is denied because OF the
technical character of the work; be-
cause familiarity with its requirements
can only come thru long training and
experience. This argument might be
potent if it were proposed to give the
commission the power to initiate rates
and practices This, however, Is not
the proposition.
1t is not proposed to confer upon the
commission any greater or different
power than courts of equity possess
under well-known branch of equity
jurisprudence.
The commission sits in the first in
of the challenged rate or practice, and
in so doing performs an ordinary. judi
cial function. There is no act or trans
action, however technical, complex or
: important, whose legality may not be
> called in question in court. Courts
mechanics, medicine, art, theology and
finance, hear the calculations of advo-
} Gates on either side, and, without pre-
vious special training in the particular
subject involved determine the rights
of the parties to the issue.
Would Maintain Property Rights.
SuCH POWtI LII Oh 1AuS POiu
ent tribunal there could be no such
thing as property rights.
There can be no such thing as right
without a method Of determining its
existence.
,, So, in respect Of railroad rate, or
! practice alleged to be unreasonable and,
, therefore, unlawful, whether it presents
! the simplest or the most involved ques-
! tion, the able experts who, 1t is claimed,
! are alone competent to comprehend and
deal with these questions, may enlghten
the commission and the complaining
shippers; and it follows of course, If
: the weight of reason is with the rail-
, | road, the complaint will be dismissed.
To conjecture otherwise would be to
assume that the commission could not
. understand or would not heed a sound
defense.
2 Upon the other hand, if the COM
| plainant makes good his charge of un-
reasonableness in rate or practice, the
: commission, exercising the delegated ed
{ what would be reasonable under the evil
g dence.
, The different views brought forward
l relative to the creation of new courts
or the appointment Of additional judges
r have much that may be said in their
: favor and against them, respectively.
: Urges Short and Simple Law.
: Whether the existing circuit courts
:, of the United States would be able to
; handle the Increased business that the
. passage Of the law proposed might I'M
=, pose upon them is mere matter of con-
!. lecture. AS between the suggestions
of a permanent court Of commerce in
Washington, composed of judges who
perform no other duty; court of com
q merce in each, circuit, and the sGgges-
q tion Of the creation of nine new cir
:. the personnel of which is to be deter
: mined by the chief justices of the
/ United States, one may find himself at
a loss to determine which, if any, is a
4 wise plan.
In my Judgment I think that matter
{ can be left to the determination Of the
: future. Congress can well afford tc
: abide the result of experience In these
q matters.
t A very short and simple law would
, reach the root Of the trouble. 1t should
l. provide that the tolls collected by com
i mon carriers and the practices pursued
d by them should be just, fair and reason
9 able. The power to determine these
tolls and practices should rest with the
10 railways, and not to be interfered will
!. except on complaint and after full hear
. ing before the interstate commerce
4 commission.
IS The commission should have thu
j. power, if it finds the complaint wei
r founded, to declare what shall be {
l. just, fairly remunerative and reason
l. able rate or practice to be charged OF
IS followed in place Of the one declared tt
n be unreasonable.
ifi This order of the commission shoulc
le take effect within such reasonable time
L. as shall be prescribed by the commits
le sion in the order, and should be final
le subject only to attack for unlawfulnes:
in the federal courts, where 1t woule
have to stand or fall upon its merits.
No other Relief Likely.
20 Such an act with suitable provision
: for the regulation of joint rates and
= rates upon traffic of International car
2 riers. would go to the full extent ant
Is no further than the recommendation
ID made by the president in his last an
nual message.
p- ssI am sincerely convinced that tht
20 time has come when congress must II
d Justice to the public, exercise more full!
1T and regulation, and believe that, il
view Of the misunderstanding and diff
lie ferences Of opinion relative to com
a. paratively unimportant features Of th
y problem, that no relief is likely to b.
te given in the immediate future unles
some such comparatively simple meas
le ure is adopted"