River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-12-07
Would Materially Increase the
Powers of Interstate Com
MERGE Commission.
LIFE INSURANCE QUESTION
Sees Good and Evil in Labor Unions
Asks for Immediate Appropri-
atoms for Panama Canal, and
Promises Report of Board of En-
gineers and Recommendations
Later---Other Matters.

Washington. Dec. 5.-The annual mes
sage of President Roosevelt was read IN
both houses of congress to-day. IL is a ooc--
ument Of some $4,000 words, ana CON
tains recommendations for much important
legislation.
The subject OF federal supervision OF cor
norations and especially railroad corpora
tions Is the first subject treated of by the
president. and to it he gives the greatest
amount Of attention. After speaking OIL tue
general prosperity of the country, ana tne
mower of the corporations for gooo OF eV ,l
in connection with the nations prosperity
he says:
c. Ione az the finances of the nation
.re Kent ,1pon an honest basis, no otner
question Of internal economy with Wh!cn
fhe congress has the power TO deal begins
to approach in Importance the mater VI
endeavoring to secure proper industrial
conditions under which the individuals
and especially the great corporatlons-
doing an interstate business are TO act
The makers of our national constitution
provided especially that the regulation
of interstate commerce should come WIN
In the sphere of the general government.
The arguments in favor Of their taxing
this stand were even then overwhelming.
But they are far stronger to-day, in view
nf the enormous development OF great
business agencies usually corporate III
form. Experience has SHOWN conclusive
ly that it is useless to try TO get any
ADEQUATE regulation and supervision OF
these great corporations by state action
Such regulation and supervision can only
he effectively exercised by q sovereign
whose Jurisdiction is coextens1ve with the
field Of work of the corporations-that is,
by the national government. | 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 national government by proper
amendment of the constitution. 1t would
obviously be unwise to endeavor to secure
such an amendment until it is certain
that the result cannot be obtained under
the constitution as it now is. 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 national government has
power; so that there at present exists
q very unfortunate condition of things,
under which these great corporations do
ing an interstate business occupy the po-
sition of subjects without a sovereign,
neither any state government nor the ma
tional government having effective con-
troll over them. Our steady aim should
be by legislation cautiously and care
fully undertaken but resolutely per-
severed in, to assert the sovereignty of
the national government by affirmative
action.
This is only in form an innovation. In
substance it is merely a restoration; for
from the earliest time such regulation
Of industrial activities has been recog-
nized in the action of the law-malxing
bodies and all that propose is to meet
the changed conditions in such manner
as will prevent the commonwealth abdi-
eating the power it has always possessed,
not only in this country, but also in
England before and since this country
became separate nation.
Present Laws Inadequate.
1t has been a misfortune that the ma
tional laws on this subject have hitherto
been of negative or prohibitive rather
than an affirmative kind, and still more
that they have in part sought to prohibit
what could not be effectively prohibited
and have in part in their prohibitions
confounded what should be allowed and
what should not be allowed 1t is gen
orally useless to try to prohibit all re-
straint on competition, whether this re-
Straint be reasonable or unreasonable:
and where it Is not useless 1t is gener-
ally hurtful Events have shown that it
is not possible adequately to secure the
enforcement of any law of this kind nv
incessart appeal to the courts THE de-
partmeht of justice has for the last four
years devoted more attention to the en-
forcelnent of the antitrust legislation
than to anything else. Much has been
accomplished; particularly marked has
been the moral effect of the nrosecutionc.
put 1t is increasingly evident that there
will be very insufficient beneficial re-
suit in the way of economic change The
successful prosecution of one device to
evade the law Immediately develops an
other device to accomplish the same pur-
pose What is needed is not sweeping
q arfsoy N,slN may o1J
or bad which may tend to restrict COM
petition, but such adequate supervision
and reguiat ton as will prevent any re-
striction of competition from being to
the detriment of the public-as we'll as
such supervision and regulation as will
prevent other abuses in no way connected
with restriction of competition OF these
abuses, perhaps the chief, although by
no means the only one, is overcapitaliza-
tion-generally itself the result of diShon-
est promotion-because of the myriad
evils it brings in its train; for such over
capitalization often means an imitation
that invites business panic; it always con-
ceals the true relation o. the profit earned
to the capital actually invested, and it
creates a burden of interest payments
which is a fertile cause of Improper re-
duction i, or limitation of wages; it
DANA ges Ire small investor discourages
thrift, and encourages gambling and
speculation; while perhaps worst of all
is the thickness and dishonesty which it
impIies-for harm "a morals is worse than
any possible harm 20 material interests
and the debauchery If politics and bust
ness by great dishonest corporations is
far worse than any actual material evil
they do the public. Until the national
government obtains, in some manner
which the wisdom of the congress may
suggest, proper control over the big cor
porations engaged in interstate commerce
that is, over the great majorny of the
big corporations-it will be impossible to
deal adequately with these evils.
Railroad Rate Regulation.
am well aware of the difficulties
of the legislation that 1 am suggest
ing and of the need of temperate and
cautious action in securing it. should
emph&t ically protest afSHInst improp
erly radical or kasty action. The first
thing 10 do is to deal with the great
corporations engaged IN the business
of interstate transportation. As said
in my message of December last, the
immediate and most pressing need 50