The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-04
KNOX TALKS
OF REGULATION.
The Pennsylvania Senator
Speaks in Pittsburg.
LEGISLATION IS NEEDED
A Short and Simple Law IS
Recommended.
Declares 1t to he the Duty Of Congress
to Regulate Commerce So As to
Prevent Injustice ny
Carriers.
LEGISLATION IS NEEDED

cluQinR the fOuu0eT , LAY SefSDIdllOH
of the Carnegie Institute, the princi-
pal speakers were Senator Philander
C. Knox. Sir Chentung Liahg Cheng,
Chinese Minister; General A. w. Gree
1y, commander of the United States
Signal Service. and Melville E.. Stone.
General Manager Of the Associated
Press.
the Chinese Minister. The title page
showed an egraviture of the Chinese
Minister displaying his costume in the
original colors. Below were raised
productions of Chinese and American
flags in original colors.
After an invocation by Rev. 8. B.
Mccormack and an Introductory adj
dress by President John Eaton of the
Chamber OF Commerce. Toastmaster
John Dalzell introduced General A. w.
Greedy, who spoke on The Army of
the United States; a Civil as Well as
a Military Factor in Our Country's De-
velopment."
The Chinese Minister discussed The
Commercial Relations between China
and the United States"
Melville e. Stones address was on
the High Court Of Public Opinion"
Senator p. c. Knox was then intro
duced and said:
speech Of Knox.
The President believes that the power
TO pass upon the reasonabfeness of the
challenge that railroad rate or prac-
tice should be lodged In some tribunal
upon which can be also constftutionally
cast the power to NIX reasonable rate
or practice In lieu OF a rate found by
1t to be unreasonable. and that the rates
so affixed become nearly as Immediately
operative as possible.
The governments efforts to check the
concentration of taxing power In the
hands Of a few men under the provis-
ions of existing laws should be supple-
mented by legislation which viii pre-
vent the abuse Of the power of taxing
the movement of persons or property
under form Of concentration or under
any circumstances whatever.
1t commends itself to me to be wiser
statesmanship to provide a remedy for
a mischief in whatever form 1t appears
rather than to waste time In matching
the Ingenuity OF the 1awmaker In de-
vising laws to impose penalty for a
wrong as It may appear in specific de-
vices against the ingenuity of the law
breaking in trying to avoid its pro-
visions by creating new ones. mother
words Ii would seem to be wiser TO cure
the disease than treat the symptoms.
Prompt and Efficient Remedy.
The proposition Is that Congress
should at once enact law covering
the main features OF the public demand
for a prompt and efficient remedy
against unjust railroad practices and
leave to the future the determination
Of the wisdom and necessity of legis-
IatinR in respect to collateral and re-
lated matters.
It Is the duty of Congress to regulate
commerce so as to prevent injustice and
imposition by the carriers.
The proposition to correct unreasona-
- o-A rVarffcaa
further than this. 1t Is tantamount to
the proposition to correct injustices and
imposition.
IF YOU provide the remedy the evil
will largely disappear. The tendency
for some time has been toward fairer
dealing by the railroads with the
public.
States that can be in the slightest de-
gree affected by legislation giving re-
lief from unreasonable rates and prac-
tices unless 10 is guilty OF unreasonable
and unjust practices,
There Is no practice of any railroad
that II adorts or sanctions that can be
declared to be unreasonable or unjnst
until 1t is challenged In quasi-judicial
proceeding and proven to be unjust ana
unreasonable after tine iuiiest nearing
and argument
There IA no order that can be made
by any commission or a board now ex-
listing or which It Is proposed to Gre
ate that can change a rate or practice
that is unreasonable or unjust without
it's order being subject to review In
the United States Circuit CSlrt upon
the ground of the unreasonableness or
the order of the commission. and there
IL no law that does and probably no
law could be enacted. that could pre-
vent the court IL satisfied that in1us-
tfee had been done the railroads. from
staying the operation OF the order up
on terms until the court had passed
upon the merits of the controversy.
Remedy Against Injustice.
In other words the railroads enjoy
complete remedy against injustice
which II is not proposed TO take away
while the public has no effective rem
edy against injustice. More than such
a remedy the public does not ask. Less
than such a remedy 1t should have new
er been without.
powers inhering in Congress to nix rea-
sonable rates for transportation may
be lawfully vested In the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
This includes the power to vest in
the Commission authority to substi-
tute a reasonable rate for one found
by them TO be unjust. 1t has been de-
that OOnANCSo N0itAON 49,
power to fix tolls in any constitutional
court because the fixing of toll Is a
legislative and not a judicial act and
Congress cannot impose the PERFORM
ance of non-judiciaI duties upon the
courts which exercise the judicial pow
er of the United States.
Itlis equally clear that Congress can
not give an appeal from a non-Judicial
or administrative body to a judicial
body for the purpose of reviewing adj
ministrative acts by correcting them
by decreeing a new act, as in judi
cial appeal and this disposes of what
understand to be the main contention
between the advocates OF the PROPOSE
ton that a rate flxed by the commits
ion should go into effect at once and
.he advocates OF the proposition that
II should not go into effect until APP
proved by court upon appeal. 1t is
perfectly evident that IL the court in
the first instance could not perform
the legislative act Of fixing reason
able future rate. II could not perform
the same act upon appeal
The competency OF The Commission
To PASS upon the reasonableness Of a