Warren sheaf., 1905-12-07
Would Materially Increase the
Powers of Interstate Com
merCe Commission.
LIFE INSURANCE QUESTION
Sees Good and Evil in Labor Unions
tasks for Immediate Appropri-
ations for Panama Canal, and
Promises Report of Board of En-
Later---Other Matters.

Later---Other Matters.
Washington, Dec. 5.-The annual mes
sage of President Roosevelt was read III
both houses of congress to-day. 1t is a doc
,,ment of some $4,000 words, and con-
taips recommendations for much important
legislation.
! The subject Of federal supervision OF cor
porations, and especially railroad corpora
lions. is the first subject treated Of by the
president, and to it he gives the greatest
amount of attention. After speaking OF the
general prosperity of the country, and the
mower of the corporations for good or evil
in connection with the nations prosperity,
he says:
So long as the finances of the nation
are kept upon an honest basis, no Qther
question of internal economy with which
4he congress has the power TO deal begins
ia approach in Importance the matter OF
endeavoring to secure proper industrial
conditions under which the Individuals
and especially the great corporations
doing an interstate business are to act.
The makers of our national constitution
provided especially that the regulation
of interstate commerce should come with
in the sphere of the general government.
The arguments in favor of their taking
this stand were even then overwhelming.
But they are far stronger to-day, in view
of the enormous development of great
business agencies, usually corporate in
form. Experience has shown conclusive
1y 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
be effectively exercised by a sovereign
whose jurisdiction is cOeXtensive with the
field of work of the corporations-that is,
by the national government. | beneVe
that this regulation and* supervision can
be obtained by the enactment of law by
the congress. If this proves impossible
1t will certainly be necessary ultima tely
to confer in fullest form such power upon
the national government by proper
amendment of the constitution 1t would
obviously be unwlse 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 DO
sition of subjects without a SOVEREIGN,
neither any state government nor the ma
tlonal government having effective con-
troll over them. Our steady aim should
he by legislation, cautiously and care
fully undertaken, but resolutely per-
severed in, to assert the sovereignty OF
1he national government by affirmative
action.
Present Laws Inadequate.
1t has been misfortune that the na-
h
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
con'ounded what should be allowed and
what should not be allowed 1t is gen.
eraliv useless to try to prohibit all re-
straint on competition, whether this re-
stralnt be reasonable or reasonab Bile.
and where it is not useless it is gener-
ally hurtfnl. Events have shown that it
IS ho' possible adequately to secure tie
enforcement or any law of this kind by
1ncessar, appeal to the courts, The do
partment of Justice has for the last four
vp@'' devoted more attsntion to the en-
1ofee'neht or the antitrust legislation
than to anything else Much has been
accomplished: particularly marked n,.
been the moral effect of the prosecutions.
but 1t is increasingly evident that there
VIII be very insufficient Dene t1cial 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 p,r-
pose. What is needed is not sweeping
prohibition of every arrangement, good
or bad, which may tend to restrict com
petition, but such adequate supervision
and regulation as will prevent any re-
striction of competition from being to
the detriment Of the pEblic-as well as
such supervision and regulation as win
prevent other abuses in no way connect ed
with restriction of competition. OF these
abuses. perhaps the chef although by
no means he only one. is overcapitaliza-
tion-generally itself the result of dishon-
est promoton-because Of the myriad
evils it brings in its train: for such over
capitalization often means an imitation
that invites business pain: 1t always con-
ceals the true relation of the profit earned
to the capital actually Invested, and it
creates burden of interest payments
which is a fertile cause Of improper re-
duction in or limitation of wages it
damages the small investor. discoura ges
thrift, and encourages gambling and
speculation while perhaps worst of all
is the thickness and dishonesty which it
implies-for harm to morals is worse than
any possible harm to material interests.
and the debauchery' Of politics and busi-
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 majority of the
big corporations-it will be impossible to
deal adequately with these evils.
- ~. ". q
Railroad Rate Regulation.
am well aware of the difficulties
Of the legislation that am suggest