The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-11-15
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 1906.
RAILROAD RATE LEGISLATION.

regulation OF railroad rates was pre-.
sented in a recent public address by
Senator p. C. Knox, of Pennsylvania.
Coming from such a source, the re.
marks of the Pennsylvania senator
will command more than ordinary at.
tention. Mr.. Knox was attorney gen.
eral 10 the Mckinley administr alton,
and was also for some time q member
of the Roosevelt cabinet. AS q lawyer
he stands near the head of his profes.
sion, and it was believed by many
that his association with corporate
interests in a legal capacity would In.
nuence his personal views - to legis.
lation that is opposed BIB them.
One of the points made plain ia the
remarks of Senator Knox is that un.
just aud unreasonable rates are the
only rates that would be affected by
federal regulation, and that railroads
which do MOI impose unjust or un.
reasonable rates will not be affected
in the slightest degree. The main
points of the Pennsylvania senator's
speech are given in these extracts:
1.-The president believes that the
power TO pass upon the reasonable.
ness of a challenged railroad rate or
practice should be lodged in some
tribunal upon which a be also ION.
stitution ally cast the power to fix a
reasonable rate or practice in lieu of
q rate found by it to be unreasonable
and that the rate so fixed should be-.
come as nearly Immediately operative
as possible.
1.-THE proposition that the national
government should exercise supervis.
DRY control over the tax upon trans.
portation became ~self.evident from
the time that the railroads began,
through various devices, to concen.
trate this taxing power in the hands
Of q few men.
1.-The governments efforts to check
this concentration Of power under the
provisions Of existing laws should be
supplemented by legislation which
will prevent the abuse OF the power of
taxing the movement of persons and
property under any form of concen.
tration or under any circumstances
whatever.
"There is no railroad in the United
States that can be In the slightest de-
gree affected by legislation giving re-
lief from unreasonable rates and prac.
tees unless it Is guilty Of unreasonable
and unjust practices. There is no
practice OF any railroad that it adopts
or sanctions that can be declared to
be unreasonable or unjust until it il
challenged In q quasi-judicial pro.
ceeding and proved to be unjust and
unreasonable after the fullest hearing
and argument. There Is no order tina,
can be made by any commission or
board now existing or which it is pro.
posed to create, that can change a rate
or practice that Is unreasonable or
unjust without its order being subject
to review In q judicial proceeding In
the United States court upon the
ground of the unreasonableness of the
order OF the commission, and there Is
not a law that does, and probably nc
law could be enacted that could pre-.
vent the court, ii satisfied that inius.
tice had been done the railroads from
staying the operation of the order up
on the terms, until the court had
passed upon the merits of the contro-
versy.
'ln other words, the railroads en-
JOY a complete remedy against injus.
tice which it is not proposed to take
away, while the public has no effective
remedy against injustice. More than
such a remedy the public does not ask.
Less than such q remedy it never
should have been without.
"a very short aud simple law would
reach the root of the trouble. l,
should provide that the tolls collected
by common carriers and the practices
pursued by them should be just, fai,
and reasonable. The power to deter
mine these tolls and practices shoult
rest with the railroads and not be In
terfered with except upon complain
and after full hearing before the inter
state commerce commission.
"The commission should have tn.
power, it it finds the complaint vel
founded, to declare what shall be ,
just, fairly remunerative and reason,
able rate or practice to be charged OF
followed in place of the one declared
to be unreasonable.
"This order of the commissio,
should take effect within such rea
sonable time as shall be prescribed
by the commission in the order, aut
should be final, subject only to attacl
for un~lawfulness In the federal courts
where 1t would have to stand or fal
upon its merits.