Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1905-12-06
The Presidents
Annual Message
LONG ANTICIPATED DOCUMENT IS
BEFORE the PEOPLE FOR
CAREFUL DISCUSSION.
One Of the Most Comprehensive and
Important Messages Of Com.
mon Interest 60 the Peo-
pie q Large Ever Read
Before Congress.

pie q Large Ever Read
Before Congress.
President Roosevelt's annual message
has been delivered to congress. Open
ing with plea for the cooperation Of
all classes in continuing the cOuntry's
prosperity and in correcting existing
evils, for square DEAF for every
body, the message first takes up the
question of corporations and railroad
rate legislation. The president says:
Corporations.
I am in no sense hostile to corpora
tons. This is an age Of combination,
and any effort to prevent all combina-
ton will be not only useless, but in the
end vicious. because Of the contempt
for law which the failure to enforce
law inevitably produces. The corpora
tion has come to stay, just as the
trades union has come to stay. Each
can do and has done great good. Each
should be favored so long as 1t does
good. But each should be sharply
checked where 1t acts against law and
Justice.
Experience has shown conclusively
that it is useless to try to get any ade-
quate regulation and supervision of
these great corporations by state ac-
ton. Such regulation and supervision
can only be effectively exercised by
sovereign whose Jurisdiction Is cOex-
tensive with the field work of the cor
porations-that is, by the national gov
ernment. believe that this regulation
and supervision can be obtained by the
enactment of law by the congress. I:
this proves impossible, 1t will certainly
be necessary ultimately to confer In
fullest form such power upon the ma
tional government by affirmative ac-
ment of the constitution.
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 ma
tional government has power; so that
there at present exists very unf0rtu-
nate condition of things, under which
these great corporations doing an in
terstate business occupy the position Of
subjects without sovereign. neither
any state government nor the national
government having effective control
over them. Our steady aim should be
by legislation. cautiously and carefully
undertaken, but resolutely pe-severed
in, to assert the sovereignty Of the ma
tional government by affirmative ac-
tion.
This Is only in form an innovation.
In substance it is merely restoration,
for from the earliest time such regula-
tlon of Industrial activities has been
recognized in the action Of the law
making bodies, and all that l propose
is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as will prevent the COM
monwealth abdicating the power it has
always possessed. not only in this coun-
try, but also in England before and
since this country became separate
nation.
Railroad Rate LegislatiOn.
AS l said in my message of Dec. u
last, the immediate and most pressing
need so far as legislation is concerned
is the enactment into law Of some
scheme to secure to the agents Of the
government such supervision and regu-
lati0n Of the rates charged by the rail
roads of the country engaged in inter-
state traffic as shall summarily and ef-
fectively prevent the imposition Of un-
Just or unreasonable rates. 1t must
inn 1.pln O nj loft Sfn tN
bates in every shape and form. This
power to regulate rates, like all similar
powers over the business world, should
| be exercised with moderation, caution
and self restraint, but it should exist,
so that 1t can be effectively exercised
when the need arises.
In my judgment, the most important
provision which such law should con-
tain is that comforting upon some COM
petent administrative body the power
to decide upon the case being brought
before it whether given rate pre-
scribed by railroad Is reasonable and
| Just, and II 1t is found to be unreasOn-
able and unjust then, after full investi-
| CATION Of the complaint, to prescribe
the limit of rate beyond which it shall
not be lawful to go-the maximum
reasonable rate, as 1t is commonly CALI
ed-this decision to 60 into effect with
in reasonable time and to obtain
from thence onward. subject to review
by the courts.
| 1t sometimes happens at present. not
that a rate is too high. but that ia
vored shipper is given too low rate.
In such case the commission would
have the right to fix this already estab-
lished minimum rate as the maximum,
and it would need only one or two such
decisions by the commission to cure
railroad companies of the practice of
giving improper minimum rates. ! call
your attention to the fact that my pro-
posal Is not to give the commission
power to initiate or originate rates gen
orally, but to regulate a rate already
fixed or originated by the roads upon
COnttnuod IN Nfth ma Uo