The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1905-11-04
NATIONAL EVENT
WAS THE BANQUET
Given Last Night by Chamber Of
Commerce at PittsFurg
KNOX CHIEF SPEAKER
BACKS UP PRESIDENTS RATE
REGULATION PLAN -- END
OF FOUNDERS DAY GEL.
EBRATION.

Pittsburg, Nov 3.-The chamber of
cluded the Founders day celebration
OF the Carnegie Institute was an event
of national Importance
The principal speakers were Sen.
ator Knox, Chinese Minister Liang
Cheng, General A. w. Greely, com.
mander Of the United States signal
service and Melville E. Stone, General
Manager Of the Associated Press.
General Greedy was the first speak.
err his t pic being: "The Army of
Military Factor in Our Country's De.
yelopment"
The Chinese minister discussed:
The Commercial Relations Between
China and the United States"
Melville e. Stones address was on
THE High Court of Opinion"
Senator Knox was then introduced
and said.
The president believes that the
power to pass upon the reasonableness
should be lodged in some tribunal on
which can be also ccnst tutionally
cast the power TO fix a reasonable
rate or practice in lieu of rate
found by II to b. unreasonable. and
that the rate so fixed should become
as nearly Immediately operative as
possible
THE proposition that the national
government should exercise supe~vis-
ory control over the tax upon trans-
pCrtaton became almost self-evdent
from the tine that the railroads be
gan, through various devices, 10 con,
centrate the taxing power in the hands
of a few men.
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 con,
centration or under any circumstances
whatever.
1T commends itself 10 me to be
wiser craftsmanship to prov de rem.
edy for mischief in whatever form
II appears rather than to waste time
in matching the ingenuity of the law
maker in devising laws TO impose
penalty for a wrong as ii may appear
in specific devices against the nge-
nuity of the law breaker in trying to
avoid ito nrnVicinng hU
ones. In other words, 1t would seem
80 be wiser to cure the disease than
treat the symptoms.
THE Wall Street Journal said in
1902. in relation 70 the issues involved
In the governments attitude toward
the i;oatifern Securities company:
The railroads al this moment stand
in serried ranks facing the law, and
the settlement of the present dispute |
involves settlement on first princi |
pies. Abuse of the railroad interests |
on the one hand, and of the interstate !
this time is peurile The former NAV |
have been guilty of imprudent action |
and the latter Cf derelict'on of duty |
but these are small matters when |
questions of first principle have TO be
settled, as they have at present
This is measurably true today.
The proposition is that congress
can and should at once enact laws
covering the main features of the pub.
lie demand for prompt and efficient
remedy against the unjust ra lroda
practices. and leave 10 the future the
determination of the wisdom and the
necessity of legislating in respect to
collateral and related matters.
1T is the duty of congress to regu-
late commerce so as TO prevent in
justice and imposition by the carriers.
The proposition TO correct unrea-
sonable railroad rates and practices
goes no farther than this II is tanta-
mount to the proposition to correc in
jusice 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 pub
lie
Inc enlarged and more enect We
provisions against rebates and unjust
determinations contained in the legis-
tiOn of the 57th congress affected
fewer railroads and met with less rail
read opposition than it would have
met Ten years earlier. a. many mana
gers of the best roads had endeav-
ored to abolish such practices before
the law went into effect One makes
a mistake who assumes that the best
railroad conscience of the country ap-
proves the extravagant propaganda |
now bein carried on TO convince the
public that any regulative regulation
would be unjust to the railroads.
There is no railroad in the Uunited
States that can be in the slightest de-
gree affected by the legislation giving
relief from Unreasonable rates and