The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-12-05

/ bAAG WINS A. oAN~AA ~ SAAS E%N@N--'
| Interstate Commerce Commission Of
to a reorganized Interstate Commerce
Commission. such commission should
be made unequivocally administra'
tive. Il dc, not believe in the govern
ment interfering with private bust
ness more than is necessary. do
not believe in the government I'M
dertaking any work which can with
propriety be left in private hands.
But neither 10 believe in the govern.
ment flinchlng from overseeing any
work when it becomes evident that
abuses are sure to obtain therein un'
less there is governmental supervi.
sion. It is not my province to indi.
cate the exact terms Of the law which
should be enacted but I call the at,
tention Of the Congress to certain eS'
ting conditions with which 1t is de-
sirabIe to deal. In my judgment the
most important provision which such
law should contain is that comforting
upon some competent administrative
body the power to decide, upon Me
case being brought before It, whether
a given rate prescribed by a railroad
is reasonable and Just, and If 1t Is
found 10 be unreasonable and unjust,
then, after full investigation Of the
complaint, to prescribe the limit Of
rate beyond which 1t shall not be-
lawful to go-the maximum reason
rate, as 1t is commonly called-this
decision to go into effect within a
reasonable time and to obtain from
thence onward subject to review byI
the courts. It sometimes happens at
present not that rate is too high but
that h favored shipper is given too
low a rate. In such case the Commits
sion would have the right to fix this
already established minimum rate as
the maximum; and it would need only
one or two such decisions by the Com
mission to cure railroad companies Of
the practice of giving improper mini
mum rates. l call your attention to-
the fact that my proposal Is not TO-
give the Commission power to initiateI
or originate rates generally, but To-
regulate rate already fixed or orig
mated by the roads, upon complaint
and after investigation. A heavy pen,
atty should be exacted from any cor
poration which fails to respect an Or
der of the Commission. regard this
power to establish maximum rate
as being essential to any scheme OF
real reform in the matter of railway
regulation. The first necessity is to
secure 1t; and unless 1t is granted to
the Commission there is little use in
touching the subject at all.
Practice Of Relating.
Illegal transactions often occur I'M
der the forms of law. 1t has often
occurred that a shipper has been told
by traffic officer to buy large guam
tity of some commodity and then af'
ter it mas been bought an open re-
ductlon is made in the rate to take
effect Immediately, the arangeent re.
sulting to the profit Of the one ship
per and the one railroad and to the
damage Of all their competitors; for
it must not be forgotten that the big
shippers are at least as much to blame
as any railroad in the matter Of re-
bates. The law should make it clear
so that nobody can fail to under
stand that any kind of commission
paid on freight shipments, whether
in this form or in the form Of flcti.
tious damages, or OF a concession, or
free pass, reduced passenger rate, or
payment Of brokerage, is illegal. 1t
is worth while considering whether 1t
would not be wise to consider on the
government the right Of civil action
against the beneficiary of a rebate for
at least twice the value Of the rebate;
this would help stop what is really
blackmail Elevator allowances
should be stopped, for they have now
grown to such an extent that they
are demoralizing and are used as re-
bates.
The best possible regulation of rates
would, of course, be that regulation
secured by an honest agreement
among the railroads themselves to
carry out the law. Such a general
agreement would, for instance. at once
put stop to the efforts Of any one
big shipper or big railroad to dis
criminate against or secure advantage
over some rival; and such agreement
would make the railroads themselves
agents for enforcing the law. The
,o,rnr vactnJ IN tho Government IN