Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-08
MIR. MCCALL OPPOSED
Denounces Railway Rate Legislation
as ConfiScation

The feature of the debate I'm the House
yesterday afternoon on the freight rate
bill was the speech of Mr. Mccall OF Mas
sachusetts, who in opposing the proposed
legislation declared that it was not to be
imagined that the Supreme Court would
stand between the government and its VIC
tim. following up that utterance with the
statement that the courts usually reflected
the policy of the party in power The
views of the speakers as to legislation
needed were many and varied. but with
the exception of Mr.. Mccall and Mr. Sibley
OF Pennsylvania all were agreed that the
time had arrived for the granting of relief
Mr.. Mccall maintained that the proposed
legislation was incompatible with the fun
damental principles of private property
The granting of authority to the inter
state commerce commission to fix rates, he
said, was crossing the line between regula-
ton and confiscation In a manner that out
ragged the most patent principles Of justice,
and he inquired if any one could imagine a
more ideal method for the destruction OF
private property and one more likely to
corrupt the American people. The powers
vested by the bill he said. were too vast
and dangerous to be welded by any politi-
cal government, and were likely to lead to
the destruction of cities and to govern
ment ownership of railroads over the path
way of confscation. The very air he said.
NfDrateu with the demands or an aroused
public appetite But who irnagines,'' he
inquired, that the Supreme Court of the
United States will stand between the
tional government and its victim?' He de-
clared Immediately afterward that unfor-
tunately, there was a disposition on the
part of the courts to uphold the policy OF
the party in power.
Despairing that the railroads would get
the protection to which they were entitled
Mr.. Mccall said that If the lid CT this Pam
doras box should be removed everything
would escape from 1t but hope. He advo-
Gated that 1t would be better TO let the
struggles between the cities and the rail-
roads go on than to set UP little machine
or a deity, such as the enlarged commits
sion proposed would be. He therefore
would not give the bill his support
Further opposition to rate legislation at
this time came from Mr.. Sibley fPa- J, who
called upon his colleagues to pause and
ponder before they acted He reiterated
his views heretofore expressed, that there
should be a larger opportunity to gather
information as the basis of intelligent
action.
The expressions Of Mr.. Mccall met with
condemnation a the hands of Mr.. Lamar
Fia.), who charged that Mr. McCalPs
views were those of the most complete
reactionaries OF the government against
regulating the railways Mr.. Mccall, he
said, had spoken in scarcely anything but
vile contempt for the voice of the people
when he asserted that they did not know
what they wanted
Discussing the proposition itself, Mr.. La
mar claimed for w. J. Bryan and the dem
ocratic party the credit for first stirring
the people action. Had not President
Roosevelt thrown the question of regu-
lating freight rates into Congress like a
bombshell he asserted, the House would
have sat for twenty years to come without
action upon it.