The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-12
A Danger Signal.

Steve Elkins of New Mexico and
West Virginia is a statesman Of the old
school. When he cannot get what he,
waits or what his employers want by
direct means, Steve is not unwilling to
adopt other means. This representative
of the corporate interests in the corpo-
ration home, known as the United
States senate, has been working all
summer on a plan to protect the 5slil-
roads from the people. His committee
has labored night and day and issued
subpenaes to all sorts of people to come
to Washington and testify that they
would rather be run over by railroad
rate than to meet commercial demise
in any other form. -
His plan of campaign had elements
of cunning, for it was not supposable
that shipper would appear before a
hostile committee and cut his own
throat with the transportation compa-
could not conscientiously give the only
kind of testimony to which Mr., Elkins
| would listen with patience. The re-
! suit was that Mr. El]1ins and his COM
mittee got some testimony which they
considered good stuff.
But evidently there was not enough
of the cringing kind Of testimony to
convince Elkins that it would be safe
to make report to the effect that mo
railroad legislation was called for or
needed.
He is a pretty bold operator, but
there are limits to the nerve of even an
Elkins. Therefore, Mr.. Elkins pro
poses compromise measure He
would have the whole rate question
thrown into the courts.
This proposition Of compromise is
palpably insincere, since the committee
has already had an opinion from the at.
toTney general that the courts cannot
make rates. The attorney general in
formed the senators that the rationale
ing power was a legislative power, that
!: congress might delegate the enforce
: ment of it's laws to commission,
, He showed them that this is what
; many Of the states have done by the
| passage of rate laws for state traffic
, and the appointment Of commissions tt
| carry the laws into effect.
| With this opinion upon the table, Mr.
5 Elkins proposes to bring in a report re
/, ferring the whole matter of rates tx
| court to be set off from the cour7
3 of appeals or invented for the pur
;. pose. What could be the purpose o:
such law if it were constitutional
Coming from Mr.. Elkins, the only in
. ference would be that, he hoped ant
9 believed such a court would be so pain
q fully slow in its operations that Thu
: railroads would never know it existed
The interstate commerce commission i
. not to be trusted to make a rate an,
! put it in effect subject to appeal. Tha
: would be action, prompt and effective
= what Mr. Elkins is there for. He i
= there to give the railroads surcease O
. sorrow; not to plunge them into fres
: grief every time the commission catche
= one Of the big lines coming the Morto
7 act in Colorado or the Hill act in Wiz
I nipeg.
: It is humiliating to have to cor
n template Mr.. Steve Elkins as leade
7 of political opinion in this country an
t as the head of a senate committe
i which has the power to block the rec
y sonable aspirations Of the people fo
u relief from the tyranny of corporation
/ He is in the senate merely to see tina
his friends are taken care of and h
r friends are not the people Of the Unite
n States. Neither is he their friend. q