Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-12-23
.D0LLIVER BILL
IS PRESIDENTS
Understood TO Present
Roosevelt View of Rate
Regulation.
ELKINS's LITTLE JOKER
Question is Whether Court or
Commission Shall
Have Control.
MUCH THINKING FOR HOLIDAYS

Washington, d. c., Dec. 23.-The
Dolliver bill is the nearest thing to
an administration bill that has yet
made its appearance. It is not being
billed as the Roosevelt bill," for GER
tain reasons. But any one who is in
terested in rate legislation will do
well TO keep an eye ON .he Dolliver
bill
After the holidays there Will be a
Hepburn bill in the house of repre-
sentatives It win look so much like
the bolivar bill that an expert will
be unable to tell them apart.
The Dolliver bill Is different from
the Foraker, the Elkins and all the
railway-backed bills In this import
ant particular: 1t gives a genuine
power to an administration commits
sion to correct rates. IL leaves no
room for lawsuit jugglery by whien
the commissions orders may be set
aside and it's hands tied.
! How does it avoid the pitfalls? By
| giving the whoe rate correcting pow
er to the Interstate commerce COM
mission, and providing for no appeal
to the courts except that which the
constitution of the United States in
sures, and which no act of congress
can take away.
| The railroads are protected always
by the constitutional safeguard tnat
private property may not be taken
without due process of law and just
compensation. If the commission so
abuses its power as TO confiscate the
property of railway or to make a
rate which has the effect of confis-
eating property. then the railways
may always get an injunction and
have the order stopped.
But so long as the commissions
rate is not confiscation of private
property the proposed act would
leave the commission free to exercise
Its rate making power unchecked by
any court.
The whole fight has come down to
the question whether the commits
sion or the court shall have the real
power over rates. Any scheme by
which the railways can get the ques.
tion into the courts win satisfy the
railways.
The Elkins scheme is to have every
: order of the commission subject to re-
view by the courts on the ground of
81 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ut president IL
= willing to have the commissions or
ders reviewed on the ground of '1e-
= gality," but for a court to review "rea-
4, sonableness" of every order made by
! the commission would amount to
, turning over the whole rate-correct-
, ing function to the courts--a thing
/ which the supreme court has de
termined to be unconstitutional
If fba Of II.
} court amounts to anything il takes
2 away the power from the commits
r sion. If 1t does not amount 10 any
5 thing, why give It? That Is the whole
= argument, as summed up by Attorney
+ General Moody.
The move is now up to Senator FL
} kins. He and his committee have
t been grinding away at their daily af.
t fairs behind closed doors. He has
: not made public the text of the bill
which he is planning to report after
r the holidays. But President Roose-
} welt has seen the Elkins bill, and has
= disapproyed of it. ne believes that
= he Is backed in this opinion by Root
4. Taft and Moody, that it has the "lit-
r tie Joker" in 1t. That is to say. that
2 1t has legal phrasing calculated 10
; render the whole rate act practically
null and void.
! So the administration has sprung
r the Dolliver bill.
What will Elkins do? How will his
p committee report? Will be keep up
! the pretense that he is supporting
? the administration and has come out
} as supporter of the Dolliver bill?
I Or will he let the committee divide
4 and report his bill as a minority re-
+ port? He does not have to decide
!. right of. The Christmas holidays
e will give him time to think II over