The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-12-08
PRESIDENT MESSAGE


has been delivered to congress. Open
ing with a plea for the cooperation OF
all classes I'm continuing the country's
prosperity and in correcting existing
evils, for square deal" for every
body the message first takes up the
question of corporations and railroad
rate legislation. The president says;
Corporations.
am i'm no sense hostile to corpora
lions. This is an age of combination.
and any effort to prevent all combina-
tion will be not only useless but in the
end vicious, because of the contempt
for law which the failure to enforce
law inevitably produces. The corpora
ton has come to stay, just as the
trades union has come TO stay. Each
can do and has done great good. Each
should be favored SO long as ii does
good But each should be sharply
checked where it acts against law and
Justice
Experience has shown conclusively
that il is useless To try to get any ade-
quate regulation and supervision Of
these great corporations by state ac-
ton. Such regulation and supervision
can only be effectively exercised by n
sovereign whose jurisdiction is cock
tensive with the field work Of the cor
poratiOns-that is, by the national gov
eminent. l believe that this regulation
and supervision can be obtained by the
enactment of law by the congress. If
this proves impossible, ii will certainly
be necessary ultimately to confer in
fullest form such power upon the ma
tional government by affirmative ac-
ment Of the constitution.
The laws of the congress and OF the
several states hitherto, as passed upon
by the courts. have resulted more often
In showing that the states have no
power i'm the matter than that the ma
tional government has power; so that
there at present exists a very unfOrtu
nate condition of things, under which
these great corporations doing an in
terstate business occupy the position of
subjects without a sovereign, neither
any state government nor the national
government having effective control
over them. Our steady aim should be
by legislation, cautiously and carefully
undertaken but resolutely perSevered
in, to assert the sovereignty of the ma
tional government by affirmative ac-
ton
This is only in form an innovation.
In substance ii is merely n restoration, |
for from the earliest time such regula-
ton Of industrial activities has been
recognized i'm the action of the law (
al IND hn1 oil hat I
is to meet the changed conditions in I
such manner as will prevent the com
mOnwealth abdicating the power it has I
always possessed, not only i'm this cOun- .
try, but also in England before and .
since this country became n separate +
nation
Railroad Rate Legislation.
As | said in my message Of Dec . ]
last. the immediate and most pressing .
need SO far as legislation is concerned /
is the enactment into law of some I
scheme to secure TO the agents Of the /
government such supervision and regu /
latiOn Of the rates charged by the rail /
roads of the country engaged in inter
state traffic as shall summary and eff
fectively prevent the imposition of UNI
just or unreasonable rates 1t must
include putting a compete stop to re-
bates in every shape and form This
power to regulate rates, like al similar
powers over the business world. should
be exercised with moderation caution
and self restraint, but it should exist,
SO that it can be effectively exercised
when the need arises
In my judgment. the most important
provision which such law should con
tain is that comforting upon some com
petent administrative body the power
TO decide upon the case being brought
before it whether a given rate pre-
scribed by railroad is reasonable and
just, and If it is found 10 be unrea SON
able and unjust then. after full investi-
cation of the complaint, TO prescribe
the limit Of rate beyond which it shall
not be lawful to go-the maximum
reasonable rate, as it is commonly call
ed-this decision TO 20 into effect with
in q reasonable time and TO obtain
from thence onward. subject to review
by the courts.
1t sometimes happens at present, not
that rate is too high, but that a IA
vored shipper is given too low a rate.
In such case the commission would
have the right 10 fix this already estab-
lished minimum rate as the maximum,
and it would need only one or two such
decisions 10y the commission to cure
railroad companies Of the practice Of
giving improper minimum rates. | call
your attention TO the fact that my pro-
posal is net TO give the commission
power to initiate or originate rates gen
orally, but TO regulate a rate already
fixed or originated by the roads upon
complaint and after investigation A
heavy penalty should be eXacted from
any corporation which fails TO respect 4
an order Of the commission. | regard /
this power to establish a maximum /
rate as being essential to any scheme I
OF real reform in the matter of railway |
regulation.
1t is worth while considering whether /
IL would not be wise to confer on the
government the right of civil action