The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1905-12-09
Would Materially Increase the
Powers of Interstate Com
merCe Commission.
life INSURANCE QUESTION
Sees Good and Evil in Labor Unions
Asks for Immediate Appropri-
atoms for Panama Canal, and
Promises Report of Board OF En-
sineers and Recommendations
Later---Other Matters.

. Washington, Dec. 5.-The annual mes
sage of President Roosevelt was read IN
both houses Of congress to-day. 1t is a doc
ument of some 1900 words, and con-
4airs recommendations for much important
legislation.
subject of federal supervision OF cor
porations. and especially railroad corpora
lions. is the first subject treated or by the
president, and to 1t he gives the Creates
amount of attention. After speaking OF the
general prosperity Of the country, and the
power of the corporations for good or evil
in connection with the nations prosperity,
he says:
So long as the finances of the nation
are kept upon an honest basis, no other
question of internal economy with which
the congress has the power to deal begins
to approach in Importance the matter OF
voring to secure proper industrial
conditions under which the individuals
and especially the great corporations
doing an interstate business are to act.
The makers of our national constitution
provided especially that the regulation
of Interstate m should come with
in the sphere of the general government.
The arguments in favor of their aking
this stand were even then overwhelming.
But they are far stronger to-day, In view
of the enormous development of great
business agencies, usually corr orate in
form. Experience has shown conclusive
ty that it is useless to try to get any
adequate regulation and supervision of
these great corporations by state action.
Such regulation and supervision can only
be effectively exercised by a sovereign
whose jurisdiction is coeXtensive with the
feld of work of the corporations-that is,
by the national government. 1 believe
that this regulation and supervision can
be obtained by the enactment Of law by
the congress. If this proves impossible,
1t will certainly be necessary ultimately
to confer in fullest form such power upon
the national government by a proper
amendment of the constitution. 1t would
obviously be unwise to endeavor to secure
such an amendment until it is certain
that the result cannot be obtained under
the constitution as it now Is. 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 in the matter
than that the national government has
power; so that there at present exists
a very unfortunate condition of things,
under which these great corporations do
Eng an interstate business occupy the DO
Sition of subjects without a sovereign,
neither any state government nor the ma
tional government having effective con-
troll over them. Our steady aim should
be by legislation. cautiously and care
fully undertaken. but resolutely per-
severed in, to assert the sovereignty of
the national government by affirmative
action.
Present Laws Inadequate.
1t has been a misfortune that the ma
%Sional laws on this subject have hitherto
been of a negative or prohibitive rather
than an affirmative kind. and still more
that they have in part sought to prohibit
what could not be effectively prohibited.
and have in part in their prohibitions
COMPOUNDED what should be allowed and
what should not be allowed. 1t is gen.
orally useless to try to prohibit. all re-
stralnt on competition. whether this re-
stra1nt be reasonable or unreasonable: |
and where 1t is hot useless 1t is gener-
ally hurtful. Events have shown that 1t |
is not possible adequately to secure the
enforcement of any law Of this kind By
incessart appeal to the courts. The de-
partmeht Of justice has for the last four
YEAR, devoted more attention to the en-
iorcefnent or the antitrust legislation |
tnan to anything else. Much has been
accomplishing; particularly marked has
oeen the moral effect of the prosecutions:
put IL IS increasingly evident that there
VIII be, a very insufficient beneficial re-
suit in the way of economic change. The
successful prosecution of one device to
evade the law Immediately. develops an
iiiO4 d0NINO " accomplish llC SdlIlC puI-
pose. What is needed is not sweeping
prohibition Of every arrangement, good
or bad, which may. tend. to restrict com
petition, but such ADEQUATE supervision
and regulation as Will prevent any re-
striction of competition from being to
the detriment of the public-as we'll as
such supervision and regulation as will
prevent other abuses in no way connected
with restriction of competition. OF these
abuses, perhaps the chief, although by
no means the only one, is overcapitaliza-
tion-generally itself the result of dishon-
est OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OF the myriad
evils it brings in its train; for such over
capitalization often means an imitation
that invites business panic; it always con-
ceals the true relation of the profit earned
to the capital actually invested, and it
creates a burden of interest payments
which is a fertile cause of improper re-
duction in or limitation of wages: II
damages the small investor, discourages
thrift, and encourages gambling and
speculation; while perhaps worst of all
is the thickness and dishonesty which il
fmpiies-for harm to morals is worse than
any possible harm to material interests,
and the de~bauchery of politics and bust
ness by great dishonest corporations is
far worse than any actual material evil
they do the public. Until the national
government obtains, in some manner.
which the wisdom of the congress may
suggest, proper control over the big cor
porations engaged in interstate commerce
that is. over the great majority of the
big corporations-it will be impossible to
deal adequately with these evils. 4
Railroad Rate Regulation.
I am well aware of the difficulties
Of the legislation that I am suggest