Gloucester County Democrat., 1905-12-07
PRESIDENT SMESSACE

President Roosevelt's annual message
has been delivered to congress Open
ing with a plea for the cooperation Of
alI classes in continuing the country's
prosperity and in correcting existing
evils, for a square deal" for every
body, the message first takes up the
question of corporations and railroad
rate legislation. The president says:
Corporations.
am in no sense hostile to corpora
tions. This is an age of combination,
and any effort to prevent all combina-
lion 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 it does
good. But each should be sharply
checked where it acts against law and
justice.
Experience has shown conclusiyely
that it 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 a
sovereign whose Jurisdiction is cock
tensive with the field work Of the cor
porations- that is, by the national gov
eminent. | believe that this regulation
and supervision can be obtained by the
enactment of law by the congress. If
this proves impossible, it 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 in the matter than that the ma
tional government has power; SO that
there at present exists a very unfortu-
nate coadition of things, under which
these gl2 ,at corporations doing an in
-r;eis tate buy alsssss occupy die position ~
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 it is merely restoration,
for from the earliest time such regula-
ton Of industrial activities has been
recognized in the action of the law
making bodies, and all that propose
is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as will prevent the COM
monwealth abdicating the power it has
always possessed, not only in this coun-
try, but also in England before and
since this country became separate
nation
RaiIroad Rate Legislation.
AS l said in my message of Dec. 6
last the immediate and most pressing
need SO far as legislation is concerned
is the enactment into law of some
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 summarily and eff
fectively prevent the imposition Of un-
just or unreasonable rates. 1t must
include putting a complete stop to re
bates in every shape and form This
power to regulate rates, like all 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 eonferring upon some com
petent administrative body the power
to decide upon the ease being brought
before it whether given rate pre-
scribed by a railroad is reasonable and
Just, and if it is found to be unreason-
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 cali
ed-this decision to go into effect with
in a 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 fa-
vored shipper is given too low rate.
In such case the commission would
have the right to fix this already. estab-
Hshed minimum rate as the maximum,
and it would need only one or two such
decisions by the commission to cure
railroad companies of the practice Of
giving improper minimum rates. cali
your attention to the fact that my pro-
posal is not to give the commission
power to initiate or originate rates gen
orally, but to regulate rate already
fixed or originated by tie roads upon
complaint and after Investigation "A
heavy penalty should be exacted from
any corporation which fails to respect