The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-09-25
A DANGER SIGNAL,

Steve Elkins of New Mexico and
West Virginia is a statesman of the
old school. When he cannot get what
he wants or what his employers want
by direct means, Steve is not unwilling
to adopt other means. This represent
alive of the corporate interests in the
corporation home known as the Unit
ed States senate, has been working
all summer on a plan to protect the
railroads from the people. His COM
mittee 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-
MES when he knew in advance that he
could not conscientiously give the only
kind Of testimony to which Mr. Elkins
would listen with patience. The re-
suit was that Mr.. Elkins and his COM
mittee got some testimony which they
considered good stuff.
But evidently there was not enough
of the cringing kind of testimony 10
convince Elkins that it would be safe
to make a report to the effect that no
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 a compromise measure. He
would have the whole rate question
thrown into the courts.
This proposition of a compromise is
palpably insincere, since the commit
tee mas already had an opinion from
the attorney general that the courts
cannot make rates. The attorney-gen-
eral Informed the senators that the
rate making power was a legislative
power, and that congress mikht dele
gate the enforcement of it's laws to a
commission.
He showed them that this is what
many of the states nave done by the
passage of rate laws for state traffic
and the appointment of commissions
to carry the laws into effect.
With this opinion upon the table, !
Mr.. Elkins proposes to bring in a re-
port referring the whole matter of
rates to a court to be set off from
the court of appeals or invented for
the purpose. What could be the pur-
pose of such law if it were constitu-
tional? Coming from Mr.. Elkins, the |
only inference would be that he hoped |
and believed such a court would be so |
painfully slow in it's operations that |
the railroads would never know it ex-
listed. The interstate commerce COM i
mission is not to be trusted to make |
a rate and put it in effect subject to |
appeal. That would be action, prompt |
and effective. Promptness and effect
iveness are not what Mr. Elkins is |
there for. He is there to give the rail-
roads surcease of sorrow; not to plunge
them into fresh grief every time the
commission catches one of the big
lines coming the Morton act in Colora-
do or the Hill act in Winnipeg.
1t is humiliating to have to con-
template Mr.. Steve Elkins as a leader
of political opinion in this country and
at the mead of a senate committee
which has the power to block the rea-
sonable aspirations Of the people for
relief from the tyranny of corporations |
He is in the senate merely to see that |
his friends are taken care of and his
friends are not the people of the United |
States. Neither is he their friend. |
He is a useful individual. however as
ne points the people the way they
should not go. He is like the sign
alongside big hole in the street which
reads Danger