Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-05-17
ESPECIAL coRREsPoNDENcE.l
Washington Bureau Of Courier.
Washington, d. c., Nav is.

Washington, D. c., May 16.
For months the questions involved
IN the so-called court review of the
railroad rate bill have received the
closest attention, and the most exhaus-
tive investigation of the ablest law
yers in the senate. For days and
days Spooner, Knox, Bailey, Bacon,
Foraker and other senators supposedly
wise beyond peradventure in the In
tricacies Of the law, have discoursed
at great length upon these points, for
titled by stacks of books which gave
the senate the appearance of the court
room What they have left unsaid it
has been supposed could be put in q
very small compass.
However, 1t remained for Senator
Allison to say some things that were
more to the point and more logical
and reasonable and understandable on
the subject than any of the great law
yers who have preceded him. That
this view was taken by the senate is
shown In the vote by which Senator
Allison's contention was supported by
every Republican A M and q half dozen
.democfafsg sSsnid65st W q Aliison said:
4 The frame work Of the bill If 1t Is
to be worth anything, should contain
q provision whereby a commission ad-
ministrative In character shall carry
out the legislative will as found in
this bill If it shall become a law.
Commission Has Power.
The commission is clothed by this
bill with the power OF congress as /
understand, and when it makes deci-
sion and declaration 1t has the force
and power of a legislative act or else
we have spent here three months or.
more in vain. Either the making of q
rate is legislative act or it is nothing
under the constitution and our system
of government. The Judicial power
cannot be; invoked to make a rate nor
can the executive power Therefore in
acting here we are seeking within CON
stitutional limits to devolve upon a
commission of seven picked and en-.
lghtened mems power to deal with
this great and complicated question
as related to 250,O00 miles of railway.
Must Be Done In Congress.
Does anybody believe that it is DOS.
sible for the courts to deal with this
question under the constitution? The
jurisdiction of this question does not
lie In the amendment I have offered
nor does it, lie in the amendment Of
the senator from Maryland. If we are
ever to exercise governmental power
over the railways it must be done here
in this body and in the other chamber
1t cannot be done anywhere else. II
we have not the power to delegate to
a commission the details of this legis.
lation as respects what Is reasonable
rate then it cannot be done by any
body and we. are relegated In this
country under constitutional limita-
tions to saying that the railroads with
out let or hindrance may make their
own rates without revision.
Constitutional Limitations.
8 Eve must select for the execution of
this law seven men who are the fit men
Of this country, familiar with this
great subject, and we must rely upon
their intelligence and integrity to deal
with this question and we must give
them and we propose tc do SO, theanec
essary power to do it. But of course
they must exercise that power within
constitutional limitations Those lin
itations are familiar to all. They are
that the rates fixed by the commission
shall provide a just compensation to
the carrier; and that we would have
to do If we sat down in this chamber
and fixed a schedule of rates for every
railroad in the country Although we
have the legislative power to do that
it is impossible for us to exercise IT
and everybody knows it is impossible
Therefore we must, within the powers
we have, without trenching absolutely
upon the legislative power, grant to
the commission the power to enable
them to establish a just and reasonable
rate under the conditions of this bill.
What is a just and reasonable rate?
heard the senator from Maryland
describe just md reasonable rate as
a Just compensation, using the consti-
tutfonal term. We have been trying
to do that for long time. This is the
hrst time that the question of fixing
rate has ever come up in congress. No.
congress has ever before put in the
Il fClontinued on Pa pc \