The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-22
GOVERNMENT CANNOT
 CONTROL INSURANCE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE MAKES KNOWN
 ITS DECISION.

No Constitutional Authority-COUrt Re-
 duces Problem to Two Principles
 Insurance Not COmmerce-COngress
 Cannot Impair Police Powers of State
 Supreme Court of the United States
 Weakens.
 Washington, March 21.-That there is no constitutional authority for federal control of insurance or other state cor porations other than railroads, is to be the conclusion reported to the house Of representatives by the Judiciary com nittee. The report has been drafted by Chairman Jenkins and is now in the hands of members of the committee for their perusal An unofficial poll indi- cates that with practically no excep- ttons they concur in the correctness of this conclusion.
 The report co1lates all of the import ant court decisions on the questions in- volved, treats each exhaustively and reduces the whole problem to these two principles:
 "The supreme court of the United States has declared and has never been shaken or weakened in maintaining, first that insurance is not commerce and second that congress cannot i'm pair the police powers of the states"
 As to the latter principle MT. Jenkins says:
 Let 1t be said kindly and not offen- sively that 1t is a monstrous doctrine, subversive of our dual system of goY- ernment to even suggest, after the dis tribution of these great powers between the federal government and the states, that the federal government created by the states can take from the states the power they have always enjoyed and expressly reserved to them by the con- stitution exclusive in the states. Hamil- ton himself never made such a claim" The advocates of federal regulation concede, according to the report, that is not commerce.
 "The supreme court" the report says, "has had great difficulty in marking the boundary line in each case as 1t has arisen between the police power of the state and the commerce clause Of the federal constitution, in each case iealously protecting each power as they "a mein conflict, and not until now, 4n a moment of excitement and intense interest. has it ever been suggested that congress can impair the police power of the states"
 Answering the argument that the su- preme court would reverse itself if the question were again presented, MT Jenkins says:
 "If this is correct, then there is no necessity for any action by congress. The question can again be presented to S the supreme court, as 1t has many 2 times in the past. Then congress will be relieved of the charge that the legis- lative branch of government is trying to coerce the judicial branch of govern \ nent: and the important constitutional questions that congress cannot impair the police power of the states will be removed from the case; and congress, by failing or refusing to act, cannot prevent consideration of the question The report sets forth section eight of article one, of the constitution as con ferring the only power possessed by congress to regulate commerce.
 "Commerce," MT. Jenkins says, lis more than traffic. It includes naviga- ton. intercourse, transportation Of messengers. interchange and transpor- tation of commodities or visible and 4 tangible things, transmission by tele- graph, electrically transmitting or ar ticulate speech by telephone.
 "The question as to whether or not insurance is commerce has passed be- N vond the realm of argument because the supreme court of the United States has said many times for great num- her of years that insurance is not com merce.
 "Insurance was we'll known long be- fore the constitution was adopted, and insurance companies were in active operation in this country long before inc constitution, and ever since the N adoption of the constitution it has not been recognized as an article of com K merce."
 The report predicts direful results if congress takes hand in the matter MT Jenkins says:
 "Tt is useless to live in hopes that the supreme court of the United States 5 will reverse It's holding but assuming that congress declares that insurance IS s commerce and the supreme court holds +he explanation constitutional, how no,1ch could congress regulate, and what effect would such legislation have? It would disturb the very substructive of government by precipitating violent conflict between the police power of the states and tf1e power of congress to regulate interstate commerce. To up- hold the federal power would be to ex- i tinguish the police power of the state by the legislation of congress. In other words, congress would admit corpora tions into the respective states and have the entire regulating powers Now the states have the exclusive power of admission and regulation. II the states have the sole power or ao- mission and regulation what is there for congress to regulate? A corpora tion created by the laws of the state of New York is denied admission into any other state There is no pretense that congress can invade the state of New York and regulate that corpora ton In its business. The power of the A state is exclusive, and the corporation would be beyond the power of congress, even if congress declared insurance to be commerce and the supreme court held the act constitutional But as- suming that this same corporation is