The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-08
IS SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT A Resolution Regarding Railroad Inquiry. MESSAGE GOES TO CONGRESS- President N Much Impressed
 WSi Outlook. says Inte itc Commerce Commission shop . 8e Given soc,oOo to Defray
 .penpes of the Proposed
 5nvestigation.
 s

Washington, March 7.--President
 Roosevelt today sent a message to Con
 gress announcing his signature to the 1 joint resolution recently passed in- | structing the Interstate Commerce
 Commission to make examination into the subject of railroad discrimination
 and monopolies In coal and oil He
 says frankly that he has signed it with 1 hesitation because it may achieve lit- | tie or nothing. He indicates, too that
 if the investigation proposed by the
 resolution Is conducted thoroughly 1t
 will result fin giving immunity from
 commercial prosecution to all persons
 who are called and sworn as witnesses.
 In the opinion of the President, the
 direction of the resolution will remain
 practically imperative unless money be | provided to carry on the investigation,
 and the commission be authorized to
 make this under it's provisions. He
 suggests therefore that Congress give I serious consideration to just what 1t l desires the Interstate Commerce Com l mission to do. and that the sum of $50,- | 000 be placed at the disposal of the
 commission to defray the expenses of | the proposed investigation.
 The message in full follows:
 To the Senate and House of Repre-
 sentatives:
 | ntlVe signed the JOlnL resolution | 'instructing the Interstate Commerce | Commission to make examinations in- | to the subject of railroad discrimina- | ti0ns and monopolies in coal and oil
 and to report upon the same from time | to time. I have signed 1t with hesi- | tation because in the form in which 1t l was passed 1t achieves very little an9 may achieve nothing, and it is highly | undesirable that d resolution Of this | bind eh 1aU T., | as to give the impression of insinceri- | ty, that is of pretending t0 do some | thing which is really not done. But | after much hesitation. I concluded to 1 sign the resolution because it's defects 1 can be remedied by legislation, which hereby ask for and 1t must be under
 stood that unless this subsequent leg | islation is granted the present resolu-
 tion must be mainly and be entirely | inoperative
 Before speei4ylnr tsaiaf thiS Iegigla- tion is, I wish to call attention to one or two preliminary facts. In the first
 place a part of the investigation re- | quested by the House of Representa- | tives in the resolution adopted Febru-
 airy 15. 1905, relating to the oil indus | try and the further part having to do
 with the anthracite coal industray has
 been for sometime under investigation | by the Department of Commerce
 and Labor. There investigations I am informed e-approaching com
 pIetion and before Congress | adjourns I shall submit to you the pre- | liminary reports of these investiga-
 tions. Until these reports are complet- ed the Interstate commerce cOmmis- l sion could not endeavor to cary out l so much of the resolution of Congress aserefers the ground thus already | covered without running the risk of seeing the two Investigations conflict | and therefore render each other more l or less nugatory. In the second place,
 call your attention to the fact that l if an investigation of the nature pro- | posed in this point resolution as thor oughly and effectively conducted 1t will | result in giving immunity from crim- i inal prosecution to all persons who are l called, sworn and constrained by com puIsory process of law 10 testify as a witness. though of course such immu- | nifty from prosecution is not given to l those from whom statements or in- formation merely in contradistinction to sworn testimony Is obtained. This is not at all to say that such investi- | Publicity can by itself often accom- pIish extraordinary results for good, and the courts of public judgment may | secure such results where the courts | of law are powerlesS. There are many cases where an investigation secur- | ing complete publicity about abuses | and giving Compress the material on
 which to proceed in the enactment of l laws, is more useful than d criminal prosecution can possibly be- But it l should not be provided for by law without a clear understandiny that it
 may be alternative. instead of an carry on the investigation may serve as a bar to the successful prosecution of the offense disclosed. The official body directed by Congress to make the investigation, must of course, carry out it's direction and therefore the di- rection should not be given without full appreciation of what 1t means.
 But the direction contained in the joint resolution which I have signed will remain almost imperative, unless money is provided to cary out the in- vestigations in question and unless the committee, in carrying them out, Is au- thorlzed to administer oathS and com pei the attendance of witnesses. As the resolution now is, the commission which is now very busy with It's legiti- mate work, and which has no extra money at its disposal, would be able to make the investigation only in the most partial and unsatisfactory manner, and moreover, 1t is questionable whether it could, under this resolution, administer oaths at all or compell the attendance of witnesses. If this power were dls- puted by the parties investigated the investigation would be held up for year or two until the court passed on 1t, in which case during the period of waiting, the commission could only in vestigate to the extent and in the man. ner already provided under its organic law. soth at the passage of the reso- lution would have achieved no good re-
 suits whatever.
 accordinvly recommend to congress
 the serious consideration of just what they wish the commission to do and
 how far they wish 1t to go, having in
 view the possible incompatibllity of
 conducting an investigation like this
 and also proceeding criminally in
 court of law and further more that a
 sufficient sum, say $50.000 be at once added to the current appropriation for
 the Commission SD a to enable them to
 do the work indicated in a thorough and complete manner. while at the same time the, power is explicitly conferred
 them to administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses in makii6;
 the investigation which covers the