The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-06-25
FEDERAL
POWER

accomplish the restoration of the nor
NAL commercial rule, all of which
was promptly enacted, was:
1st. That in respect of railroad re-
bates, Il omission in the act to regu-
late commerce to punish the benefic-
larry should be supplied by imposing
a penalty not only upon the carrier,
who gave, but upon the shipper VINO
received, such rebates, and that the
power OF the equity courts to restrain
such practices at the suit of the Unit
ed States should be made certain by
statute.
End. That it should be made unlaw-
full to transport traffic by carriers sub
ject to the act to regulate commerce
at n rate less nan such carriers
published rate, and that all who parti-
cipated in the violation of such law
should be punished.
Bird. That a comprehensive plan
should be framed to enable the Govern
ment to get at all the facts bearing
upon the organization and practices
of concerns engaged in interstate and
foreign essential to a full
understanding thereof.
4th. Another step in legislation
which was earnestly recommended
was an act to speed the final decision
of cases under the interstate com
merce and antitrust law.
These laws, enacted during the
short session of the 57th Congress,
were followed by the railroad rate law
of the 59th Congress, the principal
feature of which is the grant of power
to the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion to fix a reasonable rate for the
carriage of goods and persons.
T~nacn 1awc uora anrionnG to coo,ra
equality in transportation service and
equality, stability and reasonableness
in transportation charges. They pro-
vide a swift remedy at the suit of the
Government In its own courts of equi-
ty, thereby relieving the individual
sufferer from the pe1 and delay
incident to a private suit.
All these have J-In declared con-
stitutional, except the railroad rate
act, n as to that act, not yet passed
lion by the ooutE< = is believed by
ne great weight of legal opinion to
lie constitutional in respect to ne pow
cS.
The public satisfaction resulting
from the enactment and enforcement
of these statutes regulating commerce
has induced some persons to contend
that the Congressional power to reg
ulate commerce is a panacea for many
other public evils, and it is proposed
to utilize that power to accomplish
ends lot within the national jurisdic-
ton, and having no relation to the sub
ject of the power.
The power to regulate is the power
to prescribe the rule by which COM
merce is to be governed" These are
the words of Chief Justice Marshall
in Gibbons VS.. Ogden.
This power of prescribing the rule
by which commerce is to be conduct
ed extends to commerce itself and to
the instrumentatlities of commerce.
By commerce itself, 1 mean the ac-
~tivities and intercourse which consti-
tute the commercial relation. By the
instrumentalities of commerce. 1
mean the animate and inanimate
means used to maintain and carry OF
commercial intercourse.
AS to these activities and inter
course which constitute commerce,
Congress has from time to time pre-
scrfbed certain rules; sucn for in
as the rule that commerce shall
have free-piay.
AS to the animate n inanimate
NEAR or instrumentalities by which
m is conducted, Congress has
likewise prescribed various rules;
such as contained in the railroad safe
ty appliance act. and the act prescrib-
ing the hours of labor of employees
upon railroads engaged in interstate
commerce.
Over this subject of commerce
among the States and with foreign
nations, and it's inStrumentalities, q
power of Congress is plenary. 1t may
be exercised in the most general o
miDuta way For this uPDOSo Con-
gress possesses all powers which exist
ed in the States before the adoption
of the National Constitution, n its
power when the subject is national is
or may be made exclusive. The con-
stitutions, laws, corporations and citi-
gems of the State are subject to this