The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-31
No sw.rvins from Present Course.


the administration under these and the
pre-exlStlng laws mas been just and pro-
per: Every suit undertaken during that
peTtod mas been suit not merely war
iahteo' but required. by the facts; suit
IN the interest of the people as a whole
ana, IN the long run, particularly in
me interest of stockholders as well as in
the interest of business men of DronertI-
generally. There can be no swervins
from the course that has lust been man.
ped out in the legislation actually enacT-
60 ana IN the messages in which I have
asked Tor further legislation. We best
serve the interests of the honest railway
men when we announce that we will fol-
low out precisely this course It is the
course of real, of ultimate conservatism
There will be no halt in the forward
movement toward a full development If
TINS policy; ana those who wish rs to
take step backward or to stand still if
tnelr wishes were realized, would find
that they had invited an outbreak of tbs,
very radicalism they fear. There must
be progressive legislative and admins
trative action for the correction of the
TO have existed in railroad management
in the past.
Additional Legislation Needed.
Such additional legislation as that for
which L have asked in the past and es-
pecially that for which ] asked in my
message at the opening of the last session
OF congress, Is not merely in the interest
of the public, but most emDnatically in
| the interest of eN ~ry honest railway man
! ager and of all investors or Would-be in
vestcrs in railway securities. There must
be vested IN the federal government q full
power of supervision and control over the
railways doing interstate business; a pow
er in many respects analogous to and as
complete as that the government exer-
ciseS over the national banks. 1t must pos
Sess the power TO exercise supervision
over the future issuance of stocks and
bonds, either through national incorpOr-
alton (Which I should prefer or in some
similar fashion, such supervision to in
clude the frank publicity of everything
which would-be investors and the public
| at large have right to know. The fed
| eral government will thus be able to pre-
vent all overcapitalization in the future;
| to prevent any man hereafter from plumb
| erlng others by loading railway properties
with obligations and pocketing the money
/ instead of spending it in improvements
and in legitimate corporate purposes; and
| any man acting III such fashion should
/ be held to criminal accountability. 1t
should be declared contrary TO public pol
| icy hencefOrth to allow railroads to devote
| their capital to anything but the transpor-
| tatiOn business, certainly not to the haz-
| ards of speculation. For the very reason
/ that we desire to favor the honest rail-
/ road manager, We should seek to dis
| courage the activities of the man whose
! only concern with railroads is to manipu-
| late their stocks. The business of rail-
road organization and management should
] be kept entirely distinct from investment
! or brokerage business. especially of the
| speculative type. and the credit and prop
| erty of the corporation should be devoted
/ to the extension and betterment of its
railroads. and to the development of the
/ country naturally tributary to the lines.
| These principles are fundamental. Rail-
| roads should not be prohibited from
/ acquiring connecting lines by acquiring
/ stocks. bonds. or other securities of such
| lines; but It is already well settled as corr
! trary to public policy to allow railroads to
! acquire control over parallel and Compe-
! ting lines Of tranSpOrtiOn. Subject 10
| first giving TO the government the power
| of supervision and control which ! have
| advocated above. the law should be
amended so that railroads may be per-
I mitted and encouraged to make traffic
/ agreements when these are in the interest
| of the general public as well as of the
| railroad corporations making them. These
| agreements should Of course be made pub
lie in the minutest detail, and should De
! subject to securing the previous assent of
/ the interstate commerce commission.
Movement Has Come to Stay.
The movement to regulate railways by
I law has come 10 stey. The people Of this
/ country have l"Gde up then minds-aE.l
! wisely made up their minds-to exercise
/ a closer control over all kinds of public
service corporations, including railways
! Every honestly managed railway will
gain and not lose by the policy. The men
more anxious to manipulate stocks thar
efficient and honest are the only ones
! who have cause to oppose it.
We who believe in steady and healthy
progress stand unalterably for the new
era of the widest publicity. and of fan
dealing on the part of railroads with
stockholders, passengers and shippers
| We ask the consent of no man in carry
ing out this policy; but we gladly welcome
| the aid of every man in perfecting the
| law in its details, and in securing its en-
actment and the faithful observance OF
its wise provisions. We seek nothing
| revolutionary. We ask for such laws as
| in their essence now obtain in the staiC
old commonwealth of Massachusetts,; sucf
laws as now obtain in England. Tn,
| purpose of those of US who so resolutely
| believe in the new policy. in its thorough
carrying out and i'm its progressive de
[ Velopment. is in no sense punitive or win.
dictive. We would be the first to protest
| against any form of confiscation of prop
erty, and whether we protested or not.
may add that the supreme court cou!C
be trusted in any event to see that there
should be nothing done under the guise o.
| regulating roads to destroy property
without just compensation or without due
process of law. As a matter of course
we shall punish any criminal whom W.
can convict under the law; but we hav,
no intention of confoundng the innocen
many and the guilty few by any ill
judged and sweeping scheme of ven
geance. Our aim is primarily to preven
these abuses in the future. Wherever evi
doors can be- they shall be. brought t.
justice: and no criminal, high or low
whom we can reach will receive immun
ity But the rights of innocent INVESTOR
should not be jeopardized by Legislation
| or executive action; we sanction no leg
iSlation which would fall heavily on them
instead of on the original wrongdoers o
beneficiaries of the wrong.
Must Not Be Unreasonable.
There must be no such rigid laws as will
prevent the development of the country
and such development can only be had
investors are offered an ample rewar,
for the risk they take. We would be tn
first to oppose airy unreasonable reStric
/ tons being placed upon the issuance o
stocks and bonds. for such would smpl,
hamper the growth of the United States
for a railroad must ultimately stand o.
its credit. But this does not prevent GU
demanding that there be lodged in tn
government power to exercise a jealou
care against the initiation of securities
and ali the evils that come in its train
| The man who builds great railway an
those who invest in it render a grea
! public service for adequate transporr;l
! ton facilities are vital necessity TO tn
| country We favor full and ample retur
to such men: but we do not favor a pol
icy of exploiting the many for the benefi
] h.