The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-01


1t is easy to say now that there need
be no fear on the part of investors that
this movement for national supervision
and control over railways will be for
their detriment." Cautious as investors
are by nature, they need nothing more
to alarm them and keep them alarmed
than the personality of the president
himself with his habit of impetuous de-
cisions, radical disregard of counsel
and eock-sure judgments off-hand on
matters of the gravest moment. In
vestors, great and small, do not enjoy
having their interests at the mercy of
a man who rushes in and does what
pleases him without regard to conse-
quences and with no thought or DELHI
GRAFTON.
Probably the most Significant thing in
the whole speech, apart from it's re-
assurance to investors is that part de-
voted to an outline of the policy of fed
eral control of railroads. The gist of it
is in the following words:
To-Day I wish to say a word to you
about the first and most important fea-
ture of this task, the control of the
common carriers doing an interstate
business, a control absolutely vested in
the nation; while in so far as the COM
mon carriers also transport the mails
il is in my opinion probable that
whether their business is or is not in
terstate il is 10 the same extent sub
ject to federal control under that clause
of the constitution granting to the ma
tional government power to establish
post roads and, therefore, by necessary
implication, power TO take all the ac-
ton necessary to keep them at the
highest point of efficiency"
BY this characteristic construction of
the implied powers of the government
the president would wipe out all state
lines. If a railroad carries malls, says
Roosevelt, even if the road lies entire
" within single state, it is subject to
federal control. BY that same con-
struction a street railway line or a
traction line carrying mails occasional
ly in a single city or county would be
vision. The far-reaching effect of such
an assumption can be seen at a glance.
Like Beveridge's theory that the gov
eminent has the right and power to say
what manufactures an interstate road
may carry and what it may not, this
new Interpretation would obliterate
every vestige of the constitutional
rights of the states so far as trans
portation lines are affected. No rail-
road operates that does not carry mail
in this country. According to Roose-
welt, this gives the government the
right TO regulate all railroads without
regard to state boundaries.
From that to absolute and unqualified
Capitalization is so short a step that a
Roosevelt could take it over night; and
it fits in exactly with Secretary Root
speech foretelling the program of the
administration with its determination
ton in Washington. That is to say,
the administration proposes to use an
old postroads provision of the consti-
tuition as an excuse for a new interpre-
tation Of the nations charter which
would give single body of men under
control Of the president such power as
car never dreamed of exercising, a
power beside which the most autocratic
government of Europe would be a mild
and benevolent despotism.
If Roosevelt is testing public senti-
ment, his Indianapolis speech ought TO
give some interesting returns. If he
could carry out the program of rail-
road control which his speech suggests,
the president of the United States
would be in a position to WELD a dom
inant influence not only in transporta-
ton affairs, but IN civil and political
and commercial affairs as we'll. He and
his interstate commerce commission
would hold in their hands the fortunes
of practically the whole nation: 1t
would be possible for them to change
the status of any city or any state by
mere SASlCiSc u tie enormous power
conferred upon them in lava power
never contemplated by the constitution,
a power which the trainers of that in
strument would never have conferred
upon any man, however good or great.
We do not believe that the people will
tolerate long the suggestion that the
postroads clause of the constitution
carries with it the implied authority
the president claims for it; we do not
believe the people are ready to abandon
all the precedents of the nation since
its foundation and confer upon the ex-
eeutive a power which has been re-
served heretofore to the states. Super
vision of railroads has been approved
as it stands in law; but abrogation of
the constitution and defiance of the re-
served rights of the states are different
matters.
Finally, il will be observed that the
tone of the speech is distinctly gentle.
In the usual ponderous pIatitudes about
the need of honesty and common sense
and fair play in public affairs. IL is