The Washington herald., 1907-03-14
President May Be Asked to
Issue Statement.
HIS ATTITUDE IS UNCHANGED
Recent Messages and Speeches In
diente Position on transportation
Problems, and This Has Not Been
AItered-VievvS May Be RetrncIed,
However, After Conference.

I coming conference Win iouI ptcSiueitS
OF railroads, which was arranged for by
+ j. p Morgan when he was at the White
! House on Monday night. will be for the
( purpose on the part of those prominent
railway men Of inducing Mr.. Roosevelt TO
/ issue Il statement which will tend to allay
/ the widespread belief that the administra-
/ ton intends TO enter upon an extremely
radical campaign against railway inter
/ ests.
/ The President and members Of the In
| terstate Commerce Commission have been
/ told by men of high standing in the rail-
way world that the laws recently enacted
/ by State legislatures for a more direct
State control over railroads were the out
come of an understanding on the part OF
! legislative bodies that the restrictive en-
actments referred to were in line with
the policies and wishes Of President
/ Roosevelt.
! Whether he viii issue any such state
ment as that desired, or any statement at
/ all. has not been determined by the Presi-
dent and from what was said in a re-
liable quarter yesterday, It is probable
/ that he viii make no decision in the mat
ter until after the conference with the
/ railroad presidents for whose interview
with him Mr.. Morgan arranged. There is
not the slightest prospect that the Presi-
( dent viii announce any change Of policy
toward the railroads He has said In his
/ speeches and messages that the railroads
that ObeyeG the law had nothing 10 fear
from the government He has also said
that he was not an enemy Of railroads.
and had no desire 10 injure those which
did not resort 10 measures Injurious TO
the people.
May Issue Statement.
II is said. however. that the President
is not unmindul that the growing lack
Of confidence in railroad securities may
adversely affect general business condi-
tions The knowledge that be is aware
Of this has given rise to a belief here
that should he determine to comply with
/ the expected request OF the four rail-
way presidents who are 70 see him, he
will make it plain IN his statement that,
while there is no intention on the part Of
the administration to abate in any de-
/ gree its prosecution Of railway corpora
. tfOns that have disObeyed the laws. there
IS also no intention 10 undertake an
agitation against railroads generally that
/ abiding railroads, and, possibly, affect
/ general business conditions.
Additional assurances We're given yes
.terday in authoritative quarters that there
was no desire on the part OF either the
President or the Interstate Commerce
Commission to engage in any general at
tack upon railroads On the contrary, ac-
cording to the explanation given, no in
vestigatiOu is contemplated that IS likely
/ % lead TO such revelations as were the
/ outcome Of the hearing of the Interstate
/ Commerce Commission in New York when
I =. r. Hartman was the principal wit
ness. Even among members OF the COM
/ mission there is considerable doubt as
70 the wisdom Of having any further in
/ quiries, such as that affecting the Har-
. riman lines. They are inclined 70 the
. opinion that while their authority 10 make
. such Investigations cannot be questioned,
/ they are powerless under the law 10
take any action 20 prevent a continuance
/ of the irregularities which Mr.. Hartman
admitted. i was said yesterday that the
most the commission could do In the case
of the Hartman lines was TO refer 10
the Attorney General. without comment
the testimony given by Mr.. Hartman
for such action as the Attorney Cen
eral might deem proper 10 take If he
found It contained evidence OF a viola
tion OF the antitrust law.
Plans Not New.
In this connection it was pointed out
that the inquiry into the operations OF
the Hartman lines was not the outcome
Of any sudden decision or was intended
as the initial effort in a general investi-
cation Of all railroad systems. It was
explained that the matter Of investigat-
ing the Hartman combination had been
in contemplation for two or three years,
and had been brought to a head last fall
by a food Of complaints addressed to
President Roosevelt and the commission.
As evidence that the administration is
impressed with the idea that govern
mental control of railways can be car
ried % excess and result in harm, it was
said yesterday by a man high in au-
thority that an effort probably would be
I made during the Congress recess TO lay
I the foundation for q repeal Of that por-
/ tion OF the antitrust law which makes
the railroads liable to prosecution for vio-
lations OF that law. In his last annual
message President Roosevelt suggested
I that the Sherman act should be so
| amended as to exempt railroads from its
I operations. In this connection a state
| ment made yesterday by an Onicial OF
high standing, thoroughly competent to
! speak on the subject, and whose views
are valuable, will be Of interest He said:
L regard the theory and purpose of
the antitrust law as fundamentally at
variance with the theory and purpose OF
the act to regulate commerce. To the
extent that the regulation goes it must
I To f-l IN Fe Ill -
have all the actual and supposed benefits
Of competition, and at the same time
have successful regulation by which
everybody is treated alike. and no dis
elimination results. The thing we have
in mind when we speak of competition is,
in its essence, discrimination. The power
10 compete is the power to discriminate.
transportation a Monopoly.
Railroad transportation should be
regarded as monopoly, treated as a
monopoly, regulated as a monopoly. con-
lToIled as a monopoly. 1t has been said
frequently that there is less actual com
petition, either in railroads or industries.
than there would have been If the anti
/ trust law had not been passed So far
from accomplishing its purpose il has
powerfully contributed to an opposite re-
suit Business Of every sort is interlaced
and interdcpendent as never before in
the history of the world. We are con-
froated with an act Of Congress which
says, as our Supreme Court interpreted
it, that any restraint upon commerce.
benefcent or otherwise. is a criminal Of
/ feDse.
THE simplest way out Of the difficulty
would be 10 exempt railroads from the
| operation Of the antitrust act I would
not give railroads unlimited and uncon-
/ trolled right to combine. but I would give
/ them the right under proper conditions
I NV belief is that all these things +ba+