The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-07
A Master Thought.

" IN hhdSVoE AAoOHub
Mr.. EDGAR HOWARD FARRAH of New
Orleans Ia q useful citizen, a good Demo
ore& Of "the fair oonstructionist school,
aR he describes himself, and a dihgent
student Of the United States Constttu-
don. He has written to the President
. letter Of counsel and instruction which
seems to have interested Mr.. ROOSEVELT
20 much that he has suggested its pub
location.
Mr.. FARRAR proposes in substance
the abandonment OF the Interstate com
merce clause of. the Constitution as the
working base Of the movement for fur
Their Federal regulation Of the railroads
and their affairs; He justly observes
that the interstate commerce clause is
inadequate to the requirements of the
situation Mr.. ROOSEVELT has created,
being utterly Ineffective as regards rail-
way activities within State boundaries.
To get the regulating hand of Federal
power well inside of State lines Mr..
FARRAR advises the President to shift
the constitutional ground to that para
graph of section 8 of Article l. which
empowers Congress "to establish post
offices and post roads"
The suggestion is not altogether new,
but we do not remember that anybody
else has put it forth Of late with 80 much
enthusiasm. Mr.. FARRARis even willing,
10 the detriment of his law business, 10
devote himself to the preparation of the
DeOessary legislative measure. IF you
should desire to have before you" he
says TO the President, "a statute drawn
on the lines herein suggested l hope l
shall be able to find time enough from
my arduous professional duties to draw
and submit such astatIte for your con-
sideration." This is truly the spirit of
patriotic self-sacriice.
Who can doubt that Mr.. ROOSEVELT
desires to have before him a form of
statute which shall enable the Federal
Government to control absolutely every
corporation engaged either in interstate
or intrastate commerce, and this with
out mourning the tedium and delay that
attend the old fashioned process of con-
stitutional amendment? Mr.. FARRAR
points out that under this grant of power
to Congress the Federal Government,
having adopted or established" certain
corporations as its creatures and instru-
mentalities for conducting the postal
service, may proceed not only to regulate
their organization and management,
their capital stocks and debts and issues
of securities, their operations down to
the smallest particulars, the qualifica-
tons and personnel of their employees,
the conduct Of their officials, the rela-
tons Of their employees to each other
AZ fellow servants, the interchange OF
cars, freights and passengers with each
other and all the rates they charge for
passenger and freight service even within
State lines, but also their relations to the
several State Governments. Congress can
emancipate these corporations from all 1
State interference and control, can pro-
tect them from the State courts and from
State and municipal taxation.
All this is so beautifully simple, so
obvious when you once think of it, so
automatically practicable and reversible. |
that we wonder whether it has already
occurred to Mr.. EDGAR HOWARD FARBAR,
the fair construotionist Democrat of
Louisiana, to take time enough from his
arduous professional duties to draw and
a companion statute, likewise in
dictated by his welcome discovery.
That would be a statute, resting on
the same power of Congress ito establish
post roads, which would enable the Post
Office Department, having established as
Apost road Broadway or the Fifth I've
nue. or Washington street in Boston, to
upon the same and control and
regulate, down to the remotest partiou-
the street car or cab service and
other public utilities, the policing Of the
thoroughfare, the protection Of life and
property along the way, the street clean
the lamp post signs; the demeanor
Of the populaoe and the sweeping Of the
crossings; and to transfer all these and
matters from municipal or State
to Federal jurisdiction.
Has not Mr., FARRAB grasped this other
and equally far reaching ideaf
W