Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-02
Sale of Blankets.

been a great practical change in the exer-
else of the national power, under the acts
Of Congress, over interstate commerce;
while on the other hand there has been no
noticeable change in the exercise Of the
national power Ito regulate commerce with
foreign nations and with the Indian tribes. y
The change as regards interstate commerce
has been not in the Constitution, but in
the business Of the people to which 1t Is to
be applied. Our economic and social fu-
ture depends in very large part upon how
the interstate commerce power of the ma
ton Is interpreted.
1 believe that the nation has the whole
governmental power over interstate COM
merce and the widest discretion in dealing
with that subject; of course under the ex-
press limits prescribed in the Constitution
for the exercise of all powers, such. for in
stance as the condition that due process
of law shall not be denied. The nation
has direct power over purely intrastate
commerce. even where it Is conducted by
the same agencies which conduct interstate
commerce The courts must determine
what is national and what Is state COM
merce. The same reasoning which sus-
tanned the power OF Congress to ncor-
porate the United States Bank tends to
sustain the power to incorporate an inter-
state railroad or any other corporation con-
Quoting an interstate business
Interpretation Of Constitution.
There are difficulties arising from our
dual form of government II they prove to
be insuperable resort must be had to the
power Of amendment. Let US first try to
meet them by an exercise of all the powers
Of the national government which In the
Marshall spirit Of broad Interpretation can
be found in the Constitution as 1t Is. They
are of vast extent. The chief economic
question Of the day in this country Is to
provide sovereign for the great corpora
lions engaged in Interstate business; that
is, for the railroads and the interstate in
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prime concern is with the railroads When
railroads were first built they we're purely
local in character. Their boundaries were
not coextensive even with the boundaries
Of one state. They usually covered but
two or three counties. All this has now
changed. At present five great systems en-
body nearly four-ffths Of the total mileage
Of the country. All the most 1mportant
railroads are no longer state roads. but
instruments Of interstate commerce. Prob
ably IS per cent of their business Is inter-
state business. 1t Is the nation alone which
can with wisdom, justice and effectiveness
exercise over these interstate railroads
the thorough and complete supervision
which should be exercised. One OF the
chief. and probably the chief. OF the domes-
tic causes for the adoption Of the Consti-
tuition was the need to confer upon tho
nation exclusive control over interstate
commerce. But this grant of power is
worthless unless 1t Is held 10 CONFER NOR
oughgoing and complete control over prac-
tically the sole instrumentalities OF inter-
state commerce-the Interstate railroads
The railroads themselves have been ex-
ceedingly shortsighted in the rancorous bit
terness which they have shown against the
resumption by the nation Of this long
neglected power. Great capitalists. who
pride themselves upon their extreme con-
servatism, often believe they are acting in
the interests Of property when following
a course so shortsighted as to be really an
assault upon property. They have shown
extreme unwisdom in their violent oppo-
sition to the assumption Of complete con-
troll over the railroads by the federal gov
eminent. The American people will not
tolerate the happy-go-lucky system Of no
control over the great interstate railroads,
with the insolent and manifold abuses
which have SO. generally accompanied 1t.
The control must exist somewhere. and un-
less It Is by thoroughgoinG and radical
law placed upon the statute books OF the
nation 1t will be exercised in ever-increas-
ing measure by the several states. The
Same considerations which made the foun-
ders of the Constitution deem 1t imperative
that the nation should have complete con-
troll Of Interstate commerce apply with Pc
culiar force to the control Of interstate rail-
roads at the present day. and the argu-
ments Of Madison of Virginia. Pinckney OF
South Carolina and Hamilton and Jay OF
New York in their essence apply now as
they applied one hundred and twenty years
ago.
Interstate Railroad Situation.
The national convention which framed
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