Semi-weekly herald., 1907-10-03

so shorisiSnteu Ms 10 De really an n
! sault upon property. They have show
! extreme unwisdom in their violent oI
? position to the assumption of con
, plete control over the railroads b
the federal government The Amer
! can people will not tolerate the happy
go-lucl<y system of no control over tn
great interstate railroads, with the IN
solent and manifold abuses whic
have so generally accompanied it. Tn
control must exist somewhere; an,
unless 1t is by thoroughgoing and radi
cal law placed upon the statute book
OF the nation, II viii be exercised II
ever-increasing measure by the sev
eral states. The same consideration,
which made the founders Of the con
stitution deem It imperative that tn,
nation should have complete contro
OF Interstate commerce apply win pc
culiar force to the control of inter
state rnilroadaat the present day and
the arguments OF Madison of Virginil
| Pinckney of South Carolina and Ham
| llton and jay of New York, in their
essence apply now as they applied
| one hundred and twenty years ago.
The national convention which
framed the constitution. and in which
almost all the most eminent of the
first geenratlon of American states.
men sat. embodied the theory of the
instrument in resolution. to the
effect that the national government
should have power In cases where the
separate states were incompetent to
act with full efficiency. and where the
harmony of the United States would
he interrupted by the exercise of such
individual legislation. The interstate
railroad situation is exactly case
In point. There will. of course. he
local matters affecting railroads which
can best he dealt with by local author.
ity, but as national commercial agents
the big interstate railroad ought to
be completely subject to national au-
thority Only thus can we secure their
complete subsection to. and control
by single sovereign, representing
the whole people. and capable both
Of protecting the public and of seeing
that the railroads neither infiict nor
endure injustice.
Personally ! firmly believe that
there should he national legislation to
control all Industrial corporations do
ing an interstate business including
the control of the output Of their se-
curities, but as to these the necessity
for federal control is less urgent and
immediate than is the case with the
nected with these corporations will
probably tend to disappear now that
the government--the publIc-is grad
nally getting the upper hand as re-
CARDS putting a stop TO the rebates
and special privileges which some of
these corporations have enjoyed at
the hands of the common carriers. But
ultimately It viii be found that the
complete remedy for these abuses lies
i'l direct and affirmative action by the
national government. That there is
constitutional power for the national
regulation of these corporations have
myself no uestion. Two or three gen
| erations ago there was Just as much
| hosptility to national control of banks
as there is now to national control
| OF railroads or of Industrial corpora
tions doing an interstate business
| That hostility now seems TO us mdi
manner, gentlemen. our descendants
| will regard with wonder the present
opposition to giving the national gov
ernment adeuate power to contro
those great corporations, which Il
alone can fully. and yet wisely. safely
and Justly control. Remember also
that to regulate the formation OF thes'
corporations offers one of the mos
direct and efficient methods of regu
Iating their activities.
am not pleading for an extension
OF constitutional power. | am plead
Ing that constitutional power whicl
already exists shall be applied to ney
conditions which did not exist whei
the constitution went into being.
ask that the national powers alread
/, conferred upon the national govern
ment by the constitution shall b
SO used as to bring national commerc
. and industry effectively under the a,
r thorlty of the federal government an
t thereby avert industrial chaos. NJ
! plea Is NOT TO bring about cond
? tion of Capitalization. 1t is that tn
$ government shall recognize cond
D tion OF GENERALIZATION In a field wheI
e IL already exists When the nationi
y anking law was passed il represente
e In reality not Capitalization, but re
r ognition of the fact that the COUNT
r had so far advanced that the current
t was already a matter Of national co