The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-20
Lengthy Speech is Delivered Before the Buckeye Club
 at Columbus
DISCUSSES RAILROAD RATE
 BILL AND TRUST BREAKING
Secretary Deals Blow at Corporations In Ills Discussion of OvercapitaIiza- tion and the Right of Directors
 of One to Own Another.

of One to Own Another.
 Columbus O., August 19-Secretary Taft arrived here today from Newark, O, where he was met by a committee of citizens and escorted to this city. The city Is probably more elaborately decorat- ed than since the welcome to Mckinley.
 Secretary Taft held conference with his political manager A. l. Vorys. during the day, and will probably stay here to- morrow to meet political leaders through out the state He held public recep- ton this afternoon and will dine with Governor Harris and state officers this evening Tonight he delivered speech at Memorial hall. which was the opening gun Of his campaign for the presidential nomination..
 Ma. Taft spoke in part as follows:
 Members of the Buckeye Republican Club
 and Fellow Citizens of Ohio
 1 The present Is a period of the greatest l prosperity. general comfort and even lux 1 ury. Throughout this country, the demand , for labor has increased wages to hign- CT point than ever known before. The 1 compensation of skilled labor now fre-
  sions. like teaching and the ministry | Wealth has accumulated enormously in | the hands of individuals and never before have rich men given freely of their | fortunes to educational and charitable l objects. Such conditions are apt to dim | and dull the eye and the ear of the peo- pie to abuses and dishonesty In the body politica and social It vas such periods in the history of ancient republics when their foundations were sapped and their fall ultimately brought about. Prophets of evil have foretold the same fate for l this republic. They have been refuted | In spite of the general comfort. there 1 have been manifest by signs not to be | misunderstood. quickening of the pub | lie conscience and demand for the remedy of abuses. the outgrowth of this | prosperity. and for a higher standard l of business integrity. Every lover of his | country should have a feeling of pride and exaltaton In this evidence that our society is still sound at the core
 Railway Determinations.
 l have been Invited by your body to discuss the national issues. Some of these | involve the abuses over which the pub lie conscience has been aroused, and the proper remedies for their removal. The first. and possibly the greatest. abuse | has been in the management of the arte- rial system of the country which the in- terstate railroads form. Any unjust dis | crimination in the terms upon which transportation of freight or passengers Is | afforded an individual q locality par | alyzes and withers the business of the 1 individual or the locality exactly as tho 1 binding of the arteries and veins leading | to member of the human body destroys | It's life.
 Failure of Old Law.
 The result of twenty years operation under the interstate commerce act of 1887. passed to restrain abuses of unjust dis | crimination and unreasona bleness of rates l was that the railroads came to regard 1 the action of the commission it created 1 as of no importance. The delays. due to l the necessity of resorting to the courts 1 to try out the merits of every order of the commission. before it became effect | i've, made the remedy of the complaining | shipper or locality so slow and burden some that In contested cases, it was no remedy at all. The commission was not | under the old act, authorized to fix req sonable rates. It could only say that a particular rate was reasonable and order d railroad to change it's rate and make 1t reasonable. The railroad might fix q new rate at anything less than the rate l declared to be unreasonable. and If the l reduction made was not sufficient. a new action had to be brought to decide that the new rate was also unreasonable.
 New Rate Bill.
 Made aware of the moribund condition of railway regulation under the old law and of the widespread abuses which pre- vailed In railway management. President Roosevelt, in his message of 1904, recom- mended that the powers of the commls- sion be largely increased flrst by enabling 1 the commission to fix rates and second by making It's order effective against the carriers without resort to courts to com pei performance. He asked that 1t be made an administrative tribunal with real power. This done by the passage Of the rate bill, in June, 1906. The new act enables the commission to fix rates and gives efficacy to all of its orders by pro- yiding that they shall go into effect thir- ty days after they are made, unless sus pended by an order Of court and failure to comply with them is punisha ble by a fine of 5000 a day during the delinquency. Express companies, sleeping car compa- nles and oil pipeline companies arc brought under the Jurisdiction of the con- mission as common carriers. The act gives the commission power to fix tho rates for the various incidental services performed by railways at terminals and on the journey and to require them to be performed for every shipper. By withholding such services from one, and extending them to another. and by im- posing varying charges for them, com panies have been able In the past to make them a convenient instrument for discrimination. The new law requires the publication of rates charged for such incidental services Railroads are com peled to furnish cars without discrimina- tion for the movement of traffic After May. 1908. they are confined in their busi- ness strictly to transportation by a pro- vision forbddng them. after that date. to transport for themselves anything but what is intended for their use as common carriers. Experience has shown that the railroads cannot be trusted to deal fairly