The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-03-05
TO PROVIDE MACHINERY TO
PREVENT L.iNS FROM BE
COMING DEAD LETTERS.

The bill which passed the House en-
larging the powers of the Corporation
Commission gave to it additional pow
ers which it indicated was desired.
There was no objection assigned to it
in the House, and. so far as is known.
none has been assigned in the Senate.
but the bill has had a good long sleep
of q month. It would seem to be
about time to wake it up. We hope
it is not dead. If it IS, it hasn't been
reported as having shuffled off his
coil.
The bill charging the power Of
the Attorney General. as il passed he
House. provided for the solicitors to
render assistance to the Attorney ZEN
Cral. but the Senat Committee or
some members of it with the consent
of the introducer. as was stated in q
meeting Of the committee some weeks
ago, was amended so IS to remove all
reference to the solicitors, and merely
enlarged the power Of the Attorney
General so as to enable him TO inVesti-
gate public service corporations and
prosecute them for crimes When they
have been guilty. The other bill en-
larging the power of the Attorney Cen
eral is the antitrust bin which passed
the House this week.
The office of Attorney General ought
to be of great benefit to the people,
bat unless the Legislature gives him
the same power with respect to the
criminal laws passed against public
service corporations and trusts in
order to ferret out and prosecute for
crime committed by them that the
Corporation Commission has to enable
it to make rules and regulations With
regard to service and for the pur-
pose of fixing charges, the people
of the State must suffer for lack of
such action by the state as will pun
ish for crimes and deter from the COM
mission of them. There is q
class of people who hope
that. Notwithstanding that this
Legislature Will redeem the promises
of the Democratic party by the pas
sage of laws regulating rates hat these
laws can be made of no effect and be
violated with impunity by preventing
the passage of laws providing ma
cllinery for their enforcement. The
Legislature that would be guilty of this
neglect would render its laws as in
effcctual and useless as would the
General who equipped his army With
arms and sent lit into bat
tie without ammunition. The
Legislature Will have don we'll
when it passes the antitrust law and
when the House passes the freight bill.
but unless it enlarges the power of the
Corporation Commission and likewise
the power Of the AttOrney-Gencra{
there will be great dissatisfaction by
those who have expected relief be
cause Of these laws when it becomes
known that they annot be enforced.
The majority Of the Senate Judiciary
Committee has taken from the Reid
antitrust bill all Of the machinery for
its enforcement when it becomes i lax.
1t would be interesting TO know What
plausible excuse could be given for
tbs. Tie same committee has had be-
fore it for more than Il month the bin
cnlarging the power OF the Attorney
General. If this bill can be Killed it
will be much easier for the laws tha
arc passed to be nuliified for lack Of
enforcement. To deny to the Attorney
Genera power to enforce the law
would he as foolish us for the people
to permit the railroads and trusts to
have an Acknowledgement whom thcy
could rely Oh to serve their interest.