Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1908-08-05

of trades and monopolies and legisla tion either inducing or compelling them to subject themselves to registry and to proper publicity regulations and supervisions of the Department of Com. mercc and Labor.
 Constructive Work of Next
 Administration.
 The field covered by industrial com. bipations and by railroads is so very extensive that in the interests of the public and in the interests of the bIui. ness concerned cannot be properly sub served except by reorganization of bureaus in the Department of Com merce and Labor, of Agriculture and Department of Justice and change in the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. It does not assist matters to prescribe new duties for the Interstate Commerce Commis sion which it is practically impossible for it to perform, or to denounce new offenses with drastic punishment unless subordinate and ancillary legislation shall be passed making possible the quick enforcement in the great variety of cases which are constantly arising nut of the principles laid down by Mir. Roosevelt, and with respect to which only typical instances of prosecution with the present machinery are pos. sible. Such legislation should and would greatly promote the great busi- ness by enabling those anxious to obey the federal statutes to know what are the bounds of their lawful action. The practical construction and difficult work therefore, of those who follow MT. Roosevelt is to devise ways and means by which the high level of business in. tegrity and obedience to law which he has established may be maintained and departures from it restrained without undue interference with legitimate business.
 Railway Trafhc Agreements Approved By Commission Should Be Valid.
 It is agreeable to note in this regard that the Republican platform expressly and the Democratic platform implicitly approve an amendment to the inter state commerce law. by which inter state railways may make useful traffic agreements if approved by the com. mission. This mas been strongly re- commended by President Roosevelt and will make for the benefit of the busi' ness.
 Physical Valuation of Railways.
 Some of the suggestions of the Demo cratic platform relate really to this subordinate and ancillary machinery to which I have referred. Take for in. stance the so.called physical valuation of railways. It is clear that the sum of all rates or receipts of railroad, less proper expenses, should be limited to fair profit upon the reasonable value of its property. and that if the same exceeds tQis measure it ought to be reduced. The difficulty in enforcing the principle is in ascertaining what IS the reasonable value of the company's property and in fixing what IS far profit. IL is clear that the physical value of railroad and its plant is an element to be given weight in deter mining its full value; but as President Roosevelt, in his Indianapolis speech and the supreme court have pointed out, the value of railroads as going concern, including its good will, due to efficiency of service and many other circumstances may he greater than the value of its tangible property and it is the former that measures the invest ment on which a fair profit must he allowed. Then. too. the question what is fair profit is one involving not only the rate of interest usually earned an normally safe investments, but also n sufficient allowance to make up for the risk of loss both of capital and interest in the original outlay. These consid erations will have justified the company