Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-02-06

grave and occasionally irreparable wron.
upon those enjoined
IT is all wrong to use the injunction
to prevent the entirely proper and legiti
mate actions of labor organizations Il
their struggle for industrial betterment
or under the guise of protecting propert,
rights unwarrantably to invade the fun
| damental rights of the individual. 1t II
and the necessity Of organized effort OF
, | the part of Wage-earners ana yet by In
junctive process to forbid peaceable &C
| ton to accomplish the lawful objects fol
which they are organized and upoI
which their success depends. The fact
that the punishment for the violation
of an injunction must. to make the order
effective, necessarily be summary and
without the intervention of jury makes
its issuance in doubtful cases a danger
Gus practice, and in itself furnishes a
| reason why the process should be sur
rounded with safeguards to protect in
dividuals against being enjoined from ex-
| ercising their proper rights. Reasonable
| notice should be given the adverse party.
This matter Is daily becoming Of graver
Importance and can not too urgently
full consideration to the subject. If some
way of remedying the abuses is not found
the feeling of indignation against them
among large numbers OF our citizens VIII
tend to grow so extreme as to produce
| a revolt against the whole use of the
process of injunction. The ultra-conserv-
| abuses will do we'll to remember that IL
] the popular feeling does become strong
many Of those, upon whom they rely to
defend them will be the first to turn
| against them. Men of property can not
afford to trust to anything save the spirit
of justice and fair play; for those very
public men who, while Ii is to their in
| terest. defend all the abuses committed
by capital and pose as the champions of
conservatism, will, the moment they
lead In just such a matter as this and
pander to what they esteem popular feel
Ing by, endeayoring, for instance eff
courts in matters Of injunction; and will
even seek to render nugatory the power
to punish for contempt, upon which pow
er the very existence of the orderly adj
ministration of justice depends.
1t Is my purpose as soon as may be to
submit some further recommendations in
reference to our laws regulating labor
authority. A very recent decision of the
supreme court of the United States rem
dered since this message was written
seemingly of far-reaching import and
or very serious probable consequences,
has modified the previously entertained
views on the powers of the congress in
the premises to such degree as to make
necessary careful consideration of the
opinions therein filed before, it is pos
sible definitely to decide in what way to
call the matter to your attention.
Asks Federal Supervision
of Interstate Carriers
tain laws affecting wage-earners; there
should also be such action on laws bet
ter to secure control over the great bust
ness concerns engaged in interstate COM
merce, and especially over the great COM
mon carriers. The Interstate Commerce
Commission should be empowered to
own initiative Moreover, it should be
provided that whenever the commission
has reason to believe that a proposed adj
vance in rate ought not to be made
Investigation
thorlty to issue an order prohibiting the
advance pending examination by the
1 would not be understood as expressing
an opinion that any or even a majority
Of these advances are improper. Many
OF the rat In this country have been
of our railroads, notably the wages paid
railroad employees, have greatly in
creased. These and other causes may in
any given case justify an advance in
rates, and If so the advance should be
permitted and approved. But there may
be. and doubtless are. cases where this
framed that the government, as the rep
resentative Of the whole people, can pro-
tect the individual against unlawful ex-
ways. The Interstate Commerce Com
mission should be provided with the
means to make physical valuation of
any road as to which it deems this valu-
alton necessary. In some form the fed
eral government should exercise super
vision over the financial operations OF
our interstate railroads. In no other way
can justice be done between the private
owners of those properties and the pub
lie which pay their charges. When once
an inflated capitalization has gone upon
the market and has become fixed ' in
value, Its existence must be recognized.
AS practical matter IL Is then often
absolutely necessary to take account of
who have purchased their stock in good
faith. The usual result of such imitation
is therefore to impose upon the public
while the innocent purchasers of the
stock are also harmed and only a few
spectators are benefited. Such wrongs
when once accomplished can with diff
f1culty be undone; but they can be pre-
vented with safety and with justice.
When combinations of interstate railways
must obtain government sanction; when
1t Is no longer possible for an interstate
railway to issue stock or bonds, save in
the manner approved by the federal gov
sure that the proceeds of every stock
and bond issue go into the Improvement
of the property and not the enrichment
Of some individual OF syndicate; when,
whenever 1t becomes material for guild
ance in the regulative action of the gov
eminent, the physical value of one OF
known-there will be eliminated from
railroad securities that element of I'M
certainty which lends to them their spec
ulative quality and which has contributed
much to the financial stress of the re-
cent past.
Would Permit Pooling
Of Railroad interests
In this connection desire to repeat my
recommendation that railways be per-
mitted to form traffic associations for the
purpose of comforting about and agree
ing upon rates, regulations, and practices
affecting interstate business in which the
members of the association are mutually
interested This does not mean that they
earnings De their tra E p0H
quires that rates shall be SO adjusted as
not to discriminate between individuals,
localities, or different species of traffic.
Ordinarily, rates by all competing lines
must be the same. AS applied to prac-
teal conditions, the railway operations
cording to law without what is equivalent
to conference and agreement The articles
under which such associations operate
ali their operations should be open to
public inspection; and the rates. regula.
tons, and practices upon which they
agree should be subject to disapproval by
the commission.
urge this last provision with the same
earneStness that / do the others. This
country provides Its railway facilities by
be adequate unless the capital employed
Is assured of just treatment and an ade-
quate return. In fixing the charges Of
| the interests of the public alone, II Is bet
| ter to allow too liberal rather than too
scanty earnings, for, otherwise, there is
grave danger that our railway develop
ment may not keep pace with the demand
1 for transportation. But the fundamental
idea that these railways are public high
ways must be recognized. and they must
| be open to the whole public upon equal
| terms and upon reasonable terms.
In reference to the Sherman antitrust
| law, repeat the recommendations made
| In my message at the opening OF the pres
ent congress- as we'll as In my message
| to the previous congress. The attempt
in this law to provide in sweeping terms
against all combinations of whatever
| character, IL technically in restraint OF
trade as such restraint has been defined
by the courts, must necessarily be either
futile or mischievous, and sometimes
both. The present law makes some COM