Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-29

foTto fi1cO ana the philippines, formed
the general topic of discussion at the ses-
sion of the American Political Science
Association. w. F. Wiloughby. secretary
Of Porto Rico. spoke on ''Ten Years Rule
in Porto Rico" and James A. lie Roy of
Fort Bayard. n. NJ. read paper on
Ten Years Rule in the Philippines" A
general discussion followed.
Associations Meet Jointly.
The meeting of the association last
night was held at the Willard in con-
junction with that Of the American His
torical Association, the Biographical So
ciety of America and the Mississippi VAL
ley Historical Association. The princi-
pal address Of the evening was by DR..
stephen Laycock of McGill University,
Canada. He spoke of the gap between
the powers Of the state and federal gov
ernments and pointed ont the conflicting
nature of the laws that tried to govern
the different parts of the country and
found themselves everywhere in conflict
with one another.
DR.. Layccck spoke particularly of the
variations in corporation laws showing
how many Of the younger states and
some of the older ones were putting a
premium on corporate dishonesty by al
lowing the Incorporation Of companies
for d small fee under lax laws with prac-
ticaly no government supervision and al
lowing the widest latitude in the manage
ment of their corporate affairs, trusting
entirely to the honesty and discretion of
the corporate officials.
The speaker said that the antitrust
legislation Of the country was in just as
inextricable a tangle as the corporate
laws. According to the report of the
corporation commission of 1900 antitrust
laws had been adopted as constitutional
provisions by twenty-seven different
states and there was not the least at
tempt at uniformity in any of the legis-
lation. The whole mass of this lesisla-
ton has been perforated by hostile court
decisions. and 1t was believed that the
decision of the Supreme Court. March 10.
1902. in declaring the Illinois law UNI
constitutional had invalidated the anti
trust laws Of all the other states
Control Of Railways.
The control of the railways was an
other point in which there was not the
least uniformity between the states. The
taxes, the penalties for discrimination. the
laws covering parallel and competing lines
and a. dozen other points varied from
state to state so that a railroad, even if
it wanted to observe the law. would find
it hard to do so. In suggesting remedy
for the present state of affairs. DIR. Lay
cock said:
1.-The states must relinquish to the fed
eral government their reserved rights over
internal commerce, or having first agreed
upon fundamental principles. they must,
through comfy and convention, work out
harmonious system Oh statutory regula-
ton.
Federal government is destined to be
superseded by some form Of really nat
ural and centralized government, occupy
ing at it's own discretion whatsoever part
of the total field q economic and in
dustrial life 1t may see At to occupy. un-
trammeled by the networks of a written
Constitution and the jugglery Of judicial
Interpretation"
Study Of History.
Amba ssador Bryce, who is the presi-
dent Of the Political Science Association,
spoke on the study Of history. He
said in the first place that the term ''po-
litical science was a misnomer. There
was no such thing as a science in polit-
ical economy. The time was far dis
tant when II could be considered as near
even an exact science as meteoroIogy. The
subject was frequently made as dry as
dust by the way in which it was treated
but he said that a proper comprehension
Of political history might save men from
being the victims OF abstract phrases and
catch words. might reduce the fluctua-
tons of public opinion due to temporary
passion and might check localism and the