Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1908-02-19
SENATOR KNOX SPEAKS
ON INTERSTATE ROADS


| from Sew Jersey. but from many sen.
ators and representatives, who claimed
| 'hat 'hr act was unconstitutional rs
interfering with the right of thu stat"
| - regulate her own internal affairs.
This bin wa- enacted into a law On
| June -. l.GG. and - provides, A. !
have already stated. 'u1i railroads are
! authorized - carry persons and prop.
rty from any state - another state.
and 60 form rontiuupu. lines ~ trans
| poftaiion. The act b. q license - en-
gage u interstate commerce without
state interference. since carrying prop.
erty from one state 20 another j. 30.
i'r-tate commerce. and IT was passed
rI,r ta, power Co regulate such com
/ pcr,"
D. was i.- gnci. a. the supreme
! court said iu CONSUMING the law. "tp
! remove trlmmcls upon transportation
| between different states which had
/ previously existed and 20 prevent the
CREATION ~ such tr1mmcls ia the
! niurr.''
Proceeding with even more rapid
I pace. after the movement had begun,
/ the federal judicial authority supple
mented the legislative branch Of the
! government IN ~. effective work 81
! s-tahlishiug tho supremacy ~ the ma
| tipnai 10 the exclusion ~ the state au.
! thority over intercourse aud the means
II intercourse among the states.
After undergoing various modifca.
/ tipnse, the rule was squarcly reversed
that the silence Of Congress upon any
phase Of commercial intercourse left
the states free 10 regulate II within
their own territorial limits. The silence
~ Congress j. now neld 90 be equival-
,nt ~ legislative declaration that
commerce between the states shall DC
free from state regulation. This rule
| proceeds upon the theory ~ exclusive
federal authority over the subject and
effects by the mere force of is cnun-
citation q total exclusion of the states
from the field.
Prentice and Egan, speaking ~ the
subject Of federal authority over IN.
tcrstate commerce and the contribu
tions of the federal judiciary 10 It's up
building say:
"To the wide range ~ questions
thus 80 early suggested, we find no an
swcr In the express terms Of the con
stitution. Whether the commercial
: power which had been granted 90 Con
gross was 10 be exclusive ~. or con
current with. state action; whether il
was 90 be subordinate or superior a.
the police or revenue powers Of the
states: whether, in short, il was 90 b,
q everything or nothing all this was de-
! termincd. The federal authority as II
J -. today is the work Of the ma
: tiOnal judiciary, and tue decisions OF
D - A. IL
, ient and its limitations would alone b,
the enduring monument Of the great
ness 81 the men who have sat upor
? the bench 81 that court, were theli
, memory in all else gone
, The federal activities 10 promot'
. and protect national commerce hav,
p likewise extended 10 the executive
Il branch ~ the government. President
tlcsnlnnd's intervention AT Chicago ~
1894 WIS based in part upon the inter
Z ruption ~ commerce between tn'
: states The executive claim was tina
the national power over interstate
. commerce included all the attribute
~ sovereignty, aud that the Prcsidcn
. bad power % forcibiy remove all Oh
b dructions put upon the highways o
. commerce. That claim was sustaine'
p by the supreme court
Thus far I have endeavored TO show
. that the interstate railroads 81 The
? country have been tnc wards and bene
. nciaries Of the federal government
that from the beginning the state con
'rol over them has been progrcssivel,
, lcs-encd and the national control pro
! grrssively increased 10 the point wher'
the last yestige Of the local authority
] except in matters comparatively nm
b important and local in their bearings
. hns been swept away and the uationa
power declared paramount aud exelu
: -ive. And 50 far a. this has beer
: brought about, II mas been accom-
plished by legislation solicited by th'
railroads themselves and through Judi
. cial doctrines for which they con
: tended and 10y executive action whiel
} they invoked. The people looked OF
and approved this rapid development
. Of federal control with full reali1a
: tion 81 the fact that single contrO
n was necessary Tor the hignest cnicienc,
. in railroad service
Tho first problem. the development
~ the relations ~ the highways ~ M
nation IN public authority, was nov
solved aud solved wisely The frs
@ epoch was concluded aud out ~ tn
~ abuses and perversions ~ the aug
b monted powers and privileges attend
ing the enormous expansion of railroa
= operations under generous goyernmer
ID tai policies sprang the necessity o
m regulating the relations 81 the raj
"A roads 90 the people for whose servic
a they were created This may bc cha
N acteriEed as the second epoch. II raj
i road managers had fully appreciate
,e and respected their relations 20 the
N trust and the true relations ~ the higl
N ways Of commerce 10 the people, thci
NJ would have been no second epoch an
~ no necessity for the rcgulative legi-li
or tinu which began in 1877 and will on
~ only when justice and equality Al
he fully established.
~ As the railroads sought the FEEDER
TO power for their protection, No the Pc
m I pie rcsortcd 10 the same power Il