River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-02-06
, nv mind that 1t has sometimes been

/ IT is all wrong to use the injunction
to prevent the entirely proper and legltl-
| mate actions of labor organizations in
/ their struggle for industrial betternent,
or under the guse of protecting property
! rights r-1warrantably to Invade the run
| danentaA rights of the individual. 1t is
| futile to eoncede, as we all do, the right
! and the necessity of organized effort on
/ the part of wage-earners and yet 6y m
| junctive process to forbid peaceable ac-
4 ton to accomplish the lawful OBJECTS for
which they are organized and upon
/ which their success depends. The tact
that the punishment for the violation
| of an injunction must, TO make the oroer
effective, necessarily be summary and
without the intervention of jury makes
Gus practice, and in itself furnishes
reason why the process should be sur
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 i can not too urgently
| recommend that the congress give care
! full consideration to the subject. If some
way of remedying the abuses is not found
the feeling oE indignation against them
among large numbers of our citizens Will
| tend TO grow so extreme as to produce
| q revolt against the whole use of the
process of injunction. The ultra-conserv-
| atives who object to cutting out the
| abuses will do well to remember that II
the popular feeling does become strong
many of those upon whom they rely 10
| defend them will be the first to turn
against them. Men of property can not
afford to trust 10 anything save the spirit
4 Of justice and fair play; for those very
public men who, while it is to their In
| terest, defend all the abuses committed
| conservatism, will, the moment they
| think their interest changes, take the
lead in just such matter as this and
! pander to what they esteem popular feel
| ing by endeaVoring, for instance, eff
| fectively to destroy the power of the
courts in matters of injunction; and will
1
to punish for contempt, upon which pow
er the very existence of the orderly adj
mihistration of justice depends.
| 1t is my purpose as as may be to
submit some further recommendations in
| reference to our laws regulating labor
conditions within the sphere of federal
| supreme court of the United States rem
| dered since this message was written,
in the case of Adair VS.. United States,
! seemingly of far-reaching import and
| of very serious probable consequences,
| has modified the previously entertained
| views on the powers of the congress in
| the premises to such q 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
Not only should there be action on Ger
| 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
pass upon any rate or practice on its
own initiative Moreover, it should be
provided that whenever the commission
! has reason to believe that proposed adj
vance in a rate ought not to be made
without investigation, it Should have au-
! thority to issue an order prohibiting the
advance pending examination by the
| commission.
1 would not be understood as expressing
| an opinion that any or even a majority
| of these advances are improper. Many
of the rates 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
is not true; and our law should be 50
| framed that the government, as the rep
resentative of the whole people, can pro-
action for the use of these public high
| ways. The Interstate Commerce Com
mission should be provided with the
| means to make a 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, it's existence must be recognized.
AS q practical matter it is then often
absolutely necessary to take account of
! the thousands of innocent stockholders
who have purchased their stock in good
| faith. The usual result of such imitation
/ is therefore to impose upon the public
an unnecessary but everlasting tax,
while the innocent purchasers of the
Ictn orn q hoy na1 md 11xy fnx
| spectators are benefited. Such wrongs
when once accomplished can with diff
/ ficulty be undone; but they can be pre-
! vented with safety and with justice.
| When combinations of interstate railways
must obtain government sanction; when
| it is no longer possible for an interstate
railway to issue stock or bonds, Save in
| the manner approved by the federal gov
eminent; when that government makes
sure that the proceeds of every stock
| and bond issue go into the improvement
! of the gioperty and not the enrichment
1 of some individual or syndicate; when,
whenever it becomes material for guild
| ance in the regulative action of the gov
| eminent the physical value of one of
J these properties is determined and made
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-
miIted 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
/ should be given the right to pool their
earnings or their traffic. The law re-
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
| of this country can not be conducted ac-
cording to law without what is equivalent
| to conference and agreement. The articles
under which such associations operate
should be approved by the commission:
all 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 it's railway facilities by
private capital. Those facilities will not
be adequate unless the capital employed
quate return. In fixing the charges of
our railroads, I believe that, considering
the interests of the public alone, it is bet
ter to allow too liberal rather than too
Scanty earnings. for, otherwise, there is
grave danger that our railway develop
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
f7sa& lions