, 1908-01-31

W ueClue III WHdL way 10 call 10 your
attention.
Powers of the Commission.
Not only should there be action on
certain laws affecting wage-earners;
there should also be such action on
laws better to secure control over the
great business concerns engaged in
err the great common carriers. The inter,
state Commerce commission should be
empowered to pass upon any rate or
practice on its own initiative. More
over, it should be provided that
whenever the commission has eason
to believe that a proposed advance in
a rate ought not to be made without
investigation, it should have authority
t to issue an order prohibiting the ad.
vance pending examination by the COM
r mission.
Rates AbnormaIly Low.
l would not be understood as ex-
pressing an opinion that any or even
i a majority of these advances are inn
2 proper. Many of the rates in this
l country have been abnormally low.
: The operating expenses of our rail
roads, notably the wages paid rail
ed. These and other causes may in
any given case justify and 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 so framed that the government, as
the representative of the whole people,
: can protect the individual against un.
: lawful exaction for the use of these
public highways.
Physical Condition of Roads.
The interstate commerce commits
sion should be provided with the
means to make a physical valuation of
= any road as to which it deems this val.
uation necessary. In some form the
/ federal government should exercise
s supervision over the financial opera.
r tons of our interstate railroads. In
no other way can justice be done
y between the private owners OF
d those properties and the public
which pay their charges. When once
an inflated capitalization has gone up,
: on the market and has become fixed
g in value, its existence must be recog.
) nized.
Innocent Shareholders.
As a practical matter it is then often
absolutely necessary to take account
n Of the thousands of innocent stockhold.
ers who have purchased their stock in
good faith. The usual result of such
imitation is therefore to impose upon
e the public an unnecessary but everlast'
ing tax, while the innocent purchasers
of the stock are also harmed and only
n a few spectators are benefited. Such
wrongs when once accomplished can
s with difficulty be undone; but they can
be prevented with safety and with
g Justice.
Elimination of Uncertainty.
e When combinations of interstate rail,
$ ways must obtain government sane.
y ton; when it is no longer possible for
an interstate railway to issue stock OF
s bonds, ave in the name approved
/ by the federal government; when the
y government makes sure that the pro
r ceeds of every stock and bond issue go
into the improvement of the property
and not the enrichment of some indi
e vidual or syndicate; when, whenever
it becomes material for guidance in
the regulative action of the govern,
ment, the physical value of one OF
. these properties is determined and
made known-there will be eliminated
y from railroad securities that element of
uncertainty which lends to them their
S speculative quality and which has con.
g tributed much to the financial stress
e of the recent past.
Federal Control.
l think that the federal government
( must also assume a certain measure
D of control over the physical operation
5 of railways in the handling of inter.
+ state traffic. The commission now has
e authority to establish through routes
: and joint rates. In order to make this
e provision effective and in order to pro
mote in times of necessity the proper
movement of traffic, l think it must
5 also have authority to determine the
conditions upon which cars shall be in.
s terchanged between different inter
e state railways. 1t is also probable
3 that the commission should have au.
y thority, in particular instances, to de.
q termine the schedule upon which per.
ishable commodities shall be moved.
Favors Traffic Associations.
0 In this connection l desire to repeat
my recommendation that railways be
= permitted to form traffic associations
. for the purpose of comforting about and
d agreeing upon rates, regulations and
3 practices affecting interstate business
f. i