The Washington times., 1909-09-21
PRESIDENT TAFT'S INTER
STATE COMMERCE LAW
PROGRAM.

Vastly the most important speech
President Taft has made on his present
tour was that at Des Moines, outlin-
ing his plan for strengthening the
Federal arm in dealing with railroads
The President bears out the repeated
declarations of this newspaper that he
was not going to favor any plan for
limiting and dividing the powers of the
Interstate Commerce Commission. but
rather that he would favor consolidat-
ms and strengthening those powers.
This he decidedly does.
To put an end to the unreasonable
delays of court processes has long been
an elemental purpose with Mr.. Taft;
and he proposes this in connection with
the interstate commerce procedure. In
stead of permitting any Federal court,
anywhere. to enioin the commissions
order or 70 make orders of its own,
he would establish an interstate COM
merce court Of five members. sitting in
Washington He would deprive all
other Congressional courts of jurisdic-
ton. to interfere with the interstate
commissions orders, and would give
such jurisdiction exclusively 20 this
interstate commerce court. From that
court appeal would lie only 10 the
United States Supreme Court.
This Is very considerable variation
fror, &bo cc,,,v,,oroo oo,,rt ,,rorOood
when the Hepburn act was under con
sideration; and it is a vast improve
ment- But whether any proposal to
create a new court will be regarded
with favor, may be gTsvely doubted.
II has once been rejected. The new
customs court provided by the Payne
Aldrich measure is highly unpopular.
There is widespread feeling among
friends Of effective regulation, that the
more effective procedure is to take
away all right of appeal to or inter
ference by any other court than the
Supreme Court. The constitutional
right to do that was demonstrated TO
the satisfaction of practically all law
yers in the great Bsiley-Spooner de-
bate three years ago; and President
Taft's own proposal is an admission
that he believes Congress can sharply
limit OF remove the jurisdiction OF the
Congressional courts in any set of sub
.iects, at it's own will.
Whether the commerce court shall be
provided, or whether the Supreme
Court shall be given sole authority in
surh matters, beyond the commission,
lie a question 70 be considered with
much care, as IL will be. II must be
said. however, that either plan would
be a vast improvement over present
chaotic conditions. The idea of having
n multiplicity of Federal courts, scat
tered all over the country, utterly
without expert or technical knowledge
of the intricate questions involved
blithely issuing iniunctions and orders
which interfere with the work OF the
commission. is unthinkable, and cannot
90 on. In a number of features Of in
terstate commerce regulation, We have
the spectacle of one rule applying in
one judicial district and another in an
other. The case comes to mind, of two
Federal judges. whose districts adjoin
making different rules to govern distri-
button of cars among shippers. In one
district one rule is mandatory; in the
ether. an entirely different rule; and
xnt there are railroad lines which run
through both districts. and if these I'M
possible court orders were to be en-
forced literally. it is very possible that
a train made up in one district IN &c
cordance with the order there prevail
ing. might be enioined from running
through the other district. because It's
composition violated the order in that
iurisdictionl Further, it happens thar
neither OF these courts accepted the
rule laid down by the interstate CON-
mission. and neither of them made 50
good or practical an order as was that
Of the commission.
This is simply an illustration OF
what happens all over the country. in
a score Of departments Of this ad
ninistration of the Governments regu-
lative power. The idea Of the courts
usurping the merely administrative
functions Of the commission is tho
worst possible nonsense, and IL should
not be countenanced.
The President would give Congress
the power over classification of freight
He should 60 farther, and demand that
the commission be ordered to make q
uniform classification. and enforce il.
President Taft thinks the commits
sion should be given power TO institute
complaints of its own concerning rates
81 90 not think" he says, that until