Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-07
TAFT RAILROAD
BILLS PASSAGE
URGED IN SENATE
Majority Report of Committee on
Interstate Commerce Fa-
vors Its Adoption.
sen. KEAN, OF NEW JERSEY,
FOR ADMINISTRATION BILL
Provision Made to Relieve Car
riers from Prohibition of
the Antitrust Act.

WASHINGTON, March Care
fully preserving the principles SO
clearly enunciated in the Republican
platform of 19oS,' is the way the ma
jority of the Senate committee ON in
terstate commerce, which made its re-
port today on the administration rail-
road bill, interprets the provision to
permit common carriers to enter into
traffic agreements.
The report is signed by Senators Ell
kins, Culiom Aldrich, Kean, Crane and
Nixon, and will be printed with the
minority report submitted a few days
ago by Senators Clapp and Cummins
and the individual report of Senator
Newlands.
Approval of the Court of Commerce
feature is given prominence, although
comment upon other provisions is far
more interesting. For instance, the re-
port says that the effect Of the traffic
agreement provision Is to relieve car
riers from the prohibition of the anti
trust act while preserving unimpaired
the control of the Interstate Commerce
Commission over all such agreements.
1t is declared that the provision is il
exact compliance with the declaration
in the Republican platform.
After quoting the clause of the plat
form concerning such greements, the
report says: ''The contention that this
declaration can only be complied with
by requiring the approval of such
agreements by the Interstate Com
merce Commission before they become
operative is, in the opinion of the
Df thA Ill ~ o~<
foundation.
IndOrses Commerce Court.
THE section in question carefully
preserves the principles clearly enun-
ciated in the platform, and only by a
wilful distortion of language could 1t
be contended that this carefully guard
ed provision involved any abandonment
of the principle of competition between
naturally competing lines"
Indorsing the proposed court of COM
merce the report says that the prin-
cipal argument in favor of it's creation
is that it will prevent delay and con-
fusion in the enforcement of the law
by creating one tribunal specially
versed in the complicated and often
technical questions arising out of the
application of the interstate commerce
law to railroads and other carriers sub
ject to the act.
Supreme Court rulings are cited in
support of the contention that the
scope of review of the commissions or.
ders in the court will not be wider
than it is now in the circuit courts.
1t is contended that courts ought not
to be endowed with merely administra-
tive powers such as are involved in
the exercise of the commissions dis
cretion. The claim that there will not
be enough business to keep the tri-
bunal occupied is not regarded serious
ly by the committee.
The administration bill gives to the
attorney general entire charge and con-
troll of the interests of the government
in all cases and proceedings in the
Court of Commerce and in the Su-
preme Court on appealed cases. This
is a change from the existing law.
The committee says that the present
system combines in the members of
the Interstate Commerce Commission
the functions of investigator, judge and
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