The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-03-31
SENATOR ROOT
DEFENDS THE
RAILROAD COURT
Made Strong Speech on This
Feature of the Administra-
tion Bill
FAVORED THE POLICY Of HAVING
Law BUSINESS N 0MEDEPARTmENI
In Case the Government Failed to
Prosecute Violations of the Rate
Law, Court Could Order Interested
Shippers to Initiate Prosecution.

Washington, March 31-1n a speech
which occupied two hours and which
had not been completed when the SEN
ate adjourned, Senator Root yester-
day came to the support of the admin
lstration railroad bill. He was in poor
voice, owing to severe cold and evil
IDENTIFY was pleased to be relieved Of
the necessity of concluding.
The portion Of the speech delivered
dealt almost exclusively with the pro-
posed court of commerce, which Mr..
Root defended, notwithstanding, he
said, 1T appealed to him far less
strongly than did Elost of the other
features of the bill.
He was questioned by Senator's
Cummins, Crawford, Jones, Rayner
and others and in response to the in
quiries said he would favor an amend-
ment to the bill permitting the rep
resentation of shippers in cases in
volving their interests. He contended
for the general policy of having all the
law business of the government con-
centrated in the department of ius.
tice.
In his speech Mr. Root supported
the bill In the main. He said that
many of the provisions were far more.
important than the court of COM
merce provision, and he thought that
II enacted into law the bill would
+, aid III the administration of the law.
He thought, however, that the bill
should be amended in some respects.
| Mr.. Root spoke of the success of
the present railroad rate law, saying
that the president of the greatest rail-
road corporation in his state had told
him that he would not turn his hand
over TO- have the law repealed. not
withstandfng that when the bill OF
1906 was before congress, Washington
had rung like boiler shop in oppo-
sitfon to it. But satisfactory as the
law might be as a whole, many con-
troversies must arise in its admins
! tration, and for their adjustment there
should be an expert court.
Defending the provision of the law
making the government the defend
ant in all appeals from the orders of
the interstate commerce commission,
Mr.. Root said that under the present
law the shipper in not represented
The only change made was that of
placing the conduct of the case in the
hands of the attorney general. But
he thought the bill should be amend
ed so as to permit the representation
of the shipper in all cases in which
its interests might be involved.
do You believe" Mr.. Cummins
asked, that in case not supported
by the attorney general, the court
could call upon representative of
the shipper?"
Mr.. Root had not given attention to
such an exigency. but speaking off
hand, he expressed the opinion that
it would be competent for the court
to make such an order. He thought,
however, that all of the law business
of the, government should be conduct
ed by the attorney general.
He assumed that if the bill should
become law, a special deputy would
be designated by the attorney gener-
al to deal with railroad cases, just
as one is now selected to conduct
cases before the court of claims. He
thought the sense of duty of the at
torney general could always be de-
pended upon.