The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-12-08

Followed to it,. logical conclusion this
means. that the simplest and most In
e%o ,e sna S as fo
employe 70 set aside from his salary q
rate ofintersst from the government, to
purchase an adequate annuity for him
on retirement. this accumulation to be
| the service before reaching the retire
1 msns age or BY his heirs r IN case Of his s
The Giilett bin, however, goes further
! and provides that the government shall
! contribute to the pension fund OF those
employees who are now SO advanced In
age that their personal contributions will
not be sufficient to create their annuities
, before reaching the retirement age. In
amended so that the annuities OF those
employees shall be paid out of the salaries
appropriated for the positions vacated by
retirement. and that the difference be-
tween the annuities thus granted and the
| salaries may be used for the employment
OF efficient clerks at the lower grades.
Ii the bill can be thus amended I recon-
liable system and ultimately result in
great saving In the public expenditures.
Interstate Commerce Commission.
There has not been time to test the
benefit and utility OF the amendments to
the Interstate commerce law contained In
the act approved June is. 1870 The law
as enacted did not contain all the fea-
lures which / recommended 1t did not
chase by one of the two parallel and COM
peting roads Of the stock of the other
Nor did it subject to the restraining infiu-
ence Of the Interstate Commerce commits
sion the power of corporations engaged In
operating interstate railroads to issue new
stock and bonds; nor did it authorize the
making OF temporary agreements between
railroads. limited to 30 days, fixing the
same rates for traffic between the same
places.
1 do not press the consideration of any
OF these objects upon congress at this ses-
sion. The object OF the first provision is
probably generally covered by the anti
trust law. The second provision was in
the act fereffed to the consideration of a
tive and to report upon the matter to CON-
gress. That commission has been appoint
ed and Is engaged in the investigation and
under the law. It consists OF, President
Arthur L. Hadley. of Yale university, as
chairman; Frederick c. Strauss, Freder-
lex %a, n: hudson Prof. 2. Il; Meyer; and
Griswold as secretary.
The third purpose led to so much mis-
construction OF it's object as being that Of
trust law that / am disposed to press 1t
for further consideration. 1t was intend
ed to permit railroad companies to avoid
useless rate cutting by a mere temporary
acQuiescence In the same rates for the
same service over competing railroads,
with no obligation whatever to maintain
those rates for any time
Safety Appliances.
The protection OF railroad employees from
personal injury Is subject of the high
est Importance and demands continuing
attention. There have been two measures
pending In congress, one for the super
vision or boilers and the other for the en-
largement Of dangerous clearances. Ger
tainly some measures ought to be adopt
ed looking to prevention of accidents
from these causes. 1t seems to me that
with respect to boilers bill might well
be drawn requiring and enforcing by PEN
atty proper system of inspection by the
railway companies themselves which
tire removal of outside clearances would
be attended by such enormous expense
that some other remedy must be adopted.
merce commission is authorized ard di-
rected to investigate accidents, to report
their causes and It's recommendations.
suggest that the commission be requested
from outside clearances and the best
method OF reducing them.
Valuation Of Railroads.
The Interstate Commerce commission
has recommended appropriations for the
uation of all railroads. This has always
been within the jurisdiction Of the COM
mission. but the requisite funds have been
wanting. Statistics Of the value Of each
railroad would be valuable for many pur-
poses. especially IL we ultimately enact
any limitations upon the power Of the in
terstate railroads to issue stocks and
fore. that in order to permit a correct UNI
Outstanding Of the facts. 1t would be wise
TO make q reasonable appropriation to en-
able the Interstate Commerce commission
to proceed with due dispatch to the yalu-
alton of all railroads I have no doubt that
railroad companies themselves can and
make 1t much less costly in time and
money than has been supposed.
Anti Trust Law.
do not now recommend any amendment
to the antitrust law. In other words II
seems to me that the existing legislation
with reference to the regulation OF corpor-
ations and the restraint Of their business
has reached point where we can stop
for a while and witness the effect Of the
statute books In restraining the abuses
which certainly did exist and which
reused the public to demand reform. II
islation, we'll and good, but until then let
us execute what we have. Due to the re-
form movements of the present decade,
there has undoubtedly been a great inn
provement in business methods and stand
ards and in the earnestness Of effort on
the part OF business men to comply with
the law. They are now seeking to know
the exact limitations upon business meth
DDS imposed by the law, and these will
doubtless be made clearer by the decisions
OF the supreme court in cases pending be-
fore 1t.
I believe 1t to be in the interest of all
the people of the country that for the time
being the activities of government, in addi-
ton to enforcing the existing law be d.
rected toward the economy of admins
tration and the enlargement of opportuni-
ties for foreign trade the conservation and
Improvement of our agricultural lands, the
building up of home industries, and the
strengthening of confidence of capital in
domestic Investment