The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-01-14
TAFT'S MESSAGE
GOES TO SOL0NS
Recommendations Of President
Are Well Received.
COMMERCE COURT IS URGED

Many important Matters Are Presented
on Some of Which Action is Elk.
pected to Be Deferred-Documens
is Specific in its Demands = Good
Trusts Do Not Exist is Inference
from Language Used.
President Taft's special message on
the subject of further legislation deal.
ing with trusts and railroads has been
presented to congress.
On the whole the message was well
received There is pretty general
belief in congress that while there Is
a good show for legislation amending
the interstate commerce law along the
lines recommended, the presidents
proposal of a law for the federal in
corporation of interstate corporations
is not likely to be acted on at the
present session.
The longest step forward taken by
the president is his recommendation
that congress enact general law pro-
viding For the formation of corpora.
lions to engage in trade and commerce
among the states and with foreign ma.
lions, protecting them from undue in.
reference by the states and regulating
their activities so as to prevent the
recurrence under national auspices of
those abuses which have arisen under
state control"
He would have such law provide
that such corporations should issue
stock only to an amount for which
each has been paid, or if issued for
property, to have the federal govern
ment pass on it's issue. He would re-
quire also that such corporations shall
file complete reports of cneir opera
lions with the department of commerce
and labor.
The first part of the message is de-
voted to recommendations for amend.
ing the interstate commerce law.
These recommendations and the argu-
ments presented are in accord with
ideas advanced by the president in his
Des Moines speech last September, and
the speech delivered by Attorney Gen
eral Wickersham at Kansas City, Nov.
10.
Important recommendations of the
message is for the creation Of a Unit
ed States court of commerce to hear
appeals from decisions of the interstate
commerce commission; that the inter
state commerce commission De en,-
powered to investigate alleged Excess
sive rates made by railroad companies
for complaint to be filed; giving ship
pers the right to demand a statement
from any railroad of the through rate
on any shipment and imposing fine
for failure to comply or for misin.
formation; permitting the commission
to postpone for sixty days the time
within which an announced rate is to
become effective and prohibiting
railroad company from issuing capital
stock without previous payment for 1t
of not less than the par value or is
suing bonds or other obligations except
one year prcmissory notes without the
previous payment of not less than the
par value of such bonds or the market
value as ascertained by the Interstate
commerce commission.
Several times in the course of the
message the president refers to planks
of the Republican party's na:funa.
platform of 1908 and indicates his in
tentiOn of carrying out the pledges con-
tanned in the platform.
In that part of the message relating
to the antitrust law his general ar
gument is that the United States su-
preme court has construed the law in
such a way as to render unnecessary
any legislation to exempt from prose
.cution interstate business combinations
which do not violate the spirit of the
law through having an undue restraint
on trade.
The president let it be known that
it is his purpose to have the oepal !
ment of justice make an investigation
with respect to which there is any
reasonable ground for suspicion that
they have been organized for pur-
pose and are conducting business on
a plan which is in violation of the
antitrust law"
One of the interesting features of
the message is his discussicl of good
trusts" and bad trusts" An infer
ence from his remarks is that there
is no such thing as a good trust.