Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-08-11

ever further regulation is suggested there
is danger Of Of reprisa;s 1t Is to-, to be hoped,
llberatesly forward to the right point, un,
deferred by their position, and unmoved
by prejudice or revenge.
from these mighty factors in our indus
trial life revenues that will be sufficient en-
highest sa a n of efficiency and a. that hat
will reward the capital invested in them
fairly and reasonably; but we must not
toll from no man: that they practice no
discriminating. and that there IS neither
they render to the several communities
which make up our commercial union.
Although the law was greatly strength
ened in 1906 under the puissant and pa
| triotic leadership of Theodore, Roosevelt.
the experience of four years demonstrated
that the power of the interstate commerce
commission should be materially enlarged,
and we, of the west at any rate. felt that
there should be some restriction upon COM
mon carrier. corporations engaged in in
| terstate traffic with respect to the fssu-
aEee of stocks and bonds.
this resISat had been SO 1amentable that
phatic references 10 this phase of the sub
iect The president assumed the initia-
f,ye. but nnf9rtunately MS view it, ne ne
| OF preparing Il bill to be laid before con-
gress l have no. reason to doubt the
honesy of the attorney general. but he
had lust come from long professional
training and association which untitled him
to deal wisely with this subject and there
came came from III, his hands into the house and
Aldrch so emphatically declared 1t should
pass, would have consigned the republican
party to eternal disgrace and defeat.
Another Reputation.
Contrary to our solemn promise in the
platform it proposed to repeal the anti
trust law with respect to traffic agree
ments among railways specifying rates
ments and the rates and charges made
under them to GO into effect without the
approval of the Interstate commerce COM
mission.
1t proposed to allow single judge to
issue temporary injunction without no
commission from enforcing an order re.
ducing rates. and took away the right Of
appeal TO the supreme court from such
an injunction.
1t proposed to limit the period in which
che commission could suspend changes in
rates to sixty days, a period which every
body knew to be altogether insufficient
1t proposed 80 take away from the COM
mission the power to establish through
rates between steam railways and cleo
trio railways, thereby subjecting the lat
ter to the arbitrary will of the former.
1t proposed to repeal the anti-tust law
with respect to the merger and CONSOLE
1T the Unbelievable discretion of the COM
merce court exercised in an parte pro
ceedlng.
1t proposed in effect. to validate the ex-
listing. capitalization of railway companies,
and the regulation with regard to the fu-
ture issuance of stocks and bonds was at
tended by a series of exceptions which
practically legalizes every known method
OF over-capitalization.
1t proposed to create useless. and e5-
penSiye court of commerce to do the work
which the, circuit court now does.
am glad to be able to say that, with
the exception of the court of commerce,
"a
way to the graveyard of legislative heresy
and reaction, and there l hope they will
lie buried forever.
All that was good in the bill was care
fully preserved and all that was bad
was. either wholly rejected or materially
modified
Remade the Bill.
With the introduction of the bill there
began such Il struggle as has been rarely
witnessed between the forces of progress
and reaction. TIE progressive republicans
did nor get all they wanted nor all they
ought to have had, but they succeeded in
converting measure which in its original
form would have been a long step back
ward, into measure that is gratifying
step forward
We earnestly contended that no in
creases in rates should hereafter go into
effect until approved by the commission
This seems fair and just, inasmuch as the
carriers made the rates that are now in
force, and it may, therefore, be assumed
that they are remuneratve.
we failed in that effort, but as sub
stitute for 1T, it was provided that the
La period of ten months, and that in all
hearings as to the reasonableness of rates
the, burden of proof shall rest upon the
We insisted that no INDUCTION restrain
Issued So, without 1 r, NOTICE. and that there
sncb he the r he Of appea ANY
We contended that the shipper who had
complained to the interstate commerce
commission. and had won his case should
ph IN N crtt hQf
was brought by the railway companies to
annu his victory. 1t is now in the law.
over the interstate commerce commission
court than is now exercised by the circuit
We kept the antitrust law intact. We
remembered that it had dissolved two
vicious traffic associations; that it had an
that it had decreed the death of the Amer
lean Tobacco company, and, finally had
sem the terrier of disntegration into the
ranks of the Standard Oil company, and
we did not intend to see its vigor impaired
or it's scope narrowed until something bet
ter could be enacted in its stead.
he'd. to put into the bill a fair and eff
feotual provision which would have pre-
vented the issuance of stocks and bonds
" lhout full compensation, and that would
have rendered impossible hereafter the
exhibitions of dishonesty and extravaganza
that have so startled the world in the
|
Wall Street Interests.
Certain republicans who are enamored
with the manipulations of Wall street,
joining themselves with certain democrats
who found NO authority in the constitu-
ton for such legislation, defeated our
amendment
We are not however without hope for
under the recommendation of the presi-
GENT a provision was adopted which will
insure an immediate investigation of the
subject. and we may shortly be more sue
cessful in efforts to regulate railway
stocks and bonds.
Upon the whole. the republican party is
to he congratulated upon the bill, as it
became law. 1t is step in the right
direction, and ultimately we will reach
the end toward which all patriots are
striving.
trust ] will not be accused of any de-
sire to stir up factional feeling for say
Ing, as | am bound to say that had it
not been for the progressive republicans
in the senate, men who have been dcrided
throughout the country as insurgents, the
bill would have passed the senate as it
came from the pen OF the attorney gener-
al, and the republican party would have
staggered along in this campaign under a
burden too heavy for any party to success