Fair play., 1910-01-15
COMMERCE LAW
AND THE TRUSTS
TREATED BY TAFT
PRESIDENT HANDLES TWO IN
PoRTANT TOPICS IN HIS sPE.
CIAL MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.
WANTS NEW COURT CREATED
Tribunal Would Hear Cases Arising
Under the Interstate LaW-Chief
Executive Also Urges Federal In
corporation Statute to Suppress
Abuses and Not to Destroy legiti-
mate Combinations of Capital.

Abuses and Not to Destroy Leet-
mate Combinations of Capital.
Washington. Jan. Needed legislation
concerning the interstate commerce law
and the control OF trusts formed the sub
ject of President Tafts special message
to congress. The president calls atten-
tion to the partial failure of the present
commerce law to get results because of
the frequent appeals from its decisions
to federal courts and the slowness of the
supreme court in deciding these cases.
The message says:
1T would not be proper to attempt to
deprive any corporation of the right to
the review by a court of any order or de-
cree which If undsturbed, would rob It
of reasonable return upon its invest
ment or would subject It to burdens
which would unjustly discriminate
against 1t and In favor Of other carriers
similarly situated What Is, however, of
supreme Importance is that the decision
of such questions shall be as speedy as
nit and that a uniformity of decision be
secured so as to bring about an effec
tive, systematic and scientific enforce
| ment of the comerce law, rather than
conflicting decisions and uncertainty of
| final result.
Recommends "Court of Commerce"
For this purpose | recommend the es-
adjustment OF a court OF the United
states composed of five judges desig-
| mated for such purpose from among the
| circuit judges of the United States, to
| be known as the United States court
| of commerce, which court shalt be
| clothed with exclusive original jurisdic-
| ton over the following classes of cases:
| "OD All cases for the enforcement, 9TH
erwise than by ajudication and collec
| ton. of forfeiture or penalty, or by in
| Fiction of criminal punishment, of any
| order of the interstate commerce com
mission other than for the payment of
| money
"(0 All cases brought to enjoin, set
| aside, annul or suspend any order or
1 1irEtr 1n tat.
| commission.
| "(0 All such cases as under section 3
of the the act, act of of February 49, 1893 known
maintained in circuit court of the Uni
| ted States.
| 80 All such mandamus proceedings as
| under the provisions of section 20 or Sec
| ton % of the interstate commerce law
are. authorized TO he maintained in a cir
| cult court of the United States.
Reasons precisely analogous TO those
| which induced the congress to create the
court OF customs appeals by the provi-
| sions in the tariff act of August 3, 1909
may be urged in support of the creation
of the commerce court
| I'm order to provide a sufficient num-
| ber of judges to enable this court to be
| constituted it will be necessary to author
| lie the appointment of five additional
circuit judges, who, for the purposes of
| appointment, might be distributed to
| those circuits whore there is at the pres
| cnt time the largest volume of business
| such as the second, third. fourth, seventh
| power the chief justice at any time when
| the business of the court of commerce
| does not require the services of all the
judges to reassign the judges designated
| to that court to the circuits to which
| they respectively belong; and it should
also provide for payment to such judges
| while sitting by assignment in the court
| of commerce of such additional amount
as is necessary to bring their annual
| compensation up TO $4,000.
Only Second to Supreme Court.
|
| should be held at the capitol, but it
| should be empowered to hold sessions in
different parts of the United States if
| ments should be made final, subject only
| TO review by the supreme coure Of the
| the operation of the decree appealed from
| shall not be stayed unless the supreme
| court shall so order, The commerce court
| should be empowered in its discretion to
restrain or suspend the operation Of an
order of the Interstate commerce commits
| sion under review pending the final hear
| Ing and determination of the proceeding,
| but no such restraining order should be
made except upon notice and afetr hear
ing unless IN eases where irreparnble
| damage would otherwise ensuc to the pc
utlOner. a judge of that court might
be empowered to allow "A stay of the
conn Gommisslons ,hd so order order for period Of not
tton to the court Of its order or iniunc-
uon, then only where his order shall CON
! tain a specific finding based upon evil
dence submitted to the Judge making the
order and identified by reference thereto
that such irreparable damage would re
sult to the petitioner. specifying the ma
| ture of the damage"
Under the existing law the interstate
| commerce commission itself initiates and
defends litigation In the courts for the
| enforcement, or In the defense of its or
ders and DEGREES, and for this purpose II
| employs attorneys. who while subject Ia
| the control of the attorney general, act
| upon the initiative ana under the instruc-
tons Of the commission This blending
| Of administrative, legislative and judi
| Cial functions tends, I'm my opinion, 10
impair the efficiency of the commission
| by clothing II with partisan chaTaCteris-
tics and rohbng II Of the impartial judi
| cial attitude 1t should occupy in pass
| ing upon questions submitted to II. In
my opinion all litigation affecting the
| government should be under the direct
| I therefore recommend that all proceed
lnCs affecting orders and deorces Of the
| Interstate commerce commission he
brought by or against the United states
assistant attorney general acting under
the direction OF the attorney general"
Would Permit Agreements.
Coming to the subject Of railroad pools
and traffic agreements. the president
| SAYS:
"The Republican platform of 1908 ex-
| pressed the belief that tho interstate
ed SO as Ia give the railroads the right
to make any public traffic agreements
subject To the approval of the commits
| sion, hut maintaining always the prn-
| competing lines, and avoiding the COM
mon control of such lines by any means
| whatsoever
I'm view of the complete control over
| CbiId,S Deualoppoept