Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-03-18

a RIS AT HAND.

ing for twelve years for amendments
to the interstate commerce law which
would give the interstate commerce
commission some real authority owe
railroads and railroad rates, the peo'
pie secured such amendments at the
hands of congress two years ago.. The
victory was won only after most
strenuous hand to hand fighting in
which the forces of TIVE public were
led by President Roosevelt, who used
not only the power of his great office
but his tremendous personal force fol
righteousness to whip the recalcitrant
congressman into line. Last week
marked the beginning in congress OF
a second fight on this question. This
time the fight is to hold the ground
won, and it will be all the harder be,
cause this time the president and his
administration is against the people
instead of with them.
President Taft, early in his admin.
istration, announced his adherence to
what are now generally known as the
Roosevelt policies. When congress
convened last December he discussed
among other things, the interstate
commerce law, and in the message to
congress stated that at his request
Attorney-General Wickersham. a
member of his cabinet, had in course
of preparation a bill drawn for the
purpose Of strengthening this law.
The bill was sent to congress, was
referred to the proper committees.
and has been under consideration for
some time. Last week the committee
Of the senate reported out the bill
without amendment and with the
recommendation that it pass. A
minority report, signed by Senators
Cummins and Clapp, of this commit
tee, az made to the senate. This
report disagreed with the report Of
the majority, called attention to the
weaknesses of the bill, and suggested
a number of amendments. These
amendments had been offered when
the bill was under consideration in
the committee, but Senator Aldrich
refused to permit them to be conSid-
cred. When asked by Senator Cum
Minis if a member of the committee
could not be allowed to present an
amendment to a bill under discussion,
Senator Aldrich replied by asking
him if he did not intend to discuss
the bill and offer amendments on the
floor Of the senate. Senator CumminS
replied that he did, whereupon SEN
ator Aldrich said that in that case
there was no use wasting the time of
the committee considering the amend
ments there.
Wallace's Farmer does not have the
space necessary to discuss this bill in
all of its details, but we will refer to
some of the features, which if en-
acted into law, will effectually undo
all the benefits received from the
twelve years fight.
The bill creates a court to be known
as the Court of Commerce, composed
of five circuit judges none of whom
LAOy lho1S ChdAl hVC JColo w
sit chiefly in Washington. These
judges are to constitute the commerce
court, which is given the exclusive
original jurisdiction of cases brought
to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend
any order or requirement of the Inter
state Commerce Commission. The
Supreme Court of the United States
has recently held that the courts have
no authority to review the decisions
Of the commission, except to deter
mine whether the commission has ex-
ceeded the authority vested in it and
whether the orders it has made vio-
late the constitutional rights of any
of the parties affected. When the
Wickersham bill was sent to congress
attention was at once called to the
fact that this commerce court would,
under the bill, have more authority
than the circuit courts, and the fear
was expressed that it might have
more authority than that given the
circuit court by the decision of the
Supreme Court. Attorney General
Wickersham therefore, accepted an
amendment which provided that
nothing contained in the bill shall
be construed a enlarging the juris-
diction now possessed by the circuit
Courts" This amendment has been
stricken out by Senator Aldrich and
his associates on the committee and
the bill therefore creates a commerce
court and gives it a large jurisdiction,
thus placing the decision of cases in
the hands of this commerce court in
stead of in the hands Of the inter
state commerce commission. 1t is
not necessary for us to enlarge upon
what this mean to the people of the
United States. The mere fact that
Aldrich and his associates refuse to
restrict the power of the commerce
court to the power now vested in the
circuit courts tells the story.
But the provision creating the COM
merce court is not the most danger
Gus provision of the bill. Another Sec
tion provides that if a decision Of the
commission is attacked in the court
it shall be defended. not by the Inter
state Commerce Commission but by
the Department of Justice. For
a~o~n1o tho JntorstaNo Commorco