Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-01-08
Full Text Of President Taft's Recon-.
mendatons to Congress in
Special Message.

vi ''@'I''ii vi tlf' Interstate COM
merce law are authorized to be MAIN
tanned in circuit court of the United
States.
Reasons precisely analogous to those
which induced the Congress to create
the Court of Customs Appeals by the
provisions in the Tariff Act of August
.. 1909. may be urged in support of the
creation of the commerce court
In order to provide sufficient num-
Der of judges to enable this court to
be constituted, it will be necessary to
authorize the appointment of five adj
ditional circuit Judges, who. for the
purposes of appointment, might be dis
trituted to those circuits where there
is at the present time the largest VOL
umc of business, such as the second.
third, fourth, seventh and eighth or
cults. The act should empower 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 desig-
mated to that court to the circuits to
which they respectively belong; and it
should also provide for payment to
such judges while sitting by assign
ment in the court of commerce Of such
additional amount as is necessary to
$4,000
The regular sessions of such court
should be held at the capital but it
should he empowered to hold sessions
in different parts of the United States
if found desirable; and it's orders and
inIo no do h
iect only to review by the supreme
court of the United States, with the
provision that the operation of the de-
cree appealed from shall not be stayed
unless the supreme court shall 50 or
der. The commerce court should be
empowered in it's discretion to restrain
or suspend the operation of an order
OF the interstate commerce commission
under review pending the final hearing
and determination of the proceeding,
but nc such restraining order should
be made except upon notice and after
hearing unless in cases where irrepar-
able damage would otherwise ensue to
the petitioner. judge of that court
might be empowered to allow stay
Of the commissions order for Il period
Of not more than sixty, but pending
eiiliilN bti'ii " lllc ttuIlN loT llS oTut1
or Injunction. then only where his or
der shall contain specific finding
based upon evidence submitted to the
Judge making the order and identified
by reference thereto, that such irrepar-
able damage would result To the p"-
titicner. specifying the nature of the
damage.
Under the existing law. the interstate
commerce commission itself initiates
and defends litigation in the courts for
the enforcement, or in defense, of it's
orders and DEGREES. and for this pur-
pose it, employs attorneys who, while
subject to the control of the attorney
general. act upon the initiative and
under the instructions of the commits
sion. This blending OF administrative
Legislative. and judicial functions tends
in my opinion to impair the efficiency
of The commission by clothing it with
partisan characteristics and robhing it
of the impartial judicial attitude it
should occupy in passing upon qucs-
tons submitted to it. In my opinion
all litigation affecting the government
should be under the direct control of the
department of justice: and | therefore
recommend that all proceedings affect
ing orders and DEGREES of the interstate
commerce commission be brought by
or against the United States nomne,
and be placed in charge of an assistant
attorney general acting under the di
| rcction of the attorney general.
The subject of agreements between
carriers with respect to rates has been
often discussed in congress. Pooling
| 1,,f,.
! condemned by the general sentiment of
| the people. and under the Sherman an
THRUST law, any agreement between
| carriers operating in restraint of inter-
| state or international trade or COM
| merCc would be unlawful The Repub-
| lican platform of 1908 expressed the
| belief that the interstate commerce
| law should be further amended so as
| to give the railroads the right to make
| and publish traffic agreements subject
| to the approval of the commission, but
! maintaining always the principle of
| competition between naturally compet-
| itine lines and avoiding the common
| control of such lines by any means
| whatsoever In view of the complete
| control over rae making and order
practices of interstate carriers estab-
| liShed by the acts of congress and as
recommended in this communication.
| | see nc reason why agreements be-
| tween carriers subject to the act. spe-
| cifying the classitications Of freight
and the rates. fares and charges for
| transportation of passengers and
| freigh which they may agree to estab
| lish should not be permitted. provided.
copies of such agreements be prompt
ly filed with 'fhe commission, but sub
iect to oil the provisions of the inter-
| state commerce act, and subject to the
right of any parties to such agree
| ment to cancel it as to all or any of
| the agreed rates. fares. charges. or
| classifcaiions by thirty days notice in
! writing to the other parties and to the
| commission
| Much complaint is made by shippers
over the state of the law under which
| they are held bound to know the legal
| rate applicable to any proposed ship
ment. without, as matter of fact hav-
| ing any certain means of actually as
pertaining such rate. 1t has been sug-
gested that to meet this grievance car
| riers should be required, upon applica-