The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-01-18

@1AsSNskS* sAAkN ~M&&8Al@ RE4EF%2&EN
Conausewxe Commi~~ion-
Ever xinoe the creation Of tie n@w
court known - the Coeamerce Court
there have been = number % Cos
Eressnaen and public men who have
.aTe1tctea that the court waa uaa~cw&-
aAEy. and tha. Il wa. .ure 70 clash
IN lis authority with The interstate
commerce ulissIon. These rrv1lc-
tions came true few months age
after the Interstate con merce CON-
mission had lowered the rates on
certain important railroads Thea
The railroads applied 90 the Com
merce Court for an injunction pro-
hiblting the rates from going into
effect and holding that the rates fixed
were too Low. The Commerce Cour;
granted the injunction.
The action OF the Commerce Court
aroused great antagonism among
members OF Congress OF both parties
and at once several bills were intro
duced In Congress providing for the
abolishment of the court
In the meantime, the interstate
commerce commission appealed to
the Supreme Court OF the United
States against the order OF the Com
merce Court in enjoining their rates
The Supreme Court has just handed
down an opinion upholding the in
terstate commerce commission and
hn
had no authority to interfere with
any rate fixed by the interstate COM
merce Commission The Supreme
Court holds that the only way in
which the Commerce Court can re-
view the interstate commerce COM
mission is to hold that that body has
exceeded it's authority under the law
in a specific case. In short, the Com
merce Court cannot review the rates
fixed by the interstate commerce
mission and can only review them on
matters OF law.
For Government Aid for Good
Roads.
A large good roads and automobile
convention is now In session in Wash
ington representing every State in the
Union. This convention Is consider
ing a number of bills and PROPOSE
tions for Government aid for good
roads
The one that probably will meet
with the approval of the majority is
one for the Government to build at
least three trunk line public high
ways from one ocean to the other,
one running from New York to Seat
tie, one from Washington to San
Francisco, and one from New Or
leans to Los Angeles, and for these
transcontinental public roads to be
later supplemented by three or four
crossroads from the North to the
South, extending from the Canadian
border to the Gulf of Mexico and to
the border of the Republic Of Mex
ico
1t is pointed out that the Govern
ment started to build roads of this
kind before the war, and the case Of
the famous Cumberland pike built by
the Government is pointed to as a
conspicuous example. 1t is claimed
that the building of these roads will
not cost half as much as the Panama
Canal, and that they will be worth
from ten to one hundred times as
much to the people of the United
States.
1t is further contended that If these
trunk line roads are built by the Gov
ernment, that it will induce every
State in the Union to build State
roads connecting with the same, and
that this will lead to every county
and every township in the United
States building similar good roads to
connect with the State roads
1t is also pointed out that such
| highways will save to the people
within ten years more money than
what they will cost, and besides. viii
have a more or less beneficial effect
in lowering railroad rates.
One prominent Congressman, com
menting upon this subject to-day
said that the seventy-five million dol
lar pension steal which the Democrat
ic House has recently passed would
| build several such trunk lines across
| the continent. and have money left
over.