The Washington herald., 1914-12-24
Recent Official Recommendation.


country, which registered itself so emphaticaly in
the November elections is further displayed in the
moderate character of these recommendations as
compared with the radical suggestions of former
years. Moreover, moderate as the new reeommen-
dations are they obviously fall upon dull and un-
responsive ears in Congress far as they involve
any novel change in the existing financial, business
or social status. The spirit of Congress is plainly
cold and critical and no longer enthusiastic for
reform" 1t looks very much as if Col Roosevelt
was right when he wrote to that national commit
teeman of the Progressive party in Oregon the
other day that "the public is tired of hearing of
reforms, from reformers, and especially from
me-"
The only suggestion made by any one connected
with the administration that has attracted any
noticeable amount of interest has been the renewal
by the President of his proposition for govern
ment-owned mercantile marine. But the Presi-
dent did not bring this up with anything like the
fervor that he did before and great opposition to
it was at once shown by Congress, even By men,
bers of Congress who were inclined to be favor
able to at the previous session 1t questioned
on every side whether the present was the time
for the country to embark upon such eompl-
Gated, dangerous and costly scheme. Will the
people approve of raising two three hundred
million dollars by taxation for the purpose of sup
porting any such extraordinary plan? 1t is abso-
lutely certain that the Presidents shipping pro-
gram has encountered serious obstacles, and that
the chances are strong that it will never be en-
acted.
Then came the Postmaster General with a
reiteration o>his former suggestion that the gov
ernment should assume the ownership of our tele-
graph and telephone systems. But this time Post
master General Burleson only asked Congress to
seriously consider" the idea, which was a good
deal of come down from his former earnest out
givings on the subject. And there is nothing more
clear than that the sentiment of Congress has in
the last twelve months decidedly drited away from
the public ownership propaganda. An wholesome
fear has arisen regarding the management by the
government of public enterprises. Ono of the
causes of this fear has been the developments of
the last year concerning railway earnings. In what
case would the government stand if it had TO meet
any such problems those which confront
our railway companies? ASother cause is the
probability of the increase TO very large figures of
the ultimate cost of the really absurd and useless
railroad valuation scheme upon which Congress
has already embarked. 1t looks now as though the
expense of conducting this scheme to its end
might amount to as much as $Ioo.ooo,ooo. After
one or two years more of expenditure at such a
rate, is the job likely to react favoraby un-
favoraby upon the political party that respon-
sible for it?
Indeed, how much longer will the serious in
telligencc of the United States continue to find
authority for these elaborate and expensive
schemes in the bare statement of the Constitution
enumersting, among the powers of Congress, the
right "to establish postofices and post roads"
And sooner or later every man, woman and child
in the country will realize that the operation of
tbn ic b1y
the railroad companies to carry parcels at less than
cost.
The Interstate Commerce Commission re-
newed its request, in a tentative way, for various
new authorities and powers. But everybody now
understands that the trouble with the Interstate
Commerce Commission is that it already has too
much authority and power and is trying to cover
too much ground. There is no fear whatever that
any further authority will be granted to it. Finally
the Attorney General put in an appearance with a
Recommendation that the commodities clause of
the Interstate Commerce act be so amended that
a common carrier be prevented from Transporting
products its lines in which it has any interest
whatever. The bearing of this recommendation
lies in the hard Shedding which the courts have
made of the efforts of the Department of Justice
to make the commodities clause effective that is,
effective in the extreme way which the department
mas proposed. FOR instance, the anthracltc COM
panies in Pennsylvania now sell their coal at the
mouth of their mines to newly organized sales
companies with which the anthracite railroads have
no connection whatever. The individual stock
holders in these sales companies at the start,
to greater less extent stockholders in the rail-
road companies; and the Department of Justice is
now trying, but with poor success, to get the
courts to say that man who owns stock in an
anthracite railroad company cannot own any stock
in an anthracite coal sales company. The lower
Federal courts have very naturally refused to sup
port this absurd contention-which is at variance
with all fundamental conceptions of property right
in this country-and there seems to be little doubt
that the Supreme Court will affirm their decision.
Hence, the present recommendation of the Attor-
ney General
But of the opinion that the country
has grown weary of these far-fetched and vexa-
tious Soeiaistie experiments, all of them involving
great claims on the public purse and being, more
over, utterly foreign to the genius and spirit of our
institutions. We firmly believe that we have seen
the last of them for many years to come.
Washingfon's ODporfunities.