The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-03-03
SHIPPING TRUST

After long and exhaustive lnNesti-
CATION the house committee on mcr-
chant marine and fisheries has arrived
at the conclusion that the shipping
trust is well nigh invulnerable, the
report submitted by Chairman Alex
ander declaring that the "foreign ano
domestic shipping Of the United States
is SO combined by agreements, pools
and conference arrangements that an
attempt to dissolve the combination
would cripple trade. y
The only remedy in sight, so lar as
the committee is able TO discover, Is
to place both foreign and domestic ship
ping combinations under control OF the
interstate commerce commission, that
body being enlarged TO take care of the
additional work. AS TO the foreign
shipping, the committee recommends
that "all agreements aud understand
| ipgs between navigation companies and
such companies and railroads and ship
pers be filed with the interstate com
merce commission; that the commission
be authorized to determine the reason
| ableness of rates and to order rates
changed; that rebating be prohibited by
law; that the commission be empowered
10 enforce fair treatment OF shippers,
and that the use of cut-throat fighting
ships and deferred rebates be pro-
hibited.'
| II will be extremely difficult for Con,
gress to regulate foreign shipping, for
any such attempt would probably be
| resented by the governments whose
| flags hy at the mastheads of the ships
and reprisaIs made. II the foreign ship
ping trade is not regulated and the do
! mestic trade is brought directly under
control of the interstate commerce
commission the latter is sure to suffer
| BY reason Of the discrimination.
In addition to the regulations pro-
posed for the foreign shipping the COM
mittee recommends that the jurisdiction
of the interstate commerce commission
be extended to interstate port-to-port
traffic with full powers to regulate and
! fix rates; that water carrier, if emitting
rates against a competitor, he denied
the privilege of restoring rates; that all
traffic associations pertaining to rail
and water or all water transportation
be brought under the commission; that
railroads be prohibited from making
| .,p, for rofo unfair dTriGI0nc
of rates on rail and water routes; that
railroads be compelled to make terminal
facilities available to all water carriers
under the regulation of the commission
and that canal transportation IN inter
state traffic be placed under the super
vision Of the commission,
Regulation of the ocean carrying
trade has been threatened for many
wears. but nothing has ever como t.
pass rs the result of the agitation. Tho
foreign shipping companies cannot bt
reached by the same methods employed
TO bring the railroads to time for The
very best of reasons-the United States
lacks jurisdiction. II is true that tn,
ships of companies that refused to b'
regulated could be prevented from com
ing inside the three mile limit, but tina
course of procedure would paralyze th
trade of this country, more espociall,
if all foreign shipping concerns were in
volved
Bills are TO be introduced in Congress
embodyiug the views of the merchan
marine committee, but they will not b
taken up at this session and the Who'll
matter will be allowed to rest wher
it is, following the course so often pur
sued in times past.