Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-10-12
THE Great ANFR|-
CAN EXPERIMENT
Clifford Thorne, President National
Association, Talks at San
Francisco.


board of railroad commissioners and
president of the national association
of railway commissioners, delivered
an address here today on "The Great
American Experiment" He said in
part:
We are on the eve of another
struggle for party supremacy. The
birth and death of political parties
are intensely dramatic and interest.
ing; but, at the most, parties are
only temporary things. Our form OF
government is of far greater conse.
quence; it has outlived and will
outlive hundreds of brilliant leaders,
and many great political parties. Its
creation was, and it's change will be.
a news item of the centuries.
For several years there has been
gradually developing in this coun-
try a sentiment in favor of wiping
out state lines. An agitation, partly
spontaneous and partly inspired by
interested persons, has been carried
on to support change in the trend
of our judicial decisions relative to
the powers of a state to regulate
business. This is reflected in speech
es, magazine articles and books.
1t is now vigorously claimed that
the time has arrived for the practi-
cal abolition of all state regulation.
This thought has permeated the
minds of some of our ablest leaders.
Such a change in the American plan
of government would be of stipend
Gus Importance.
1t is probably safe to say that not
since the Civil War has this ques-
tion of the relative rights and func-
lions of state and national govern
ments commanded such widespread
consideration as during the past few
years.
The issues of today again concern
vast property interests. The rights
of railroads, express companies, tele-
graph, telephone, and other public
service corporations, as we'll as
many huge industrials, the rights of
shippers, producers, and consumers,
and the future policies of state and
nation on many grave questions of
business are vitality concerned.
Shall we proceed as rapidly as
possible to eliminate state govern
ment from our commercial life?
Judge Sanborn, as a circuit Judge,
in the spring Of 1911, rendered de-
cision enjoining the enforcement of
certain orders made by the Minneso-
ia Railroad & Warehouse Commits
sion. During the past fifty years
there have been many orders of fed
eral courts sustaining and enjoining
orders made by state authorities, but
none of these have commanded the
nationwide consideration following
that decision.
The decision by Judge Sanborn oc-
casioned the railroad commissions of
eight sister states, having seventy
similar cases pending in the federal
courts involvil 6 precisely the same
issues, to file a brief with the Su-
preme Court as amici curiae, oppos-
ing the doctrine he announced. This
action was later unanimously en-
dorsed at a representative gathering
of thirty state railroad commissions,
in their annual convention at Wash
ington, D. c.
After the railroad commissions
had determined to file a brief and
argument against the doctrine an
nounced by Sanborn, the governors,
at their national convention, unani-
monsly agreed upon a similar action.
Finally, the federal government,
through the attorney general Of the
United States, filed brief opposed
to the positions taken by the COVER
nors and railroad commissions of the
various states. Perhaps never be-
fore in the history of the United
States has any case called forth such
an array of briefs and arguments
from the various departments of the
state and national governments.
The Minnesota Rate Case will
probably take rank as one Of the
great legal contests of the present
generation. The decision of the Su-
preme Court of the United States re-
versing Judge Sanborn of the lower
federal court, brought into issue the
whole subject Of the relative func-
lions of state and nation in our
scheme of government, as applied to
the commercial affairs of the coun-
try. 1t focused attention, for the
moment, on the wisdom of our
American plan of dual government.
The Supreme Court refused to de-