Evening star., 1937-01-24
FRIENDS RALLY TO FIGHT
FOR INDEPENDENCE
Ouasi-Judicial Nature of Work Cited as
Argument Agency Should Be Kept
Free of "POlitical Interference

agency 1t sets up. Moreover, whether
Congress can take q body in which 1t
has vested some of its own inherent
powers, and transfer 1t to another
branch Of Government, puts new face
on the matter. This same issue per-
sists, it is contended, even though
the reorganization plan proposes that
the independent agencies continue to
exercise their quasi-legislative and
quasi-judieial functions, reposing only
their administrative duties in the
overall control.
1t is the principal administrative
function of the commission as pres
emily constituted that will stir the
most trouble when the reorganization
wheels start to turn. This Is in opera
tions through the Bureau Of Safety,
which looks after safety appliances,
boiler inspection and like elements 50
vital to trainmen and travelling pub
lie alike. Four years ago, when there
was some talk Of setting up q ma jor
transportation unit within the Depart.
ment of Commerce, with this same di-
vision of duties, the brotherhoods
lined up solidly against it, and while
there has been no ofIicial pronounce
ment on the subject since 1t has come
up a&in, spokesmen say the same
view is maintained.
Oppose Accounts Transfer.
Nor do opponents of splitting the
commission see any good reason for
taking away two other administrative
functions-the Bureaus of Accounts
and Statistics. which are no more
than the tools" with which 1t works.
In the quasi-judicial field the COM
mission has but a single duty-that
of awarding reparations in shipping
overcharges.
In the legislative, comes the ALL
important rate regulation, and the
extent to which Congress has gone
in permitting the commission unre-
stricted sway here, has been well illus
trated in the past Is years, when
commercial organizations failed re-
peatedly to get legislation to knock
out the Pullman surcharge because
the commission would not It finally
was removed in the general fare cut
ordered by the commission several
months ago.
Nor does the past history of the
commission offer much encourage
ment to those supporting reorganiza-
tion as conducive to good admins
trative housekeeping
When created early in 1887 it was
sort of half way adjunct to the In
| terror Department, which controlled
its expenditures and chose the per-
sonnel, presumably along the same
line of reasoning by which Congress
short while before had designated
Interior as the service Of supplies
for the Civil Service Commission.
First Change in Law.
In June, 1888, Senator Shelby M
Cullom of Illinois, chairman OF the
Senate Interstate Commerce Com
mittee. and author Of the interstate
commerce act. came in with some
amendments and this report:
The law does not make the COM
mission a part of the Interior De-
partment, but requires the Secretary
to furnish the commission with Offices
and office supplies and to approve its
expense vouchers. The supervision
which the Secretary Of the Interior
exercises over the accounts of the
commission is purely formal, of
| course, but it subjects both the COM
mission and the Secretary to con-
siderable trouble without accomplish
ing any useful purpose"
Concluding, Senator Cullom said
the Interior head wanted to get rid
of the commission, and he urged a
change to set it up as an independent
body.
Congress concurred, and Grover
Cleveland signed the bill on March
2, 1889, just one day before he ended
| bis first term of Office.