Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 3 (of 7)Roosevelt, Theodore
History
Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 3 (of 7)
Roosevelt, Theodore
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919; United States -- Politics and government -- 1901-1909
Above all else, we must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to
all on equal terms; and to do this it is necessary to put a complete
stop to all rebates. Whether the shipper or the railroad is to blame
makes no difference; the rebate must be stopped, the abuses of the
private car and private terminal-track and side-track systems must
be stopped, and the legislation of the Fifty-eighth Congress which
declares it to be unlawful for any person or corporation to offer,
grant, give, solicit, accept, or receive any rebate, concession, or
discrimination in respect of the transportation of any property in
interstate or foreign commerce whereby such property shall by any
device whatever be transported at a less rate than that named in the
tariffs published by the carrier must be enforced. For some time after
the enactment of the Act to Regulate Commerce it remained a mooted
question whether that act conferred upon the Interstate Commerce
Commission the power, after it had found a challenged rate to be
unreasonable, to declare what thereafter should, prima facie, be the
reasonable maximum rate for the transportation in dispute. The Supreme
Court finally resolved that question in the negative, so that as the
law now stands the Commission simply possess the bare power to denounce
a particular rate as unreasonable. While I am of the opinion that at
present it would be undesirable, if it were not impracticable, finally
to clothe the Commission with general authority to fix railroad rates,
I do believe that, as a fair security to shippers, the Commission
should be vested with the power, where a given rate has been challenged
and after full hearing found to be unreasonable, to decide, subject to
judicial review, what shall be a reasonable rate to take its place;
the ruling of the Commission to take effect immediately, and to obtain
unless and until it is reversed by the court of review. The Government
must in increasing degree supervise and regulate the workings of the
railways engaged in interstate commerce; and such increased supervision
is the only alternative to an increase of the present evils on the one
hand or a still more radical policy on the other. In my judgment the
most important legislative act now needed as regards the regulation
of corporations is this act to confer on the Interstate Commerce
Commission the power to revise rates and regulations, the revised rate
to at once go into effect, and to stay in effect unless and until the
court of review reverses it.
Steamship companies engaged in interstate commerce and protected in
our coastwise trade, should be held to a strict observance of the
interstate commerce act.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account