Show ELKINS ON legislation OF RATES washington dec E senator elkins chairman of the committee of in ter commerce after reading the presidents message today made tha following statement regarding rate legislation As I 1 understand tha president does not desire to vest in the committee arbitrary and ancon strolled trolled power to fix rates he has re heatedly peat edly stated that the action of th commission in fixing a rate should ba subject to review by the courts ana that the railroad companies should ba furnished legal protection against sm injustice that being tho case a law giving to the commission power to fla rates should not be drawn in such man ner as to give to the commission pure ly legislative discretion in fixing rates it should give to the commission pow er to change any rate only it the ex asting rate be unreasonable or otherwise in violation of the interstate corn merce act and it should give to tho commission power to change a rate that is unreasonable or otherwise unlawful only to the extent that change may be necessary in order to remove the unreasonableness or other illegality of the rate in other words it should only give to the commission power to reduce a rate to the maximum that would bo reasonable and lawful if originally imposed by the railway company A statute can be drawn to effect this result it those who advocate vesting in the interstate commerce commission the pow er to fix rates are in good faith seeding to carry out the policy of the pros ident they should be willing to accept a statute giving to the commission power to fix rates substantially in the following terms whenever any rate fare or charge fixed by any common carrier for any service shall be unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory or otherwise in violation 0 any provision of the act approved february ath entitled an act to regulate commerce or any act amendatory thereof the interstate commerce commission shall have power after investigating the facts and hearing the parties affected to make an order modifying such rate faro or charge so tar as may 16 necessary in order to remove the unreasonableness unjust discrimination or other illegality thereof and such order shall take effect at the expiration of such time as the commission shall prescribe not less than days after publication thereof any party affected by such order shall be entitled to institute a proceeding to review such order in the circuit court of the united states for any district through which the line of carrier may run and if the court in such proceed nig shall find that the rate fixed by such carrier was not unreasonable unjustly discriminatory or otherwise unlawful it shall enter a do creo setting aside such orders bat it uio court shall find that such orders modified the rate faro or charge fixed by the carrier either more or less than was necessary essay to remove the the unjust discrimination or other illegality of such rate faro or charge then the court by its decree may modify and correct such order accordingly senator elkins said he would favor such a measure as he had outlined and believed it meant a solution of the that had been agitating the country tor a long time this is the first indication that has been given by senator elkins as to the railroad rate regulation ho would support rome dec 5 very rev john B morris vicar general of the diocese of nashville tennessee has been ap tinted domestic prelate to the pope with the title of |