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The Commerce Act
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| On February 4, President Cleveland signed into law the first bill regulating the railroads. The act, which called for just and equal rates, also limited pooling (secret pacts between railroads). This measure received broad support in the Congress. |
The Interstate Commerce Commission was the first federal regulatory agency. The mandate of the I.C.C. was to insure that railroads stopped discriminating against small businesses in favor of large ones.
The Commission had minimal enforcement capabilities until the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, when it was given additional powers. |
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