Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-02-11
The e,,,nipotent Railroad Interests.

The vote In the House committee on COM
merce, yesterday, upon the Interstate COM
merce bill was sad disappointment to the
friends of that measure. Until recently Mr..
Reagan, author of the bill, seemed to feel no
doubt that the committee would agree to a
favorable report. A bill, substantially the same
as the one now pending before the commerce
committee, was passed by the House in the last
Congress by a decided majority, but it was
buried In the Senate committee on commerce.
1t was claimed then that the Senate, too, would
have passed the bill had 1t been given an OPP DOR
tunity TO vote upon it. The motion,
in committee yesterday, was to report
the bill to the House without recon-
mendation. Mr.. Reagan, and those who
Joined with him in supporting the measure
saw that they were in the minority and directed
their efforts to simply getting the bill before
the House, believing that the majority senti-
ment there is in favor of it. The motion was voted
down by one Majority and then Mr.. Reagan
asked leave to submit the bill with an adverse
report. Upon this motion was made on the
part of the majority to reconsider the vote re-
fusing to report the measure, the object being
to clinch it by tabling that, and thus prevent a.
reopening Of the question. 1t is evident that
the eight members of the committee who voted
against reporting the bill are determined in
their opposition to 1t. and they are apparently
unwilling to let it go before the House. This bill
proposes to assert and put in effect the right of
the government to regulate railroads to Ger
tain extent. 1t prohibits railroads from discrim-
mating in favor of or against any localities in
fixing freight rates; reqires that rates shall be
uniform for short and long distances
and forbids pooling and drawbacks. The rail-
road companies combined to defeat the bill and
have been represented before the committee by
number of able attorneys. This bill has at
tracted more attention than any measure be.
fore this Congress- Thousands OF petitions
have poured in praying its passage. and numer-
GUS protests against 1t have been received The
protests have generally come from commercial
centers, while the smaller cities and towns and
country districts appear to be unanimously in
favor OF its passage. Mr.. Reagan has not aban-
doned the fight yet He will exhaust every
means known to parliamentary law to get the
bill before the House, where it really seems to
have the majority In its favor The final action
OF the committee will very likely be to report
substitute providing for government COM
mission to look into the matter of
regulating railroad rates by Congress, and
possibly, the bill may confer authority upon the
commission to exercise some supervision over
the making and enforcing of freight rates. With
a majority Of the commerce committee against
him 1t Is difficult to conceive how Mr.. Reagan
can get the bill into the House In such shape as
to admit OF its passage by majority vote. IN
less he can devise some such plan it is not likely
that the measure will become law, as 1t would
scarcely command a two-thirds VOTE which
failing report from the committe would be the
only manner in which 1t could be submitted.