Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-02-02
ANDERsoN's BILL.

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committee on the whole.
ANDERsoN's BILL.
The minority of the House Com
mittee on Postoffices and Postroads
filed a minority report on Anderson's
bill to require the Pacific railroad
companies to afford equal facilities tc
all telegraph companies in the trans.
mission of telegraph business. While
it expressed sympathy with the pur.
pose of tn majority to prevent any
discrimination by any subsidized land
grant roads, it believes that the legis-
lation proposed would not be
wise, and that the bill with
its amendments is unconstitutional as
seeking to interfere with the vested
rights of the Western Union Com
pany. which bu 1t at its own expense
additional lines for railroads, and
gave and gives the use of its lines and
employees for railroad business, and
in the opinion OF the minority there
is no more right or power to amend
such contracts by legislation than to
legislate the title of granger's farm
into baseball ground without the
farmers consent.
COMMERCE QUESTIONS.
The House took up the report of the
Committee on Commerce relative to
the proposed investigation of the
Reading strike.
Clardy, Of Missouri, chairman of
the committee, said that the majority
of the committee concluded that the
Anderson resolution for Congressional
inquiry ought not to be adopted.
There had been no testimony before
the committee showing that In
terstate traffic had been inter-
fered with on the Reading road
with the exception of at Port
Richmond, where it was stated
that the allotment of cars to
mining companies was discrim-
mated in favor Of some compa-
nies and against others. This was a
matter entirely within the jurisdic-
tion of the interstate commerce COM
mission. 1t was also stated that
the Reading Company and Philadel-
phia Coal and from Company were
pr cticaily one and the same and that
this was in violation of the constitu-
Of Pennsylvania. IF this were true
the remedy was to be found in the
State reports Of Pennsylvania.
Rayner, of Maryland, said that
Congress had power beyond that
which belonged to the interstate com.
merce commission to bring this great
monopoly to bay. While the
commission was investigating the
working men would starve to death.
Randall, Of Pennsylvania, held that
the most important branch of the in
vestigation was that relating to the
controversies existing between the
coal combinations and the unions. In
his judgment the miners case was a
vast deal stronger than that of the
employees Of the road and he therefore
suggested an amendment extending
the investigation into the existing
difference in the Lehigh and Schuyl.
kill coal regions between mining cor
porations and miners.
After further debate resolution
was adopted without division that O
special committee Of five members be
appointed to investigate the extent,
causes and effect upon interstate COM
merce of the continued failure by the
Reading railroad company to trans
p rt such commerce and to report
to the house by bill or otherwise for
consideration at any time such leeis-
lation as is necessary to secure the
public regular and complete execution
by the railroad company of its obliga-
tions to serve as common carrier OF
in erstate commerce, and to investi.
gate the differences existing in the
Lehigh and Schuykill regions OF Penn
sylvania between the corporations
mining coal and the miners, and fur
ther, to investigate all the facts relat-
ing to mining corporations and indi-
vidual miners of anthracite coal in con-
nection Herewith and repo'tthe same
to the House with such recommends
tions as the committee may agree
upon.
Tho Houca than odionrnod