The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-11
SENATORS AND TOILERS.
A LONG DEBATE ON TIE RECENT
RAILROAD DECISIONS.

OO4 POEAblOus hDd O9nanO AnSuQ-
ment of the Interstate Commerce
Law-Platt Defends the Decisions.
WASHINGTON, April 10.-In the Senate
to-day Mr.. Hoar presented the petition of
Joseph w. Ady for an investigation of the
election of the United States senator from
the state of Kansas. 1t was referred to the
committee on privileges and elections.
A resolution for q committee to wait on
the President and inform him that the
Senate is ready to adjourn sine die was
offered and agreed to without question; but
subsequently a motion TO reconsider was
made by Mr.. Hoar and entered to be called
up hereafter. Mr.. Hoar's reason for moving
to reconsider was understood to be his de-
termination. If possible, to force the Senate
to take action in the way of investigating
Senator Roach Of North Dakota.
Resolutions to investigate Mr.. Roach's
case and that of Mr.. Power of Montana
were offered by Mr.. Hosr and MIR. Chandler
and went over without action.
In pursuance of the same purpose, Mr.
Hoar successfully resisted motion to pro-
coed to executive business.
POOLING BY RAILROADS.
Mr.. Butler reported from the committee
on interstate commerce a resolution author
iztng that committee to inquire whether or
not the methods prevailing in the transpor-
tion OF freight and passengers on the great
railway lines Of the country, and the con-
dltions and necessities Of travellers and
shippers and transportation companies
Justify or require repeal or modifica-
tion of section 5 OF the inter-
state commerce act, which prohibits
pooling under any circumstances. Also TO
inquire whether the system OF closing and
sealing cars engaged in the transportation
OF merchandise from one state TO another
through foreign territory, and from such
foreign territory into the United States
needs TO be modified, whether all the
be either required to conform to
ell the conditions Of the interstate
commerce act, or be prohibited from con-
tlnuing in such transportation also
whether any notifications should be made
ia the law concerning the relations betWeen
common carriers and their employees. The
resolution was referred TO the committee on
contingent expenses. Later it became the
basis OF a discussion, into which entered the
recent decisions OF Judges Taft and Kicks
in Ohio and Speer in Georgia, in relation to
the rights and duties of railroad employees
GoRMAN TAKES THE LEAD.
Mr.. German took the lead in the discuss
sion. He said the investigation proposed
by the interstate commerce committee was
a most pressing aud important one. It af-
fected millions of people and hundreds OF
millions OF invested capital. One question
was whether ii was possible to make pro-
vision by law TO enable the railroad COM
panies to protect themselves in the matter
of freights and freight charges, without do-
ing injustice to communities and indi-
viGuals. The senators were only. he said,
on the threshold of that investigation. An
other matter to be inquired into was the
recent decisions Of United States judges
and whether, in view of the inter
state commerce law and of the
anti>trust9law, judges had right to do
termine not only what railroad employe
should do, but what he should not do. These
decisions were the first great step on the
part of the judiciary TO make serfs of the
men who we're employed by the railroad
corporations.
OUGHT TO BE REPEALED.
II the law warranted these decisions (and
possibly 1t did then that law ought TO be
modified or repealed. He did not believe
that the American people would ever sub
NIT to any branch Of the government,
whether the judicial or legislative, putting
such impositIons upon them as were put in
the recent judicial decisions.
Mr.. Hoar asked Mr.. German to be some.
what more specific.
Mr.. German explained that what he
meant to say was that the recent judicial
decision that railroad employees might be
restrained by an order of the court. might
be fined and imprisoned if they resigned
their positions, was a most extraordinary
decision. and one that had to be mot at the
very threshold Of the next congress- It
ought to be inquired into carefully by men
who had but one motive, and that was to
see, while protecting the interests of COM
merce, that no injustice was done to tndi-
viduals, and that the courts of the United
States should not be armed with power as
arbitrary as those Of the Gar OF Russia.
PLATT DEFENDS THE DECISIONS.
Mr.. Platt said that he had not yet seen in
the decision referred to anything that
looked like usurpation Of power by the
courts, or that looked like degrading the
workingmen OF the country TO the condition
of serfs. He believed that the employees Of
the railroads had no more right TO
engage in determinations Of COM
merce than their employers had.
And he did not believe that thsreswas any
thing either in the interstate commerce act
affirmation Of well-oonsidered and we'll
established common law.
OPERATIONS OF THE ANTITRUST LAW.
MIR. Hoar remarked thnt the antitrust
law simply extended TO the commerce OF
tho United States the principles of the
common law, 80 that he was quite certain
that no such doctrine as that apprehended
by the senator from Maryland would
be warranted by that law. 1t was
mere extension OF the common
law in regard to combinations
in restraint of trade in United States com
meroe. The interstate commerce law wes
- 49, q
machinery and he had no doubt that IL con-
tanned a good deal that would at some day
return TO plague the inventor. MIR. Vest
thought iu unfortunate that this matter
should have come up for discussion because
il was necessarily in the matter OF ex-
parte criticism.
A RAP AT THE NEWSPAPERS.
Every lawyer knew how unsafe il was to
take newspaper statements OF judicial de-
cisiuns. He had, for Instance, been startled
this morning to see in the Washington Post
that great revolution had taken place.
The article was headed "a Great Triumph
for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Eu-
Rineers," and the impression was conveyed
in the article that Judge Speer OF Georgia
had decided that the regulations OF the asso-
citation Of locomotive engineers were to be
recognized hereafter by the federal ju-
dietary. On reading the text OF Judge
Speer's decision be had found that the text
did not ct all bear out the heading, and tiiat
Judge Speer had only affirmed what every
lawyer knew TO be common law.