The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-04-11

WASHINGTON, April 10 In the Sen
ate to day Mr.. Ii oar presented the pc.
tition of Joseph w. Ady for an investi-
ga.ion OF the election of United States
Senator from the State OF Kansas. 1t
was referred to the committee on
privileges and elections A resolution for
the committee to wait on tho President
and inform him that the Senate is ready
to adjourn sine de oEe ed and
agreed to, without question, but suisse
queStly the motion to reconsider was
made by Mr.. Hoar. and entered 60 be
called up hereafter.
Mr.. HoAr's reason for moving TO re.
consider was understood to be his de-
termination, il possible, to force the
Senate to take action in investigating
Senator Roach, OF North Dakota. Reso
lutions to investigate Roach's case and
that OF Power, OF Montana, were offered
by Mr.. Hoar and NJ. handler, and
went over without ac:ion In pursu-
ance OF the same purpose Mr.. Hoar
sue .ssiully resisted a motion to pro-
coed 10 executive business.
Mr.. Butler reported from the commit
tee on inter state commerce a re solution
authorizing that committee to inquire
whether or not the methods preva ling
10 the transportation of freight ard pas.
sengers on the great railway lines of
the country, and the conditions and
necessities Of travellers and shippers
and transportation companies Justify or
require repeal or modification OF
81 c+ion Eve Of the inter state commerce
&C.. which prohibi's pooling under any
circumstances Also 10 inquire whether
the system OF closing and sealing cas-
engaged in transportation of meTchan.
Il tus. - - :. 4.
| foreign territory, ard from such foreign
territory into tha Uni.ed States needs
TO be modified, wncthe all railroads On.
gagged in such ira ii,c should be either
! required to conform 20 all tho conditions
| OF the inter state c9nmarcs act, or pro
hibi.cd from continuing in such trans.
portation; also whether any modifca-
,ions should be malc in tho law con.
corning the relations between common
carriers and .teir employees.
| Tho resolution was referred to tho
| committee on contingent expenses.
Later it became the basis of discus ion,
into which entered tho recent decisions
OF Judges Taft and Hicks in Ohio, and
Speer in Georgia, in relation to the
rights and duties Of railroad employees.
| Mr.. & Orman took the lead iu' the discus
sion. He said the investigation pro-
| posed by the inter state commerce COM
mittee was most pressing and import
ant one. 1t affected millions OF people
and hundreds OF millions tf invested
capital. One question was, whether it
was possible to make pro ision by law
to enable railroad companies TO protect
| thcms elves in the matter Of freights and
freight charges without doing injustice
to communities and individuals.
Senators we're only, he SAID, on the
threshold OF that investigation An
other matter to ba inquired into was the
recent decisions Of United States iud ges,
| and whether, in view Of the in erstate
commerce law and OF the antitrust law
judges had right to determine not
only what railroad employee should do,
hu. wha. he should not do. Those do
cisions were tho FIST great step on the
men who were employed by railroad
corporations. If the law warranted
those decisions land possibly it did)
then that law ought to be modified or
repc aled. He did not believe that the
American people would ever submit 20
any branch CT government (whe Their
jl1iciary,r legislatire) putting such
impositons upon them as were Tut in
recent judicial Dr. cisions.
Mr.. Hoar asked Mr. German to DO
somewhat more specific. Mr.. Gorm,n
explaint that what he meant to say
vas thas Tho recent judicial decision
that railroad employees might be re-
| strained by an order Of court, II light be
fined and imprisoned If they resigned
their positions, was m st cXtraordi-
nary decision; and one that had TO be
met at the very threshold Of tho next
congress. 1t ought to be inquired into
carefully By men who had but one
motive and that was to see, while PRO
letting the inter5 SITS OF ,mme CO, that
no injustc, was done to individuals,
and that tho courts OF the United States
should not BE- armed with powers as
arbitrary as those Of the Car OF Russia
Mr.. Plat said that he had not seen in
tho discussion referred to anything that
looked ike uSurpation OF po Tor by tho
courts or that looked like degrading the
working men OF the country to the m
dition of stris. He believed tha, the
employees of IA lroads had no more
right to engage in determinations of
commerce than their employers had
AMI he did not believe that there was
anything either Ia the inter sta.e com.
Inerce act or in the antitrust act that
was not an affirmation of we'll con
s:derrd and well established common
| law.
| MIR. IIoar remarked that the init trust
| 80 sim wv u w lu0 COM meICb
of the United States the princi pies OF
the common law. so that he was quite
certain that no sicb doctrine as that
apprehended by the Senator from Mary
I land would be warranted by that law.
1t was mere extension of he common
Ia" in regard to co nbina;ions in re-
straint Of trade in United States com.
! merce. Tho interstate commerce law
was different ono. That was new