The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-25
READY FOR THE BIG FIGHT.
Forces Lining Up to Pass the Goebs
Repeal Bill.


Forces Lining Up to Pass the Goeee
Repeal Bill.
FRANKFORT, KY, Feb. 24.-The great
est fight that has yet been waged in the
Kentucky Legislature will open up TO-
morrow evening in the Senate in the
passage OF the bill to repeal the Southern
Pacific charter. The Huntington people
have used every possible effort to prevent
the progress of the bill, and only agreed to
making the measure the especial order for
tomorrow when they were forced to it by
an aye and no vote. The Huntington
people have been quietly preparing for the
war they propose to wage, and will be led
by Senators Thomas II. Hays and Weis-
singer of Louisville, and will have the
support of Senator John Bennett and
others.
Senator Goebel Will advocate the passage
of the bill and Will have the able assist
ance of Senator Taylor and probably Sen
ator McChord and others. Senator Goebel
said to The CALL correspondent tonight: ::
There is nothing new in the situation.
The bill will come up before the Senate to-
morrow and we cannot tell how long it
will be before the measure is disposed of
in this branch, but it will be pushed with
all possible vigor and we believe the bill
will pass easily"
The Huntington managers will base
their main fight on the right of the State
to repeal the charter, and claim vested
rights and interference with contracts and
bad faith on the part of the State to repeal
the charter. Senator Goebel is prepared.
and will throw bombshell into the Hunt
methods and practices of the road, and at
the same time answer every legal and
equitable ground of the Southern Pacific
hordes, and make plain the demand OF the
California people for the repeal of this
charter, which Huntington has been using
and abusing.
The Huntington lieutenants have
already begun to talk of the bill never be-
ing passed, and declare it impossible ct
this late day to get a bill through under
the most favorable circumstances in the
remaining four weeks.
The friends of the bill are thoroughly
awake to this line of warfare and have
taken every precaution to facilitate the
measure. The introduction of the dupIi-
cate bill in the House has done much to
get the measure well before that branch,
and no delay will be had here. The friends
of the measure hope to see it pass the
Senate before the last of the week.
The opening gun will be fired by Sena-
tor Goebel when he calls up the bill, made
special order for o'clock last Friday.
and it will last till victory perches on the
banner of one or the other, as far as the
Senate is concerned.
Both sides are ready. Both seem con-
tident, and just at this time it is difficult
to say just how the fight will go. The
general opinion, however, Is that the vote
will be closer than either side anticipat tes
Last week Senator Thomas Hays put the
majority against the bill at twenty-five
At the same time Senator Goebel said con-
tidently but quietly, that the bill would
pass. He named no figure for majority,
but has counted on good one all the
week. OF course Major Hays estimate is
ridiculous. 1t is not at all probable that
he has ever believed for mo-.
ment that out of the thlrty-eight
votes in the Senate thirty-two would be
so lost to their sense of decency and duty
as to vote against this bill. Still the Major
may have some grounds-good from his
yiew-for his confidence as he has person.
ally interviewed everv member of the Sem
ate on the subject and knows something" !"
1t is to be hoped that he is mistaken He
is not always right in these matters.
Senator Jack" Gross, on hearing him
give his estimate of the majority the other
day, said to him: "Well. Major, L think
you have q hard fight to win at all, and
while | admire your pluck l wouldn give
d-n for your judgment"
While it is not safe to count on too much
the vote the other day on Goebel's foreign
railroad bill may be taken as an indication
of how the sentiment of the Senate stands
on the repeal question. 1t passed by a
vote of twenty-five to seven and in the
face of the opposition III the interests of
the roads concerned, Huntington, Eastern
and Western divisions of the n. n. and
NJ. V. in Kentucky and the Cincinnati
Southern. They had the assistance, too,
of General Duke and the whole force of L.
and N. lobbyist.
The passage Of this bill by such an over
whelming majority showed the strong