Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-02-26
FOR THE HARRIS BILL,
KANSAS HOUSE SHOWS PLAINLY
- THAT IT FAvORs 1T.
NO MAXIMUM RATES WANTED.
SENATE MEASURE TO BE sUBsTI-
TUTED FOR BROWNS BILL. i
House Spent Yesterday Afternoon De-
batting the Matter and Will Con-
slider 1t Further To-day
Session Nearing the
Fifty Day Limit.
NO MAXIMUM RATES WANTED.

Topeka, 'Kas.. Feb. 25.-(Special) The
house worked all the afternoon on a rail.
road bill, and the indications are that II
will take all of tomorrow afternoon before
one is passed. When it is passed, 1t viii
be the Harris senate bill. BY vote of s.
to 81. the house decided that it did not
want a maximum rate bill. Chairman
Brown, of the railroad committee, has Civ
en- up all hope of securing the passage OF
his bill, and he predicts that the Harris
bill will become the law.
Immediately upon convening this after
noon, the railroad bill was taken up on a
special order. Brown, of Pratt, chairman
of the railroad committee, moved to consid-
er his maximum freight rate bill. section
by section. No objection was rendered and
the clerk proceeded to read. Section was
passed, and the next one was taken up,
when Jones, Populist, of Neosho, moved to
substitute the entire senate bill for the one
being read. Weilep, Democrat, of Cher
okee, moved to lay the motion on the table,
but his motion was lost by a vote Of 81 to
81. The Jones motion was carried by the
same vote. T..
The clerk then read the Harris senate
bill. When he had finished 1t. Brown got
the floor and talked for an hour against
the motion to substitute the Harris bill
for his own, and in favor of a maximum
sseess for 5Ae 10 appea r. II
ans of the house, as they are to-day and
always have been the seryiie servants of
corporations. He reviewed the history of
the Populist party since its organization
and declared that every platform had con-
tained a stringent railroad plank. This was
the first time the Popuiists had had the
opportunity to carry out railroad reform
legislation and If they failed 10 do SO their
political doom was sealed. He declared
that the Harris bill was not what the great
m yU.aS mt hot how
sent the Popufist representatives here to
pass.
1T is humiliatiIg to me to stand here. I"
against bill which. II passed. means the
death of our party. The Harris bill is a
makeshift and no good can come from it.
1t Is no improvement over the present law.
The only solution to the railroad problem
He viewed with alarm the action about
to be taken and said IL the Harris make
shift was passed the members who voted
for it could never make satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION of their vote to their constitu-
ents.
Speaker Pro Tenn Weilep declared that
the Harris bill was more favorable to the
railroads than the present law Pointing
for this Harris bill you will be traitors to
your constituents"
Jones, speaking in favor of the bill, said
that he offered it as an amendment for
the reason that he believed it was either
the Harris bill or no railroad legislation at
all The session was drawing to close
and while the bill which passed the senate
was not entirely satisfactory to all it was
better than none.
Turner, Populist, of Phillips, said he
would be ashamed to go home if no radical
legislation concerning railroads were en-
acted. ~
Fairchild. Populist, of Kingman, moved
to amend by substituting the Brown BILL
with the MAJ .imum schedule and cIassifi-
cations stricken out, for the Harris BILL
This brought up a parliamentary tangle
which required some time to unravel
Brooke raised the point that. as the Brown
bill to which the amendments were offered
was the original bill. no part of it could be
made an amendment to itself. Weilep ar
gued that 1t was not an amendment to it.
self; it was an amendment to the senate
bill, which was madeSthe first amendment
Brown and Fairchild also argued that the
amendment was IN order. The chair ruled
that the amendment was in order and the
bill was then read. 1t took until o'clock
to read the measure and an adjournment
was then taken. The bill will be discussed
again tomorrow afternoon.