Middletown transcript., 1905-10-14
WASHINGTON LETTER

II IL tIIc TeSiueIll W NO Is StdHulIlS pd
now, and he is standing as those VIII
knew him knew he would stand on rail
way rate legislation lie had lon
talk today with representative Townsend
co-author cf the h-Townsend rate bill
and after il vas over Mr.. Townsend sale
that the bill would be introduced at til,
coming session and would have the Presi
dents fullest approval Mr.. Townsend ii
speaking OF the bill to-day said, awe
had but one idea in framing it, and that
was to remedy the defeat in the present
interstate Commerce legislation and to al.
low the commission to do what it was al.
ways intended they should do, namely
make decision and enforce it, The
commission did actually exercise the au-
thority it was supposed to have for sew
eral years till the matter was tested in
court and the wording or the act found to
be defective. The rest OF the bill as we
introduced it was merely to furnish the
machinery for expediting the work OF the
commission. The matter has been dis
cussed good deal since the bill was first
introduced, but | have heard nothing
said that changed my opinion of the
measure. There are good many people
who say that the language used by the
President in his last message to Congress
was ambiguous and that he did not mean
what hs was popularity supposed to have
meant. This is mistake or the work of
the people who wanted to prepare for let
ting the President down easy in case he
saw fit to change his mind. But as a
matter or fact he did not want to change
his mind and he did not want to be let
down easy. His language was plain
enough i'll the first place, and if am not
much mistaken, when his message goes
to Congress this time the first or one of
the first things it will be a paragraph on
rate legislation.
~
Mr.. Townsend was asked if the testi-
mony before the senate committee on in
terstate commerce had induced him to
change his mind in any degree. He re-
piled emphatically in the negative. "The
railways, he said, "were asked to send
witnesses to the hearing any of course
they knew whom to send. They declared
that it was unconstitutional to confer any
such power on the railways as the bill
proposed, but they were confronted by
the records showing that the commission
had exercised just such powers in the
early years of its existence. Then there
were number of eminent lawyers called
to show that the powers proposed by the
bill were unconstitutional. But they
called on the Attorney General and he
assured them that the bill was constitu-
tiona. They also presented lot OF
theories as to what the bill would do if it
did become a law. But | am satisfied
that not to precent of the testimony pre-
sented by the railroads could be called
evidences. 1t was simply the opinion OF
interested prties.
*x*
The Secretary OF Agriculture announced
to the Cabinet meeting that he had de-
cided on scheme which would relieve
the Department OF Agriculture of consid-
erable expense in connection with meat
inspection and enable larger force to be
put at work. 1t was nothing less than a
plan to make the packers pay for the
lables used in the inspection and thus
relieve the department OF that part oil the
expenses Heretofore the packers have
stood of the expense OF the inspection
The government have footed the entire
BILL The cost of the labels alone
amounts to from $65, 900 and il this were
saved to the department and small fee
charged for the services OF the inspectors,
it would he great saving and would
enable much larger force of inspectors to
be put to work. In this way not only
would the inspectors for the smaller
houses engaged in interstate traffic and
who have heretofore complained that
they were Disseminated against in favor
of the big houses of the trust.
~
The Navy Department has about de-
cided that there shall be three cruisers to
make up the little squadron that will con-
vey and escort the President on his trip
from New Orleans to Hampton Roads.
There are four new cruisers in Admiral
Brownson's squadron, but one of them
the Mary land is now undergoing repairs
and will not be available. The other
three, however, the Pennsylvania, the
Colorado and the West Virginia, are the
pick OF the whole cruiser squadron OF the
navy, and it has been decided that these
three shall be assigned the duty OF escort
ing the President. He will probably sail
on the West Virginia, she being the flag
ship of the squadron, and the other two
will accompany her on escort duty.