The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-03-01
STUBS SAYS 60.
Anti Discrimination Bill Passes
the House.
Speaker Says That 1t Is Now
Satisfactory.
BONE OF CONTENTION.
Measure OverWhichAlIegedDeal
Was Made.
Purpose Is to Keep Standard
Within Bounds.
Would Prevent Trust Destroy
ing Other Concerns.


After delaying the operation for about
two weeks. the house this morning
passed, by vote of 80 to Is, the anti
discrimination bill introduced by Sena-
tor Smith.
Speaker Stubbs helped Senator Smith
get the bill through, as it was expect
ed he would do. He said to the house:
In my judgment. all theN poison has
been taken out of this bill, so far as
legitimate trade is concerned. If I
thought it hadn't been taken out, I
would not favor it. believe that it
will not hurt any legitimate business.
| Therefore I favor the bill, and hope it
will be passed by this house,
This is the bill which Speaker Stubbs
moved should be put back on the calen-
dar as a special order, after stormy
interview in Stubbs' room. in which
Senator Smith made certain remarks
which were mot pertinent
Several amendments were made to
the bill in the house, which were con-
| sented to by Senator Smith, and which
he will try to get through the senate.
It IS likely that the bill will soon go be-
fore che governor for his signature
The ostensible purpose of the bill was
70 prevent discriminatiVe prices by the
Standard Oil Company, calculated to
drive out competition. The wholesale
was really intended by Senator Smith
as backfire against the house railroad
bill; whip with which to slash the
wholesalers, and compel theAl to cease
fighting for the passage of the railroad
law
As it now stands. the first section of
the bill, which is the vital part. reads
as follows:
Amy person, firm or corporation,
foreign or domestic, doing business in
the state of Kansas and engaged in
the production, manufacture or dis
tribution of any commodity in general
use, that shall Intentionally for the
purpose of destroying competition dis
criminate between different sections,
communities or cities of this state, by
selling such commodity at a lower
rate in one section. community or city
or any portion thereof than is charged
for such commodity in another sec
ton. community, or city, after equal
izing the distance from the point of
production, manufactur or distribu-
ton and freight rates therefron1, shall
be deemed guilty of unfair discrimi-
nation
One new section was added to the
bill on motion of Mr.. Benson. The
section is as follows:
Nothing in this act shall be con-
strued as repeating any other act or
part of act but the remedies herein
provided shall be cumulative to all
other remedies provided by law
It was also decided as a precautfon
against constitutional invalidity. to re-
duce the penalty from $1,000 to 5000
at the rate of 5000 per offense, it
would not be profitable for any con-
cern to violate the law.
w. P. Hackney tried to amend the
first section by inserting several pro-
visions, making it more definite and
certain that the bill was intended espe-
cially for the benefit of the Standard
Oil company, but the amendments
The house did not go into commit
tee of the whole to consider the anti
discrimination bill. 1t put it at once
on third reading, subject to amend
J. w. Adams of Sedgwick led the
fight on the bill. He declared that the
bill does not touch the Standard Oil
company and never will. He said it
was drawn up to hit the wholesalers
J. W. Bergman OF Clark agreed
with Mr.. Adams. He said the bill is
not fair, and was put in merely to in
timidate the house on the railroad
G. o. Nelson of Neosho thought the
bill should be passed.
c. S. Beekman declared that the
millers' trust and the wholesalers
trust had been lobbying against the
bill There is one of the chief lobby
ists' said Beekman, pointing his
finger at Charles Ridgeway. Sitting
lnefe III one Ol the uSSAS OSSoPACO ny
the members"
J. l. Brady thought that Beekman
was pointing at Senator Fred Dumont
Smith who was also sitting in one of
the members seats
'sIt is discourteous for the gentle
man from Cowley to refer to senator
in this way" said Brady.
tI wasn't talking about Smith, I
was talking about that man Ridgeway
there
AS soon as he could do so, Mr.
Ridgeway wrote the following note to
Speaker Stubbs, which was read to
the house:
''ATr- Speaker Stubbs: In view of
the personal attack by the member
lobbyist for the alleged millers' trust, |
and working to defeat the anti-dis- |
elimination bill, I desire your perrnis- |
sion to have this read to your honor |
q abIe body in justice to myself. am |
not in the employ of the mi1lers, ex-
cept as secretary for their mutual in
surance company My reason for be-
ing here is that the federation of COM |
interests of Kansas appointed |
me chairman of their committee on |
state legislation, and I have been in /
terested in the passage of house bill /
449, relating to railroads
CHARLES H. RIDGEWAY-"
Beeknan got the floor again, and shot /
it back at Ridgeway- He said, "Ri6ge-
way came to me and told me that the |
federation and the millers were going
to beat Smiths bill because Smith had
made a fight on their railroad bill"
The vote on the final passage of the |
nti-discrin1fnation bill was as follows:
Those voting for the bill were Adair,
son, Benson, Bergman, Bird, Boggs,