The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-08

allowed the House to pass bill that
 they knew stotd no more chance or
 getting through the Senate than a joint
 resolution to abolish debate in that body. The House had passed the Esch-
 Townsend bill The Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce met very fre-
 quentiy and had hearings which In
 print fill large fat volumes in which
 the Esch- Townsend bill amounts to about as much as the fiy-leaves of the
 books The Senate Committee gave itself ostensibly to affording an ali-
 around hearing to all Sho desired to present their views. Be 1t as 1t may,
 ihe Presidents side was but indi1er- entity supported; certainly not by mems bcrs vf the committee and but vaguely by any of the witnesses. The railroads. on the other Land. were ardently. abun- dantly and clevcrly represented. If the oth er side was short of advocates. if
 was it's ows fault. to say nothing of the misfortun eof god cause.
 The same Republican leaders of last year are masters of the situation now The Speaker of the House who was the rcptroI- ling spirit in the last Congress will again rule with undiminished power and unabate,i influence. He has the committees to ap- point. hundreds of places to hand ont. among them being many of the great prizes af congressional life. cherished by not a few members more than the oil of executive favor. The Speaker has given not the slightest indication of a change in the spirit of his dreams. and that hs Will ab- dcate nothing of his powerful prerogatiye with its far-reachinE influence Is not by anything that has been said or done within the last twelve months for a moment to be doubted.
 Aim of President Roosevelt.
 According to several of those who have heard the President on the subject. he cherishes above everything that Congress will have to consider the passage of some sort of railway legislation. and Ia evidently not specially concerned about the tariff
 Representative HulI. of Iowa. chairman last Congress of the House Committee on Military Affairs. who has been to the White House this week and talked freely to the President. said when he came away from such a conferences:
 "In my opinion there will be no tariff legislation this winter. The President will make no serious attempt to forca the snb- Ject upon the attention of Congress. see no sentiment through the country for a change in the existing schedule. In the West our people are talking of nothing but the railway question. The new members in the House from the West and elsewhere. 1 believe. will give the President aid in se- curing the passage of a bill to increase the powers of the Interstate Commerce Conn mission and regulate rates. It may be put down as settled that the House will pass a railway bill. and it will be one that will meet the approval of the President. In- deed nN measure will pass that has not been approved by MT. Roosevelt. As to the possibilities of any action by the Senate. that is a guess.
 "The President does not desire any dras- tic measures that will iniure the railroad properties or other vested interests To frame such a bill is the problem which confronts the legislators. The Esch-Towns- end bill was. of course. only an experiment., but 1t will serve perhaps as the basis for the new legislation.
 Touching on the return from the Philip pines of Secretary Taft. MT. Hull said: 'I hope in time to legislation that VIII allow all products from the Philippines to come into this country free of duty. have been an advocate of free trade with the is- lands ever since my visit there in 1901, and consider 1t simply idiotic that tariff barriers should be erected between this country and its outlying possessions in the East. I don't know when Congress- VIII come to my views. or what will be done this winter Secretary Taft will undoubtedly have some important recommendations to make as a result of his visit. which will have to be considered"