The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-02
CANNON MAY
| BLOCK PATH
Speaker Expected to OPP
pose President.
PARTY LINES ARE FAINT
General Mix-up Looked for
on Rate Question.
Minority Leader Williams Mt work ON
Bill, and Administration Con-
gressmen May Aid the
Democrats.

| "dshiHs toh' NoN. l.-NOpecial.)-
Speaker Cannon may oppose Presiden
RooseveIt's railway rate regulation, Il
| gossip heard here and there in Wash.
| ington at this time Ii founded upor
fact. The Speaker allowed the Esch.
Townsend bill to go through at the last
session of Congress. but he evidently
did not expect that the Senate would
| do anything with it,. or else he has
since the bill passed the House decided
| that 1t Is a bad measure and not
worthy of the support of loyal stand
pat Republicans.
The Republican members, for people
who belong to the same party as Pres
ident Roosevelt, have been singularly
reticent as to their positions upon this
has espoused before the whole world
Usually, when a President thus EN-
phaticalIy declares himself, there is no
such dearth of outspoken administra-
ton supporters as Is now manifest.
The principal talking upon prospects
of support of the administration ap-
pears to be emanating from Democratic
quarters. 1t Is said that Representative
John Sharp Williams. who is again to
be chosen minority leader of the House,
is at work upon bill which will en-
bill that would likely be a subject for
consideration by a caucus Of pemo-
Gratis, unless Mr.. williams hipnseH dis
claims for 1t anything else than his In
dividual policy That contingency
would hardly be likely in a member
holding the post of leader of his party.
May Go With Democrats.
The gossips, discussing a prospective
measure by Mr.. Williams. say that the
Republicans who are anxious to stand
with the administration will, In the
event of the failure of a railway regu-
lating measure from their own side of
the House, go with the Democratic
leader. This would present the re-
markable spectacle of the opposition
party supporting the administration
while the party in power would be
seeking to defeat the policy of it's own
President. Friends of Speaker Can
non quote him as having declared: NO
bill on the lines of the Esch-Townsend
bill can pass the House at this ses-
sion"
There is every indication that the
consideration of the question of rail-
way rate legislation will be character
ICED by the absence of party rancor and
party division upon strict party lines
No question of SO much prominence
as this more or less popular movement
for the regulation of the charges by
railroads has been so long agitated
without witnessing some sort of party
alignment and definite cohesion of po-
litical parties with some leader on one
side or the other.
At this time the situation is exceed
ingly nebulous. 1t is impossible intel
Lightly to forecast anything as to the
action of Congress on this question,
except to say that from the hesitancy
and vagueness of ideas and attitudes
of members of Congress there will be
SO much mixing and confusion at the
end that the session will pass away
without anything whatever being done.
Certain railway interests have been
making efforts to ascertain just what
is likely to be done. In short. as far
as possible, they have sought to learn
the views in Washington of persons
they deem best informed on the sub
ject as to whether any legislation
would be had at this session.
VIII BE Beaten In Senate.
Almost invariably the answer has
been that whatever the House might
agree upon, it would probably be de-
feated by the Senate. The consensus
of opinion is that 1t Is quite probable
that the House will. as at the last ses--
sion, construct a bill, but that 1t will
never get through the Senate.
The United States Senate belongs
as completely to the railroads as any
pointer pup was ever owned by field
sportsman" said II veteran newspaper
man today. Then he qualified the as
sertion by the further statement that
the masters of the Senate, the control
lers of legislation. were as much OPP
posed to any interference with the
railroads as they were unalterably set
against tinkering with a single item
from the people--too fresh. In a few
months they will be campaigning for
reelection. The Senate Is a continu-
Gus body. Only one-third of its MEM
bers are to be elected in 1906, and the
majority of that third is practically
assured of reelection. They are not
bothering as a body--the Senate is not.
1t will be the same kind of body when
President Roosevelts term is ended In
1908. They absolutely have 1t In their
power to defeat the railway policy of
the President. The railways know
that, and they are not going to let
the masters of legislation in the Sem
ate forget 1t. They are not going to
forget 1t. AS certain as the session
rolls around to the end, you will see
all sorts of bluffs and buffers put up
and put forward to divert and distract
the public. If President Roosevelt
DN-N~N~
of the United States, he has a great
deal yet to learn"
Nothing VIII BE Done.
Thus delivered himself veteran
newspaper correspondent who is him
self uncertain as to the wisdom of
seeking to control the rate-making
privilege of the railroads. but who is at
least absolutely convinced that the
Senate will do nothing in response TO
the popular agitation.
People and newspapers that have
been making a great deal of noise on
the subject and the little factions OF
both parties here and there that have
echoed the cIamor. will amount to
nothing when the Senate sets its face
in the way. There will have to be a
different Government from that we
now have; there will have to be a very
different Senate from that as now con-
stituted before any kind of railway
rate legislation looking to Government
supervision can become law.
That was by way of conclusion; It is
a fair reflex of common sense judgment
in Washington.