The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-02-21

sonally respect, and whose personal
good Will | care to preserve. Such a
man upon the floor of this house is the
honorable gentleman from Iowa (Mr
Hepburn
Mr. Chairman, l do not think he can
maintain the charge that he brought
against me, that l misquoted or mis-
read the Presidents language in his
message to congress.
The President, in my opinion, dis.
tinctly states in his message to this
house and the congress of the United
States that further corrective and
remedial legislation is demanded upon
two vital points of railroad abuses,
namely, the private-car line and the
terminal fees and side-track system.
Mr.. Chairman, why should the Presi-
dent of the United States, an educated,
intelligent man, himself an experience
ed legislator, use a redundancy Of
speech or mere superfiuous express
sion in order TO call attention to those
abuses if they are already covered by
corrective and remedial legislation. IL
any law existing now covers these
abuses, it must be the Elkins Act.
Every man VINO has given the slight
est study to that act knows the pri-
vate-car question is not embraced I'M
der that act Mr.. Chairman, the pri-
vate-car line fees are merely an eX-
tension in an indirect way of the direct
charges of excessive railway transpor-
tation fees. The fees charged for ter
minal and side-track system are ap-
proximately like discriminating
charges and might be met under the
Elkins law. But even there you have
to e. through the difficulties Of legal
machinery now provided before you
can reach this abuse. My object in re.
porting the Hearst bill was to place
these two evils under the power of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, so
that it could deal with them direct
ly.
That was the purpose of the Presi.
dents recommendation, no doubt, and
that was my purpose in reporting the
Hearst bill with those two amend.
ments.
So, Mr.. Chairman, any man who can
read this language for himself Will
! reading, that in no sense could it be
! cOntended that | had misinterpreted
or misquoted the President. / think
l quoted him with perfect, legal exact
ness. Mr.. Chairman, so much for that
One point further. My remarks
may not be quite geTmane to the cues
ton at hand, but think they are.
| desire to say that with personal CON
| troversies on this side of the house
with unamiable differences of opinion
| have nothing to do. l will not be
bound by the personal quarels of any
gentlemen in this house so as to limit
my right of speech as a representa-
tive.
Mr.. Hearst's Bill.
Therefore feel free to speak about
| the great services rendered to this coun
! try. and rendered to the discussions
of this house, by the bill introduced in
J to this house and filed before the Inter
State Commerce Commission by the
Hon. William Randolph Hearst, of New
York. l say that that bill is a clear
cut. finished, legal document of pro
posed legislation to cure everyday
practical railway abuses now existing
His Democracy.
say that this is the thought of the
country, and the people of the land
owe to Mr.. Hearst debt of gratitude
for introducing that piece of legisla
ton. l want to say further in behalf
of that gentleman that | owe him LC
allegiance, that have nothing in con
nection with him more than mere
/ personal acquaintance and a personal
kindly feeling; but l want to say or
his behalf on the floor of this house
! that the political party to which be
/ long owes that honorable gentleman :
debt of gratitude. l want to say that
when a member and former leader 81
/ the Democratic party led 100000
I democratic voters into the republican
camp in 1896 and broke down and
wrecked the national democratic or
ganization, William r. Hearst, through
his great newspapers, stood firm in