Middletown transcript., 1905-04-08
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

WfiEN the extra session Oh congress
w called in October the President viii
present for it's consideration the tw'
questions which were passed at the las
session without legislation, that is, rail
road late legislation and the revision o
the Ding. tariffs in certain schedules
! The actiun ol the two bodies comprising
| Congress on these matters is not difficult
to proplesy. The lower house, the mem
bers Of which are dependent on theil
constituents for their place necessarily
reflects the views of the people, and it is
well known that the general public is
with the President in his desire to regu.
late railway rates. On the other hand
the Senate represents to considerable
extent the great corporate interests of the
country, and as body it will be no more
inclined to pass the railroad rate bill at
the coming session than it was at the last.
Tie new House of Representatives will
in all likelihood pass rate bill as easily
a. the last one but it will be in the Sem
ale that blockade can almost surely be
predicted. There are Senators from the
greatest states in the Union who repre-
sented in the Senate not the people of
their states but private corporate inter-
ests and it is these Corporation Senators
who will be responsible for the defeat OF
the bill. One thing alone can prevent
the miscarriage of these reforms and that
is for the corporation Senators to be made
to understand in no uncertain way that
they are in the Senate to represent the
people ana to fulfill their wishes. Dur
ing the summer months the people will
have an opportunity through the press
and other sources to infnrm their Sena-
tors what they desire in the matter and
to find out as well, where their Senators
stand on these important matters. Men
who are representing great trusts in the
Senate whether they he the Express
Company trusts, railroad trusts. coal
trusts or any other monopoly should be
cateclised by tke people and be made to
declare themselves. Ii railway rate
legislation is to be effected in this or any
other Congress it can only be by the
people forcing the Senators to represent
the states Alright and not according to the
dictates of the companies for whom they
act as agents in the Senate.
~
1t is announced by those high in
authority that Herbert w. Bowen, the
Minister at Caracas, Venezuela
and who is said to have been responsible
for some Of the recent trouble with that
country will be removed. President
Cipriano Castro, the Venezuelan presi-
dent and Mr.. Bowen have been enemies
for some time and the i'll feeling between
them, it is alleged has prevented an un-
between this Government
and that of Venezuela. The Special
Envoy of Venezuela has
reached Washington and il is thought
likely that he has intimated that the re-
moval of Minister Bowen would be very
to President Castro. The
reply to our demand for
arbitration on the Asphalt question has
not yet reached this city but it has been
by Mr.. Bowen as imperti- |
nent and insulting and if this is found to
be the case a change in our diplomatic |
there would be regarded |
as concession to Castro that the govern
ment would be disincined to make. On
the other hand ii Mr.. Bowen should not
be removed it is probable that Presi-
dent Castro will formally notify the Gov
ernment here that Mr.. Bowen is persona
non grata and his recall would be imper-
ative. Mr.. Irving B. Dudley of Califor-
MIA now Minister to Peru is mentioned as
Mr.. Bowen's probable successor.