Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-04-05

he was warranted in taking to him.
self more than he actually expend-
ed under the terms of this statute"
(Applause.)
A few minutes later Mr.. Sullivan
voted to pay himself for trip to
Boston, made in his arm chair in
the House, between noon of one
day and the same noon of the same
day. With him were Mr.. Crum-
packer, of Indian, the watchdog of
pure government for the South;
Davey, of Louisiana, the alleged
author of the bill reported by the
Democratic caucus for the proven
ton of eXtortion 10y railways:
GrOsvenor. of Ohio, whose record
speaks for itself; Lorimer, the Re-
publican corporation boss of Chi
cago; Overstreet, the chairman of
the great Post Office Committee,
and over eighty more, besides
twenty-five others who helped the
Job along by making quorum and
answering Present without
having the courage to vote with
the raiders, Included among the
grabbers or the dodgers were the
chairmen of some of the most i'm
portant committees of the House.
OF these grabbers and dodgers,
there were siXty-three Republicans,
forty-eight Democrats, and two
Union Labor. OF the Republicans,
eight of them retired with the end
of the Fifty -eighth Congress, forty
four of them will be in the next
House, and ten of them lodged.
OF the Democrats, twenty-five of
them retired at the expiration of
the last Congress, fifteen will be in
the next House. and fifteen of
them lodged. The two Union
Labor men also got out of Con
gresS with the wind-up of the last
session.
That is the record of rapacity
set 10y the last Congress, or. rather.
the last House, for the Senate cut
out the appropriation, and, the
House having heard from the
country, meekly submitted. The
argument advanced by those who
still clung to their loot was that
the members were entitled TO It as
additional compensation for their
services. Lacking the courage to
raise their salaries openly. they
tried to exc them out by petty
Subterfuges - travelling expenses
without travel, communication for
stationery never used, and allow
ances for the hire of clerks never
employed. They failed to realize
that shabby tricks of this sort
would be infinitely more revolving
to public sentiment than a frank
proposal to increase congressional
salaries on the ground that the
laborer was worthy of his hire.
What do the people tAink of itl
If this Administration were real
~ in dead earnest about regulating
railroad rates and wanting to place
the power of fixing rates in the
hands of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, why in the name of
common sense did he refuse to re-
appoint the only practical railroad
man who has ever been on the
Commission, the Hon. j. d. Yeo-
mans, in order to find place for
former Senator Cockren, who
knows about as much about rail
road rates as | do about navigating
IA ship. There is not a man on the
Commission who would know a
railroad rate if he met it in the
road, and it is rather ticklish bust
ness, this thing of placing in the
hands of ignorant men the only
thing of value to a railroad-its
rate of transportation. No matter
how honest they might be, they
could do incalculable harm, through
ignorance, to the millions of dollars
of vested rights of the roads. Both
parties have got this thing of rail-
road rates mixed up with railroad
rebates. 1t is not the rates that
hurt the shippers of this country
so much as it is the rebates given
to some of them, although Chair
man Knapp, of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, has said
that the payment of rebates is
now as rare as forgery or highway
robbery" No matter how rare If
Is, that is the thing to stop, as
Chairman Knapp has also said that
the existing law is ample to correct
any other troubles complained of |
If the President would enforce it