The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1905-05-17
New Orleans States.

tho effect that President Roosevelt
had ~rctreated from his position on
the question of government regulation
of railway rates were completely ex-
ploded by the speech he delivered in
Denver last Monday evening. 1t was
given out at Washington two or three
days ago that the Senate committee
on interstate commerce, which has
been giving hearings to the represen-
t~atives of the railways and CONNER
cial interests, had agreed with the
railroads to report "a bill which,
instead of decreasing, would curtail
the powers of the Interstate Com
MERGE Commission. A number of
commercial organization have tele-
graphed to Washington that if such
a report has been agreed upon by the
committee it will be useless for the
representatives of business interests
to appear before the body, as such a
bill is directly opposed to their views
and interests.
1t is we'll to say that at no time has
there been any hope that the Senate
committee would report bill calcu-
lated to give relief from railway dis
ordinations and abuses, because the
majority of the committee are known
as railroad Senator'S" who could
be relied upon not to bring in any
bill that the railroads did not ap-
prove. There is no reason to doubt
that this committee of railway servi-
tors has decided to report a so-called
compromise measure. but it is quite
evident that the President will not be
a party to the compromise, and that
no bill will have his approval Or
support that does not enlarge the
powers of the Interstate Commerce
Commission and provide for such
Federal regulation of the railways as
may be necessary to correct abuses
and prevent violations of Federal
statutes. This is a fact which is
made quite clear by the President
himself, who in his Denver speech.
said:
II want to say a word as to a
governmental policy in which l feel
that this whole country ought to take
. great interest, and which in itself is
but q part of q general policy into
which l think u government must
go. l spoke of the policy of extend
Ing the powers Of the Interstate Com
merce Commission and of giving them
particularly the power to fix rates
and to have the rates that they fix 90
into effect practically 1T once. AS 1
say that this represents, in my mind,
part of what should be the general
policy Of this country, the policy of
giving not to the State, but to the
National government an increased
supervisory and regulatory power
over corporations"
The language used by the President
is quite plain and it is ali that is
needed to refute the statements that
the opposition mustered by the rail.
roads had forced him to back down.
That he is - firm as ever in his
determination to adhere to and carry
through his policy as outlined in his
message to Congress is made clear
enough when he says. ''in my judg-
ment it is absolutely necessary that
the nation. for the State cannot
possibly do it, should assume q
supervisory and regulatory function
over the great corporations which
practically control the highways OF
and he took occasion to
add: II wish to urge with all the
| possess, not only on
the public but upon those interests in
the great railway corporations, the
absolute need Of acquiescence in the
enactment of such . law"
This means that the President in
tends to fight for the railway legisla-
ton which he believes the country
and its welfare requires, and
that his course will ia no wise be
influenced by the character Of the bill
that may be reported by the Elkins
committee. Il ID. quite prob
able the President has carefully
studied the situation, and is deter
mined to follow the lines Of his policy
whether or not the result IL . serious
clash between himself and the Senate.
There r much reason 70 behave that