The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-30
ROOSEVELT WAITS
BEST RATE BILL III
Presidents Stamp Of Approval
j Not Yet on Any One
p .'s=;5is~ Measure
EVIDENCES POINTS TO .<,
VICTORY IN CONGRESS
Rumors Have Preliminary Poll Of
Senate Against the Rail
roads.
By w. w. Jermane.

BY w. w. Jermane.
Washington, Nov. 3o:-Presldent esl, nj.
statements made repeatedly IN the
press ard elsewhere, that he is sup.
porting some one rate bill to the ex-
clusion of others which seek to- carry
out his policy. He wants it known
that he is not standing for any partlc-
ular bill but for certain fixed prlncl-
pie. He will be in sympathy with any
man. in either house of congress or out
of it, who proposes honestly to try to
frame a measure embodying his plan,
but will refrain at this time from say
ing to any, one of these men TT that tn ms
especial bill is the administration meas
ure.
Rate Bills Promised.
Several members of the house have
announced shat they will draft rate
bills in conformity with$the president @ s
Townsend and Hepburn. In addition
to these the int erstate commerce com
mission, in response to all invitation
extended it by the senate committee
last spring, has prepared bill;
Messrs. Eseh, Townsend IS ana o,it Hep, 6 p
commerce commission have all been to
see the president within a week and
have outlined to him their plans. To
all of these men the president has sald
kind words He wants their support
and the support pf all the members mem shsuId 91
be radical legislation. -,
AS a good politician and leader the
president could not afford to pick one
of these men out from all the others
and say in advance of the meeting OF
congress that that mans bill was the
administration bill. -
Course of the Bills.
All these bills will be introduced in
the house without special dispensatlon
and they will go in a body to the house M
eommittes Of which IN mr. neRonrn n Is 'he he
threshed5 out and a bill whipped into
shape which win in the simplest man
ner enlbody the presidents plan plan
Whether that bill will be the Esch-
Townsend bill, the Hepburn bill, or
the bly, by yydhodv the
onitea{possible that the committee may
discard all these bills and present one
Of it's own: -
The bill presented to the house fol
action will be the adr1fn1s atfon bill
provided it really seeks to carry, out
The presidents plan, and it will be
passed in that body and sent to the
senate.
Headway Toward Reform. -
There is a strong feeling in Wash
ineton, as members of the two houses
arrive for the session, that the pres!
dent has made marked headway will
his rate policy and that the senate viii
be compelled to consent to 1t: I'M
talk. for the most part, is confined t.
the president s friends, but the anS
ious attitude of Ger tain pro-rallr%oa %
members of the senate suggests ina
there is a feeling in railway circle
that the fight is not going as strong o
as surely their way as 1t was nope
would be the case.
This Washington feeling may or ma
not be Indicative of something impo1
tant. It exists, however, and is GU
ting some figure in the crystallizatlo
of public opinion on the final outcome
One Washington newspaper has take
the position within day or two, In II
editorial and news columns, that tn
president is certain to win, but col
servatives think it too early to spea
definitely. They admit that this pr
liminary skirmsh has been to the pres
dents advantages; but this does n p,
necessarily mean, they insist, that tt
general engagement, to come later o
will also be to his advantage.
Presidents Friends Hopeful.
Meanwhile, the president 8 backe:
say that the case looks much bette
than they thought it would. Mar
conservative men, having in mind tt
Gf that
oppose the president, are now begl
ming to concede the possibility that
majority of the senate will be for tt
administration bill, and if count
noses in that body later on shows; tn
to be the case, it will be out of tt
question for the minority to prevent
bill from coming to vote. They ma
delay the vote, but they cannot pl
vent it.
This count of, noses in the sena
will be made very early in the sessi
and upon it will depend the charact
of the fight that will be made, If t
count shows, the railways to be IN
crowd will assume the aggressive a
insist upon vote at an early day, t
president s friends meanwhile fghtl
for delay, in the hope of making &C
verts from the other side:
But if the count should show t
president to have majority, then
friends will assume the aggressive, a
the Elkins and Foraker crowd v
fight for delay, in the hope of dol
successful missionary work.. ...
Poll of the Senate.
It is reported, among house rep
licans who are standing with the pre-
dent that a preliminary poll has
ready been made of the senate by m
and telegraph under the direction
Senators Elkins and Aldrich, and tt
it shows a good majority in favor
the Roosevelt plan. This report, he
ever, cannot be verified.
1t is known that the president
lieves he will get his bill. He has
this way for many months. The ]
session of congress he remarked to
of his friends last spring, was S
sion for debate; the session D0w alb
n to begin would be a session for acti
III He is no more confident now than
" has been for a year past, and so
! attitude is not especially significant
! throwing light upon the probable c
-