The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-02-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Roosevelt will Succeed in Forcing
Railroad Rate Law.

nS nepuDtICdNS are HIrdlG 10 BOW 10
Orders of Lobby and Democrats Will
Support Bill to Regulate
Railroads.
3 Washington Feb. 6.-Despite the
opposition Of the entire Pennsylvania
delegation, excepting of course, the
Democratic members, and of some
twenty other Representatives, the Re-
publicans Of the House have deter
mined to pass the Townsend-Esch rail-
way rate bill at the present session of
Congress and it is probable that the
measure will be set to the Senate the
latter part of next week; but it is
almost certain that no action will fol-
low in tie upper chamber. Demo
cratic members of the House will vote
for the minority substitute, which is
a modification of the Davey bill, but
as that will be defeated they may vote
for the Townsend -Esch bill as the
best railway legislation that can be
obtained. The determination Of the
Republicans to vote for a railway
rate bill at all this session is recogniz-
ed as triumph for the President and
also for Representative Williams
whose sarcasm the Republicans fear
and who, it was known, would have
delivered broadside which would
have made interesting reading in the
respective districts of the Republican
members had they listened to the
railroad lobby and determined to DO
nothing toward carrying into effect
the Presidents recommendations at
this session of Congress.
It is probable that there would be
some railway rate legislation in the
Senate at this session were it not for
the Swayne impeachment case, which
renders the consideration of a compli-
Gated measure almost a physical inn
possibility, although it is equllay
likely that before the bill passed the
Senate it would have been SO altered
as to make it entirely inadequate to
correct existing evils, even those at
which it is aimed. The fact that the
Townsend -Esch bill fails even to at
tempt the connection Of some Of the
gravest evils is a source of disappoint.
ment to the President and to the
Democrats in both houses Of Congress
and there are many who believe that
more comprehensive measure can be
enacted at the special session which
the President proposes to call. The
President has decided not t. attempt
to force the Senate to act at this ses-:
sion and his present plan is to call a
special session to revise the tariff and
enact proper railway legislation about
October. Some earnest members Of
Congress are, however, urging him
to take the tide Of sentiment in favor
of extending federal control of the
railways a. its flood and call special
session to meet this Spring and while
they have not yet covinced him of
the course he has taken the matter
under consideration. If the Senate
we're, like the House, elected by. di
rect vote of the people, there is little
doubt that senators would feel the
necessity of a special session in the
spring to meet the demand for this
character Of enactment, but under the
existing circumstances senators are
decidedly independents and they insist
meet this spring they will adjourn
without action.
It is constant occasion of regret to
sincere Democrats to see some of their
number stnltifying themselves by
voting for absolutely un-Democratic
bills, as they did this week when the
proposition to pay a special subsidy to
the Southern Railway of s142, ,728 was
under consideration. It is claimed
that,it, is necessity to pay this sum to
the Southern Railway in order to OBJ
tain quick mail service to the south,
but the claim is specious one and
those in position to know the inside
facts declare that the Southern Rail
way would never take off its fast
train, even were it to receive no sub
sidy from the government. 1t is not,
howeve, entirely tie fault OF members
of Congress that t5ey vote for such
measures, but it is due, rather, to
their home newspapers which too
often insist on such care Of the rail
roads and which would defeat the
representative who dared to vote
against "the best home mail service"
A large majoriy of Republicans and
Democrats voted this handsome pres
ent to the Southern Railay and there
is little likelihood Of its being cut of
in the Senate.
The fallacy of the protective argu-
meut was never more strikingly illus
trated than it has been this winter in
connection with the tariff on wheat.
For years the farmers have been told
that they were protected by the duty
of 25 Gems a bushel on wheat, although
the price has been fixed by the Liver
pool market and the duty has never
afforded the farmer a cent of increas-
ed profit. This year, however, a
shortage of hard wheat in the North
west put up the price until the Amer
lean farmers were receiving 20 cents
more bushel than their brothers just
over the Canadian border. Of course
the millers did not want to pay the
extra price so they appealed to the