Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-31

AS the time approaches for the con.
venlng of the Fifty-ninth congress In
terest In the probable lineup on the
railroad rate question, and the prob
able recommendations of the President
TO congress on this subject increases.
Just what will be the joint program
OF the senate and house, or whether
there Will be no understanding. can
rot be forecasted at this time. ais there
has thus far been no conference or
agreement touching that phase Of the
matter. There are two stories cur
rent as to the mode of action. First.
that the house will Immediately, upon
organization, take UP the railroad rate
questions and frame bill and rush
IT through under whip and spur. 1t is
pointed out that Immediately follow.
ing the wftirlwind tour OF the Presi-
dent, IN which he Is reiterating His
purpose to recommend legislation to
control the railways, it is believed q
large majority of both parties In the
house can be depended upon to favor
almost any kind of railroad bill. no
matter how drastic 1t may be. In
fact, there are indications in abund-
ance that the house, with unusual un-
animity will fall over itself to put
through a bill embodying all that the
most ardent advocate of railroad con-
troll could possibly desire. This bill
will use the Esch-Townsends measure
as frame work or skeleton and build
on here and there. additions, and then
pad the whole out so as to leave no
ioop-holes. This bill will be framed
in the committee of which Colonel w.
T. Hepburn Of Clarinda, Iowa, is the
chairman. There will be a good deal
OF internal opposition to this bill In
the house, but this feeling will not be
apparent on the surface. The meas
ure will go kiting through--in four or
five days after it is taken up; prob.
ably much quicker; in fact it Is not
likely there will be prolonged debate
in the house. Then having brought
forth great creation the house will
rest from It's labors for time. the
bill having in the meantime taken q
journey to the other end of the build
ing, where it will be placed without q
great deal Of unnecessary ceremony.
In the file in the senate committee on
interstate commerce, Of which Sena-
tor Dolliver of Iowa is member. IL
this shall be the house program; and
it is reasonably certain that 1t will be,
then 1t Is perfectly safe to say that
the house bill having reached the SEN
ate committee, will not be disturbed,
officially for some time
VIII EIklns Have a Bill.
The other story is to the effect that
Senator Elkins and his committee. will
take up the matter November 81,
when the committee meets to consid-
er the testimony given before that
Gody last April, and undertake to
frame bill at once.
The Two Houses.
The senate has this advantage Of
the house, 1t is continuous body
and always ready to do business on a
moments notice-while the house.
which now does not exist, In fact, must
be organized, speaker and officers
elected, committees appointed, and
the machinery started in motion.
While 1t is hardly an expected develop
ment, it is intimated that the senate
committee will have bill ready to
report. in fact there may be majority
and minority bills to report at the
| first day of the session, and that this
bin will be given immediate considera-
tion and passed, passing on to the
house.
| II such an extraordinary thing as
this should be done the house would
naturally give some attention to the
senate bill. rather than plunge into the
framing of distinctly house bill. This
would not mean, of course, that the
senate bill would be reported out OF
Col Hepburn's committee On the con.
trary after the process Of dissection
had been completed in the house com.
mittee there would not be many IA
miliar features of the senate bill left.
practically ignore the senate bill and