Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1905-11-20

Uncle Joe Gets Newspaper
Ovation at White House.
LEADERS CONCLUDEC COMPROMISE
MEASURE TO BE INEVITABLE
NewIands Plan to Restrict Railway
Earnings to Az Per Cent Is Step
Toward Government Ownership.
'orrespondence Morntng Iournal.

Correspondence Morning Journal.
Washington, ID. c., Nov. 19.--"Un-
Gle Joe Cannon returned 40 town
this week and brought with him the
assurance that there Will be rate leg
lslation % some sort at the coming
session Of congress. The next speak
en- of the house met a big crowd of
newspaper men at the White House
and had fun with them in the lobby
Tor while as he was waiting to go In
and see the president. After assuring
them that he did not know anything
alhoS& anything. that ne had never
heard of a tariff schedule and that he
he did not know what rate legislation
meant he took some Of them into
what he calls his confidence and DID,
mltted that rate bill of some sort
will be among the measures that will
go through the house at the coming
session
Enormous Pressure.
The pressure that has been brought
TO bear to defeat any legislation of this
sort Is enormous. The president has
made up his mind and announced II In
public addresses that there was GO
Ing TO be rate legislation of some sort.
VI has become a sort of shibboleth
with the people, with many in fact
who have never shipped a pound of
freight in their lives. and the leaders
of the house and senate have about
concluded that they had better pass
compromise measure Of some sort.
lest worse thing befall them. The
worse thing would be TO have the rate
measure get into the hands of a
house and senate favorable to that
|.fsst s.F rtt.1rn 81
Jmeasure that they could not combat
aaeed upon the ROADS.
y Railroad Lobby Busy.
The railroad lobby has been work.
ing hard for months past to arrange
all possible interests against rate tim
kerlng. When the American Bank
ers' association was here month ago
the railway people got very busy con-
vertlng them 10 the railroads way OF
thinking. With the bankers the lob
by did not have much trouble but at
The recent convention of hardware
men who do a great deal of shipping
and have a personal interest in that
sort Of legislation. they had harder
dime The best they could do was to
keep the conventions, there were two
Of them at the same-time, from MAX
ing any specific recommendation. and
Hdiuiik AHFAi hbNtA ~ n HNHtiai tH~
dorsement of the presidents position.
There was q hot fight on the floor OF
both conventions before the resolution
was passed. Many of the members
who had been won over were against
having rate matters mentioned at all.
The latest Attack.
The latest attack that the lobby
made, through third parties of course.
was TO have a delegation from the
three biggest railroad organizations
of the country call on the president
this week and urge him to leave the
rate matter alone. They were the
railway conductors. the railway train
men and the switchmen. The argu-
ment was that lower rates would
mean lower wages, and that view OF
the case they wereNagainst any at
tempt at rate legislation. IL was OF
course selfish view OF the matter.
hut rather a natural one under the
circumstances. Doubtless the sItua-
lion had been put before them pretty
strongly by the railway officials be-
fore they came.
These are only some Of the lines
along which the lobby has worked.
krhe result of the agreement of the
house that rate bill had better be
passed. will IN all probability be that
a compromise measure will be passed
and that will not be either what the
shipper or the administration would
have wanted, while the railways un-
doubtedly will find some legal way OF
getting around IL Just as they have all
previous attempts to pin them down TO
equitable rates aud to prevent the giv4
ing OF rebates and other forms of un-
lust discrimination. There are In all
conscience enough laws on the statute
books now To effectively regulate rates
III the railways were at all inclined -
regard them. Whatever Is passed In
the way Of a compromise measure
probably viii only lead to further fog
Cling OF the atmosphere and make
some more legal points for the law.
yers to quibhle over. No amendment
of the existing laws Is likely to do
much to relieve the situation and II
may after all COME 20 some radical
measure like the Newlands plan.
The NewIands Plan.
Possibly good many people have
never beard Of the NewIands plan. II
Is one of @he radical measures that the
railroads distinctly fear but II has
been carefully worked out by a good
business man. and more may be heard
from II IN the future. II Is the con-
clnslon OF Senator Newlands Of Neva-
da who has given a great deal Of study
10 the rate problem. Hricny stated Z
IL 20 remove all restrictions from the
railroads b the way of combinations.
consolidation and the like and to force
them (nstead as they have prayed for
Years to hermit fhem1 TO pool eanl-
inng. Then, fand that IL where tna
,rt.e pins has 10 restrict the earnings
10 maximum Of ~ per cent, which
Is more than the most roads pay now-
adays.
Not Government Ownership.
The plan would not Involve gov.
ernment ownership. though Il would
be a move IN that direction. II would
eliminate competition and 70 that ex-