Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-10
MESSAGE WILL
PREVENT RESULTS
REPRESENTATIVE GILLESPIE
SPEAKS STRONGLY
Believes Presidents Suggestion Event.
ualIy Win Keep Guilty Parties
From Speedily Being Brought
to Justice
BY Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, March "a resolu-
tion and a bill designed to cure the
defects President Roosevelt pointed out
in the Tillman resolution for the invest
igation by the Interstate commerce
commission of railroad discrimination
and monopolies, were introduced today
in the house. :.
The resolution was introduced by
Representative Townsend of Michigan
and the bill by Representative Gillespie
of. Texas. Mr.. Townsend's resolution
provides an appropriation of $4,000 to
carry on the investigation and the Gill
lespie bill makes an appropriation of
100000 for the same purpose.
The Townsend resolution provides
that the interstate commerce commits
sion shall have under the Tillman-
Gillespie resolution all the powers to
subpoena witnesses, to compel them to
testify and to produce documentary
evidence which it enjoys under the
interstate commerce act. 1t also pro-
vides that witnesses shall enjoy the
same rights and immunities in this in
vestigation as they enjoy under the
interstate commerce act. Similar pro-
visions are made in the Gillespie bill.
Under the Gillespie bill the interstate
commerce commission is permitted to
avoid the duplication of the investiga-
tions by the adoption of findings of
any other department of the govern
ment which have investigated any par
ticular matter coming under the scope
of the inquiry.
In explanation of this bill, and in
reply to objections offered by the presi-
dent to the Tillman resolution, Mr..
Gillespie said today:
& Gillespie Takes the Floor
II am glad the president signed the
resolution and that the same has be-
come law, although in doing so he
sent message to congress that will,
l fear, defeat the quick results that
otherwise might have been reached by
the commission in the investigation
which the resolution provides.
His message conveys to the guilty
parties a doubt as to it's power to
compel the production of books and
papers. OF course they will take ad-
vantage of this doubt and urge it
against every step the commission may
take"
OF the presidents objection that if
the investigation were carried on to
the full extent of its provisions it i
might cause immunity from punishment
to those guilty of the unlawful con-
spiracy, Mr.. Gillespie said:
Il must say that 1 do not think
any of these high criminals are trem-
bling in their boots from fear of i'm
prisonment as things are now and If
all of them should escape imprison-
ment by rushing to the commission and
unbosoming themselves we would see
just as many frenzied f1nanciers in
jail as If no investigation had been
held.
Beside we ought to give the COM |
mission the benefit of the doubt on |
the question that they, as officials of
the government, are interested in the
enforcement of the criminal laws, and |
that they would not willingly take any
step that would turn a criminal loose
without such step was necessary to get
the truth. The truth, the whole truth
an dnothing but the truth is what
congress, and the country demands of
this investigation"