The San Francisco call., 1906-05-26
RAILROAD BILL
sT|Rs UP ROW
Measure Sent to Con-
ference After Angry
Debate.
Twenty-Five Republican
Congressrnen Dis
satisfied.

OANs &'IAs 80. AAAS ~e-SS SA->
was sent to conference today-ayes la,
noes los, absent IA. Twenty-Five Repub-
licans voted with the Democrats against
the rule sending the bill to conference.
The previous question having been or
dered on the rule-ayes 152, noes SO, alb
sent 15-Dalzell (Pa.) explained that the
resolution was simply for the purpose OF
sending the railroad bill to conference.
Norris (Neb) wanted to know If the
House would have chance to vote on
separate amendments.
Dalzell replied that the rule was only
intended to facilitate business and that
there would be ample opportunity to dis
cuss the conference report.
Up to this time it seemed as if the rule
was to be agreed upon without any great
amount of debate. But clap Of thunder
came from an unexpected quarter. Cooper
,,.ls) wanted to know what objection
there was to the House passing on the
amendment now. He said:
LET us vote on the express company
amendment applause on both sides).
Dalzell replied that the. House could
easily concur in the conference report and
instruct the conferees as to the wishes of
the House Then Cooper. in an impress
sve manner, said that he had been in
formed by gentleman in whose integrity
he had the fullest confidence that some
gentlemen-he would not say whether they
were members of the House or Senate,
but they were entitled to be conferees on
the bill-had agreed that the express COM
pany amendment should go out of the
bill. tze
Hepburn 0owa) jumped to his feet, ex-
claiming that he did not take any stock
in what one member said to another on
matters of this kind.
will you state the names of the per-
sons who have thus declared them
selves?" called out Hepburn.
Cooper-Oh. 1 don't want to offend, es-
pecially the gentleman lrom Iowa.
Hepburn-Oh, you can't offend me by
answering that question.
Cooper will say this, that they were
two gentlemen in whose word have con-
fidence.
Hepburn QoudIy)-Name them. name
themi
Cooper am not going to name men
who come to me and tell me matters in
confidence. The gentleman from Iowa
places me in an embarrassing position,
5ut since he asks me will say that he is
said to have remarked in conversation:
'Oh, the express company amendment
will go out
Hepburn, greatly wrought up and ex-
ceedingly nervous, replied: Any man
who told the gentleman that tshaking his
fist at .Cooper) told a falsehood, and until
the gentleman from Wisconsin names the
individual who made this statement to
him 1 shall hold that the gentleman is
drawing upon his Imagination"
Williams-I call the gentleman from
Iowa to order for his language.
Hepburn-I withdraw the language
which is offensive to the gentleman from
Mississippi.
Wiilams-It was not offensive to me. 1t
was offensive to the House and contrary
to the rules.
Intense excitement prevailed during this
exchange of words, members crowding
the aisles and filing the space in front of
the Speakers desk. The Speaker pounded
for order. but to. no purpose. When he
could be heard above the uproar, Cooper
said that he was not the only gentleman
to whom similar statements were made.
There are other members of the House
to whom they have been made and there
is no purpose, no object, on my part to
deliberately misrepresent that statement. -
Hepburn-Why don't you say who it
was told you that?
Cooper responded by saying that he
could not understand why the gentleman
asked the question unless he had heard
the rumor going around.
You placed me in an embarrassing po-
sition and had to tell you what was said
to me. And / told you the truth. and that
is the first time that any man on earth
has accused me of telling a falsehood.
The statement was made in confidence
and concerning the gentleman from Iowa,
and / therefore cannot give the name"
This closed the colloquy.
Williams and De Almond of Missouri
both antagonized the rule. Williams in
sisted that if the amendments were sent
to the conference in gross the House
would be at the mercy of the cunferees
and he desired to have vote on some of
the amendments. He admitted that the
bill had come back from the Senate to
the House in better shape than when 1t
left and intended to safeguard the meas
ure, but he wanted a chance to instruct
the conferees on some of the amendments.
He referred particularly to the express
company amendment and insisted that
the House should have chance to go on
record on those amendments. De Armond
followed in much the same strain
Hepburn rose to explain his position and
said he stood with Williams, the minority
leader, in presenting solid front to the
Senate, and that it was understood be-
tween the leaders of the two sides of the
House that there should be a non-concur-
renee in gross.
The rule was then adopted ayes IA,
noes 105. Speaker Cannon appointed as
conferees Hepburn of Iowa, Sherman of
New York and Richardson of Alabama.
The twenty-five Republicans who voted
with the Democrats against the rule send
ing the rate bill to conferences were
Adams, Ames. Bede, Brdsall, Brown.
Burton, Campbell, Cooper, Darrah. Ellis,
Fulkerson,. Haughen, Hogg Hubbard,
Kennedy, Mccarthy, McCreary, Murdoch,
Murphy, Norris, Prince. Scott, Steener-
son, .Wolstead. Woodward