The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-23
MAY AMEND THE
HEPBURN BILL
President, It Is Announced, Will Not
Interfere With the Function
Of Congress.
AMENDMENT CONSIDERED
MEETING AT WHITE HOUSE IS
HELD.

Washington, Feb. 21.-When the sem
ate committee on interstate commerce
meets on Friday to vote on a rate bill
the announcement will be made au-
thoritatively that President Roosevelt
will not attempt to prevent amend
ment of the Hepburn bill; that he will
leave the committee free to exercise
its best judgment and if possible COM
promise its differences; that If a bill
Is reported which does not meet his
approval and in that form is passed
by congress he will content
himself to exercise his veto
power. This announcement will be
made as the result of a conference
here today between the most active
persons supporting the house bill with
out amendment but will be delivered
to the committee by a senator who has
supported an amendment providing for
judicial review of an order of the inter-
state commerce commission.
Knox's Amendment Considered.
The conference at the White House is
one of many that have been held there
in the last week for discussion Of the
railroad rate question 1t was at
tended by Senators Dolliver and Clapp,
Speaker Cannon, Representative Hep
They had under consideration an
amendment said to have been drafted
by Senator Knox and revised by the
attorney general The draft in its re-
viSed form, however. is said not to be
satisfactory to it's author. 1t was offer
ed in a spirit of compromise and the
President and attorney general want
ed to know whether it would be &C
ceptable to the members of congress
t-n 11yir1 iThT n
the adoption Of any amendment which
they believe would interfere with the
operation of the measure they purpose
to enact into law.
Briefly stated, the amendment aims
to give to any complainant authority
to file a petition in a circuit court as
seTting that a rate fixed by the COM
mission was in fact illegal or that an
order of the commission was in realty
unlawful. and authorizes the court to
hear the suit to decide whether the
commission acted within its authority
end whether the constitutional rights
of the plaintiff had been violated.
All Stand for Hepburn Bill.
As they had previously announced
they would do, all those called into the
conference made a firm stand for the
Hepburn bill in its present form and
said that none of the amendments
suggested seemed to be an improve
ment. They said that if the bill speci-
fed the conditions under which. COM
plants could be taken into court, the
court might refuse to take cogIiiZance
of matters not specified in the bill.
They said they preferred to leave
open every feature under which an
aggrieved person might desire to go
into court Attorney General Moody,
it is said, contended that the Hepburn
bill is constitutional and there is no
danger of it's being overturned by the
United States supreme court. He
would not pass upon the wisdom of
amending the bill, taking the posi-
ton that that is a function outside of
his official province
After Senators DolIiver and Clapp
returned to the capitol they told GER
tain colleagues that they would go into
the committee on Friday and make a
firm stand to have the bill reported
without amendment When asked con-
corning the attitude of the president,
they said that they believed he is sat
isfied with the bill as it stands, but
that it is too much to say that he is
opposed to any amendments whatever.
President RooseveIt's Position.
The president was described by them
as ready to consider any amendments
that might, be offered and willing to
listen to any proposition up to the time
the bill is placed on its final passage.
They said that if anything should be
brought forward which in the opinions
of friends Of the bill would better it
and not obstruct its operation, the
president would give it careful study.
Conservative members of the COM
mittee assert that they have the neces-
sary votes to amend the Hepburn bill
if they are left free to exercise their
individual judgment so that they will
not be put in the position of opposing
the presidents policy. Under these con-
ditiOns, it is said, that Senators Elkins,
Foraker, Crane, Kean, Aldrich, Car