New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-08
-
IF Evans Ale
Does SO much
Good for others
Why delay?
Clubs, Hotels. Restaurants. Saloons
and Dealers Everywhere.
RATE DEBATE CLOSED.
AMENDMENTS KILLED.
House VIII vote To-day-Passage
of Hepburn Bill Assured.
Crrom The Trihune Rureau.l

CFrom The Tribune Bureau.b
Washington. Feb. THE Railroad Rate bill
In the House weathered all storms to-day, and
without amendment or modification the meas
IRE, as unanimously reported from the Com
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
as placed on its third and final reading at
p. m. Just the clerk was about to begin the
rollca1l on the passage of the bill Mr.. Hep
burn, on account of the lateness of the hour.
moved an adjournment. and the final vote viii
be the first business tomorrow.
To all intents and purposes the bill was passed
to-day. An overwhelming victory was won by
the managers in defeating all amendments of
which no less than fifty were offered. The effort
to get these amendments considered furnished
the only lively feature in connection with the
reading of the BILL the passage of which has
been a foregone conclusion since the Republi-
cans and Democrats adopted It unanimously IN
committee The time for amendment came at
o'clock. and for three hours following one
amendment after another came up was read,
debated IN some instances. and went down to
defeat. SO fierce the struggle to amend
that often when a paragraph of the bill had
been read dozen members waved their amend
ments and shouted for recognition Not one OF
them was adopted. They contained all manner
OF propositions. such regulating preferentials,
the long and short haul, free passes. court pro-
cedure, whole rate bills and parts of bills All
went by the board.
Previous to this exciting procedure the House
had been entertained for five hours by the
oratory Of its best speakers. Mr.. Cochran of
New-York, gave his approval to the measure
In an elaborate speech. Mr.. Mann. OF Illinois
followed and the minority leader, Mr. Williams
expounded the measure and congratulated
everybody on its success. Chairman Hepburn
closed the debate in a comprehensive speech,
the terms of the bill.
Mr. Cochran said that, while he did not con-
slider the bill panacea, for all evils, it was
most wholesome manifestation of unanimous
public determination to deal with real evils 1t
was the only means by which public ownership
could be stopped and checked the most plausible
argument of the socialist. He declared that rep
resentatives of wealth ignored the courts and
dominated State administrations The court
which had dropped the proceedings against H.
II. Rogers had the next day issued vigorous
Injunction against striking printers. He re-
viewed the Northern Securities decision, which.
he said, declared those responsible for that COM
bination criminals and conspiratOrs Hartman
and Morgan. he added, quarelled the con-
troll of several railways in the Northwest. which
threatened 10 interfere with their plumber
The President directed action against them.
The court declared d conspiracy What was
the result he asked. 1t was to reduce the
control of these properties from two to one.
When they came to distribute the stocks Harri-
man had been eliminated, Morgan was supreme
a more perfect conspiracy perfected through
the decision Of the court itself. And the stock
which was selling at 800 to $102 when the de-
CisiOn was pending sold for $3.50 after it was
announced thus enrichiug the COnSpirators who
walked out of court just S24O000000 richer for
having been convicted" He spoke of Mr.. Rookie
Teller as lat once the richest and most despised
OF our whole population"
The most effective feature of the bill he main
tanned. the popular disposition back of it;
the next its publicity feature.
Mr.. Mann said he would explain why the bill
contained nothing relating to passenger and
sleeping rates.
1--WE have BILL" he said which will pass this
and the other body. We did not want to array
Southern Senators against the bill. and open up
whites and blacks in the South"
Mr.. Williams presented a host of congratua-
tons on the rate bill. He took up i'll turn in
his Fluctuations the Democratic members of the
committee reporting the bill, the whole COM
party, the President and the country. He sum-
| married. the bill and all that had been done by
| Congress- and went over the ground that had
been debated at length in the last ten days.
| He closed with an expression of the hope that
/ the House would remain in session until the be-
| ginning of the next session before it would
| yield TO amendment which might be put on
| in the Senate, the effect Of which might be to
| weaken the bill.
Mr.. Hepburn took up in turn the points made
| in opposition to the bill and disposed of them.
First he deprecated the effort to claim political
| that even if the Republican party had been
| somewhat remiss i'll making platform declara-
| lions, it had enacted all law far on the sub
| Ject Turning his attention TO the remarks of
Mr.. Cochran, he rebuked what he termed an
effort to detract from the dignity of the courts
| Regarding the construction of words which
| had been made point of opposition Mr. Hep
burn declared the utter futility of getting leg
| isative unanimity on that point. He asserted
! twenty word sentence that would not be capable
| of two constructions. He closed with an ex-
| preston of hope that the bill would be sent to
| the Senate without amendment
| -~