Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-03-29
NOTES FROM WASHINGTON
Washington. March od.

question for a short time with the
president a few days ago. Afterward
he gave out an interview In
which he predicted that the rate bin
would reach vote In the senate
within two weeks. He indicated that
he was constantly becoming more en-
couraged over the prospects of pass
ing the bill unamended as 1t came
from the house.
One of the influences at work tor
the amended bill without provision
for court review is the gecent decision
of Judge Humphrey In the packers
case. This decision does not tend to
increase the enthusiasm among the
members of congress who want genu.
inc rate legislation for any provision
in the bill that will permit the courts
to go in full into the question of the
business and reasonableness of rates.
The house committee on interstate
commerce has practically reached an
understanding as to the twenty-eight
hour law regarding the shipment of
stock. The bill will be framed TO
leave the twenty-eight hour provision
in force as now, with the exception
that on proper showing to the In
terstate commerce commission stock
may be hauled thirty-six hours with.
out being unloaded for food and wa.
ter. 1t Is expected this will apply to
certain trains regarding which 1t is
shown that there is proper excuse for
keeping stock in the cars thirty-six
hours.
Politicians in Washington have
just begun to wake up to the fact that
Uncle Joe" Cannon, speaker of the
house, is playing the presidential
game with a skill that Is likely to
tors in the 1908 contest. While other
candidates for the presidency are
carefully planning and calculating
and are making much of speech max
ing, Speaker Cannon Is conducting a
campaign along distinct lines with
the purpose as politicians here be.
lieve. of making himself the success
sor of Roosevelt and winning to him
self the suppo"- Of the elements that
were most / .minenr IN packing
Roosevelt in the last compaign. AS
speaker of the house Mr.. Cannon
holds the second office OF the ma
tion in influence, and the manner In
which he has exerted the power of
that office to force through congress
administration policies has attracted
notice Mr.. Cannon is Fin almost
daily conference with Mr.. Roosevelt
and he is seeking to carry through as
far as he can the measures that the
president wants. The speaker has
exerted himself for the presidents
railroad rate legislation, for the Phil
ippine tariff, for joint statehood and,
short of doing anything that wouiu
cause a general tariff schedule dis
turbance, has evinced q disposition
to do whatever the more radical ele-
ment of the republican party, express
ing it's wishes through the president,
might demand. Speaker Cannon ls
credited with entertaining a shrewd
notion that the presidential nomina'
ton of the republican party in 1908 is
Likely to go about as far west as IL
linois and that it will accrue to his
advantage to get ready to receive II
waen it reaches the vicinity OF Dan
vile.
Thirty "insurgent" republicans met
in Representative Babcock's commit
tee room on the goth and agreed to
stand together in opposition to Speak
err Cannon's plan to send the state
hood bill to conference. The "insur'
gents" say they favor sending the
bill, as amended by the senate, to a
conference, but will not support any
rule designed to shut off debate and
prevent the house from instructing
its members of the conference as to
how to vote. Representatives Bah
cock, Mondell and other leaders In
the "insurgent" faction insist that
the speakers plan will railroad the
bill TO the conference in such way
that the house members OF the con-
ference must insist on the bill prac-
tically as 1t was framed and passed
by the house.
Representative Littlefeld of Maine
has set out to take the lid off the
department of agriculture. He has In
troduced a resolution to authorize
the committees on expenditures In
the various departments to make pub
lie everything relating to financial
affairs of the department. He is him.
self chairman of the committee on
expenditures in the department or
agriculture and his purpose in intro
ducing the resolution Is to ascertain
IL there is any basis for the charges
that in the rapid expansion and de-
yelopment of Secretary Wilson's de-
partment, there has been any failure
to administer it properly. Whether
the house will pass the resolution re-
mains to be seen. II passed Con-
gresham Littlefleld proposes to go
into the affairs of Secretary Wilson's
department to any length.
Representative Hepburn made his
regular annual attack on the civil
service system few days ago In the
course of the consideration of the
legislative, executive and judicial ap-
propriations bill. Colonel Hepburn
addressed the house criticizing the
workings of the civil service system
and the unwarranted growth. as he
believed, in the number Of the EN-.
ployes of the civil service commits,
sion and the cost of this system.
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