Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-08
RATE BILL IS REPORTED
House Will Take Final Vote on the
Measure at Noon Today.
ALL AMENDMENTS ARE REJECTED
Principal Speeches of the Day Are
by Messrs. Cochran. Mann,
williams and Hep
burn.

WASHINGTON Feb. by continuing
! its session practically to o'clock. the
house concluded all preliminary steps to
| the passage OF the railroad rate BILL or
| dered roll call on the measure and put
! of the final action until tomorrow at noon.
! The time for amendment came at o'clock
| and for three hours following one amend
ment after another came up, was read,
debated in some instances and went down
to defeat. So fierce was the struggle to
amend that often when a paragraph of the
bill was concluded in the reading a dozen
members waived their amendments and
shouted for recognition.
| Not one of these was adopted. They
| contained all manner of opinions. such as
regulating preferentials, the long and short
haul. free passes, court procedure, whole
| rate bills and parts of bills All went by
| the board
| Previous to these proceedings the house
| had been entertained for five hours by
| the oratory of its best speakers. Mr.
Bourke Cochran OF New York gave his
| approval to the measure in an elaborate
speech. Mr.. Mann of Illinois followed
| then the minority leader Mr. Williams,
| expounded the measure and congratulated
| everybody on it's success. Chairman Hep
| burn closed the debate in a comprehensive
| speech, dealing with the arguments of its
| opponents and the terms Of the bill.
| Throughout the day the attendance of
| members was large and the galleries were
crowded.
| Cochran Opens Debate.
| Mr. Cochran announced his position in
| favor of the bill. While he did not con-
slider it panacea for all evils. it was
| most wholesome expression of a unani-
| nous public manifestation to deal with the
rate evil 1t was the only means by which
] public ownership could be stopped and
checked, the most plausible argument of
the socialists.
| THE history of railroad management in
this country" he said, ''is the history OF
favoritism, of corruption and of fraud"
In spite of this he would not say the rail-
roads had not rendered enormous service,
but they had not been as efficient as they
should be- His next assertion was that
railway influences predominated both 10
litical parties.
Illustrating this he showed how the rep
resentatives of wealth ignored the courts
and dominated state administrations. The
very court which had dropped the pro-
ceedings against II. II. Rogers had the
next day issued a most vigorous injunc-
ton against striking printers. In this
connection ne reviewed tne INoIlHeIH Sc
curities decision, which, he said declared
criminals ana conspirators those response
BILE for that combination. Hartman and
Morgan, he said, quarreled over the con-
troll of several railways in the northwest
| which threatened to interfere with their
| plunder. The president directed an action
against them The court declared a con-
spiracy.
What was the result?" he asked. at
was to reduce the control of those prop
critics from two to one. When they came
to distribute the stocks Hartman had been
eliminated; Morgan was supreme. more
perfect conspiracy was perfected through
the decision of the court itself. And the
stock which was selling at 100 to 102
when the decision was pending, sold for
100 after it was announced, thus enrich
ing the conspirators. who walked out of
court Just $24O, 900 richer for having been
convicted"
! Compliments to Rock kefeller.
The fact that no criminal proceedings
had been begun was dwelt on at some
length and the jail sentence of Debs and
the conviction of two senators for mere
| indiscretions' were contrasted. Compli
ments were paid to Rockefeller, ''at once
the richest and most despised OF our whole
population"
The most effective feature OF the bill,
he maintained. was the popular disposition
back of it, the next was it's publicity fea-
ture
Universal applause greeted MIR. Cock
rams conclusion and after the informal
congratulatory reception to him concluded
Mr.. Mann Gll) took the floor.
Expressing some reticence at doing SO,
Mr.. Mann said he would explain why the
bill contained nothing relating to passenger
and sleeping car rates
1--WE have a bill which will pass this
and the other body; we did not want to ar
ray southern senators against the bill and
omen up in this body the question of sepa-
rate cars for whites and blacks in the
south"
AS TO passes, he said, the old interstate
commerce act prohibited free transporta-
eion and the present bill did not interfere
with that.
Mr.. Williams summarized 'the bill and all
that had been done by congress and went
over the ground that had been debated at
length during the last ten days. He re-
caived close attention from his democratic
associates as well as from the republican
side of the house.
Mr. Williams concluded with an express
sion of the hope that the house would stay
Z in session until lnt bSBjHHlIe VI lit next
session before II would yield TO any amend
ment which might be put on in the senate
the effect OF which might be to weaken the
bill.
Hepburn Closes Debate.
Mr. Hepburn began the concluding speech
on the bill at 2:45 o'clock.
Mr. Hepburn took up in turn the points
made in opposition 10 the bill and disposed
of each in a brief manner. First he depre-
Gated the effort to claim political credit
He reviewed the progress and development
of roads during the last twenty years to
show that the interstate commerce act OF
that time had not impeded railroad prog
ress,
Touching on the construction OF words
which had been made point OF opposition.
Mr.. Hepburn declared the utter futilty of
getting a legislative unanimity on that
point He asserted not a member OF the
house could write a twenty word sentence
that would not be capable of two construc-
! tions.
You doubtless have heard the story of
the little girl whose people were to move
, to Missouri and who prayed, Goodbye
God we are going TO move TO Missouri.
Q-aughterl
I s'Her brother heard her and in his 10Y