Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-08
HEARD LlTTLEFIELD,s SPEECH
Member From Maine Uses Railroads
Stock Argument of Danger in Com
mission Made Rates and Attacks
President, Winning Applause From
Enemies of Administration.
I'D. w. Norris at Washington

Littlefield is the gatling gun of the
house. No stenographer can follow
him. He is from Maine hence he is
against legislation to fix railroad rates.
Mr.. Littlefied's speech was considered
a great effort. The fact is there was
nothing great about it. The burden
| of his argument was the danger pro-
| position Mr.. Littletield assumes, de-
| liberately and impudently assumes
| that the Hepburn bill authorizes the
Interstate commerce commission to
at the windmill. Mr.. Littlefield knows
better they all know better. but un-
less they start with this premise they
have absolutely nothing to build an ar
gument on.
In truth and in fact there is no
where in the Hepburn bill any author
ity whatever conferred to interfere
with single railroad rate in the I'm
tied States, unless some shipper first
lodges complaint that certain rate is
unreasonable.
Having established to his own sat
isfaction that this bill places the rate
making power in the hands of these
seven bad and incompetent men. he
then proceeded to show how dangerous
it was to the liberties of the country
to place such a power in the hands of
seven men, appointed by the president
and confirmed by the senate. The en-
emies of the president listened with
great glee. Seven railroad presidents,
as a rate making body, are entirely
safe and as matter of fact less than
seven men do fix the most of our rates.
but seven high minded, intelligent dis
interested men selected by the presi
dent and confirmed by the senatorial
representatives of the great railroad
systems would be a dangerous body.
And the friends of the gentleman from
Maine call this argument. l would
call it rot.
Mr.. Lttlefeld then pretended to
quote from the Interstate commerce
commissions findings that had been
reversed by the supreme court to show
the incapacity of that body. He failed
TO state that the principal reason the
commission was reversed was because
our court held that congress had failed
to clothe it With authority to make
rates. And nasmuch as the right OF
appeal and review is preserved, there
is absolutely nothing to prevent the
reversal of the commission in the flu
ture if it goes wrong. So l for one am
not afraid of my liberties.
To Mr.. Littlefield's credit be it said.
he didn't use the argument of uncon-
stitutionality. He is such good law
yer, he knew better He left this to
Mccall of Massachusetts and Perkins
of New York
To shrewd observer this scene had
its lessons What was there about
Littlefields speech to so please certain
gentlemen from Iowa? Why did they
applaud when Littlefield made a point
against rate legislation? Why did they
manifest such i'll concealed pleasure
when Lttlefeld plunged his stilleto
into the president and lambasted his
administration? Can it be that certain
gentlemen from Iowa, members of the
lower house, would be glad to see the
Hepburn bill defeated, the president
discredited? 1t seems so. 1 can inter-
pref their attitude no other way.
My own belief is there would be at
least five votes from Iowa against this
measure. if they only dared TO do it.
They remember the fate of the Gin
surgent." AS the matter stands there
may be two nay votes anyway. I do
not see how Captain Hedge can af-
ford to beard both Blythe and the
Hawkeye, in as much as he is not
candidate for reelection There is an
Iowa member that may not take the
trouble to attend the day the vote is
taken. He will save himself the en-
barrassment. He doesn't like the
president and the president doesn't
like him. He doesn't like the White
House and never goes there and he
has scarcely been seen in the House
since the session began.
Roosevelt Unpopular.
There is no use talking the president
is not popular in Washington any
more than he is in New York Wash
ington and New York are the only
places in the United States where The
odore Roosevelt is not popular Why
is it? You tell. The slightest pretext
is seized by senators, representatives,
newspapers and public men to discred-
it him. Take the Post, a strong,
able, powerful paper. They know
we'll the tremendous hold the president
has on the people and they chafe under
it, 1t is independents but between the
lines you may always read suppressed
sentiments of hostility. Take the Till
man incident Because the White
House guards had to use slight force
to eject lady who was insisting on
an audience with the president and
acting much. very much like lunatic,
Iillman undertook to make national
question of it. and the Post did all it
could to help him make a fool of him.
self. Had the woman not been sis
ter of Congressman Hull the fracas
would never have been heard of
Some blatherskite tried to get the
house to take it up, but the house sat
down on him hard and now the Post
today reads Tillman a lecture The
Post is awful good now.
Again look at the action OF the Post
papers on the democratic caucus. Tom |
Patterson of Colorado had declared |
himself with the president in the mat
ter of Dominican treaty. These papers |
began to prod the senate democrats |
The result was caucus where they |
voted almost unanimously to abide by |
the caucus and oppose the treaty. Now
mind you, treaties are not political