The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-02-09
FINAL ACTION ON THE RATE BILL.
Measure as Reported by Commit
tee will be Voted ON TO-DAY
MANY AMENDMENTS WERE LOST
All Preliminary Steps to the Passage
tertained by the Oratory OF its Best
Members All Proposed Changes
ReJected-Gaines Proposed Anti
Pass Amendment.

oAShiONhS - All TTOpoccu NIhHXcs
ReIected-Gaines Proposed Anti
Pass Amendment.
Washington, February by con-
tinuing its session practically to Z
O'Clock. the House concluded all pre-
liminary steps to the passage of the
| railroad rate bill, ordered a roll call
on the measure, and put OFF the final
action until tomorrow at noon
The time for the amendment came
at 4 o'clock and for three hours fol-
| lowing one amendment after another
came up, was read, debated in some in
stances, and went down to defeat. So
fierce was the struggle to amend that
often when paragraph of the bill was
concluded in the reading dozen mem
| bers waived their amendments and
| shouted for recognition Not one of
these was adopted.
Previous to this exciting procedure,
the House had been entertained for
speakers. TBOurke Cochran of New
York, gave his approval to the mea-
sure in an elaborate speech. Mr.. Mann
Of Illinois, followed when the minor
| ity leader, Mr.. Williams, expounded
the measure and congratulated every
body on it's success. Chairman Hep
burn closed the debate in a compre-
hensive speech dealing with the arsu-
ments of it's opponents and the terms
of the bill. :
Mr.. Cochran declared the represe senta-
| tives of wealth ignored the courts and
! dominated state administrations The
very court which had dropped the pro-
ceedings against H. H. Rogers had the
next day issued most vigorous in
junction against striking printers In
| this connection he reviewed the North
ern Securities decision, which he said
| declared criminals and conspirators
those responsible for that combina-
ton.
What was the result? he asked
"It was to reduce the control of these
properties from two to one. When
they came to distribute the stocks
Hartman had been eliminated, Morgan
was supreme. A more perfect con-
spiracy was perfected through the de-
cision of the court itself, and the stock.
which was selling at s100 to $1O2 when
the decision was pending, sold for
$3.50 after it was announced, thus en-
riching the conspirators, who walked
out of court just 100000 richer
for having been convicted"
Compliments were paid to Rockefel-
leT, "at once the richest and most de-
spised of our whole population"
Expressing some reticence at doing
so, Mr. Mann said he would explain
why the bill contained nothing relau-
ing to passenger and sleeping car
rates.
I'VE have a bill which will pass this
and the other body; We did not want to
array southern Senators against the
bill, and open up in this body the
question of separate cars for whites
and blacks in the south"
MIR. Williams expressed the hope
that the House would stay in session
until the beginning of the next ses-
sion before it would yield to an amend
ment which might be put on in the
Senate, the effect of which might be to
weaken the bill.
Mr.. Hepburn deprecated the efforts
to claim political credit.
A historical review would show, he
said, that even if the Republican party
had been somewhat remiss in making
platform declarations it had enacted
all law so far on the subject. Among
the amendments defeated were:
BY Mr.. Hardwick Ga) to include
carriers wholly by water; by Mr..
Lamar (F1a) to relieve Pennsylva-
MIA from the coal trust; by Mr.. Hard
wick (Ga.) including telegraph and
telephone companies; by Mr.. South
wick IN. Y.) to prevent discrimination
in appointment of special agents, be-
cause of previous conditions of
servitude. An anti-pass amendment
by Mr.. Gaines (Tenn.) caused some
amusement as Mr. Gaines insisted on
discussing its merits and was continu-
ously applauded. -You must all have
your passes in your pockets" he ajac-
ulated, shaking his finger toward the
Republican side. On vote by tellers
the amendment was defeated SO to 1877.
1t was Gas O'Clock when all amend
ments were disposed of. All propos-
ed changes had been rejected and the
bill was reported to the House exact
ly as it came from Mr.. Hepburn's COM
mittee
Mr.. Gaines pursued his anti-pass
campaign further by endeavoring to
re-commit the bill to committees with
instructions to report his amendment
on it. This failed. A roll call was
demanded on the passage of the bill |
Just as it was about to begin, the
House adjourned on motion of Mr.. |
Hepburn until tomorrow