The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1906-06-07
THEY ARE CRIMINALS.
President Roosevelt Insists That lm-
prisonment Clause Be Kept in
Rate Sill.

conference committee that the penal
servitude provision for those guilty of
rebating should not be cut out of the:
rate bill, and he forced his point. The
president is a firm believer in the eff
cacy Of the criminal brand for iaw-
breakers and has informed members OF
the committee who came to the White
House that the prison feature must
stay.
The president has taken a similar
position on the meat bill, and holds
that any law that is passed by con-
gress, whether it be the Wadsworth-
Lorimer bill or the Beveridge bill, must
provide for both fine and Imprisonment
for those who tamper with the laws
Of the people.
The Bill as Revised.
Chicago, June Ga special to the
Tribune from Washington says
The rate bill as finally framed by
the conference committee is an excel
lent measure. 1t marks, in fact, as
great an advance as the interstate
law itself was. The right
of a government tribunal to fix rates
on public highways is determined now
by act of congress.
The courts are given a right of re.
view, to be sure, but they had that
right under the constitution itself, and
not even congress could take it away
from them.
A distinct curb has likewise beer
put upon the Standard Oil company. II
has defled one state sovereignty after
another, and it has eluded the anti
trust law because the federal author
ity could not assume to interfere with
the process Of manufacture, which is
always local and to be dealt with by
local laws alone. But the Standard OH
company is absolutely dependent upon
the transport Of it's commodity from
states where there is oil to states
where there is not. 1t seems to have
been the weak joint In the armor of the
gigantic system, and the curious thing
about it is that the wound was inflicted
by a haphazard thrust, for no n ven
dared to think Of including oil pipe
lines under the designation Of common
carriers when the president first rec
commended the passage of a bill put
ting the power to regulate freight rates
into the hands Of al executive admin
istrative body.
Pullman Cars Escape.
But the pipe ines are there hard and
fast and SO are the express companies.
The Pullman cars have escaped. They
owe their salvation to Colonel William
P. Hepburn, of Iowa. and James S.
Sherman, of New York. They were the
republican conferees on behalf OF the
house.
The paragraph which put the sleep
ing car companise under the jurisdic-
ton of the Interstate Commerce COM
mission was an amendment to the
house bill passed by the senate. If ac-
cepted by the house it became a part Of
the law forthwith. 1t required distinct
and affirmative action In behalf Of the
Pullman Car companies by Colonel
Hepburn and Mr.. Sherman to keep the
sleeping car companies away from the
jurisdiction Of the Interstate Commerce
commission.
There will be a good deal of discus
sion or this subject later on, and it Is
just as well that the responsibility of
this action should be determined in adj
vance. An overwhelming majority of
the house desired that both the express
and the sleeping car companies should
be made amenable to the interstate
commerce law, exactly as the private
a line companies are. A vote OF the
house was not permitted on this section.
and it probably will not be permitted
When the conference report comes UP
for final approval, SO that the members
will be forced to vote upon The report
as a whole n will not be given an
opportunity to go on record on that
particular amendment.
The agreement Of the conferees to let
out the sleeping car companies has
aroused a storm of disapproval in the
senate, and Mr.. Foraker and others say
they will insist that the Pullman cars
shall go back into the bill and be treat
ed exactly like all other subsidiary
transportation companies.
1t may be that the sleeping car COM
panies ought not TO be made amenable
to the interstate law. l am
not prepared to say they should be
The present law, at least, was aimed at
freight carriers rather than passenger
carriers, after all, and possibly the
Pullman company, which has not peen
offensive in its treatment Of passengers
should be let alone.
But the fact remains that the senate
by an overwhelming majority voted tc
include the sleeping cars and 1t there
fore becomes important to realize that
the sole responsibility for the myster-
ious favor shown to the Pullman com
pany lies upon Colonel Hepburn. OF
Iowa, chairman of the house commit
tee on interstate commerce.. and James
S. Sherman, of New York, who sue
| ceeded Mr.. Babcock, of Wisconsin. as
chairmon Of the republican congress
sional committee.
Deadheads Are Hit.
There will be Wailing and gnashing OF
teeth among the deadheads generally
and a corresponding degree of com,
placency among railroad
when the pass amendment agreed upOr
by the conferees is finally promulgated
1t does not go into effect until after the
end of the year. but then it will be ex,
tremely hard 10 secure free transpor.
tation on a railroad. The Pullman com
pany, not being a common carrier, viii
be permitted to issue all passes il
wishes to give out.
There was n stringent pass paragraph
in the old interstate commerce law, ant
it was followed s~trenuOusly for a while
but as there was no penalty attached
to the violation of the section, the rail-
roads gradually dropped into the habi
of disregarding it entirely. The con
ferees have swept away all claims t
free transportation and the har,
worked country preacher and the pluto
cratic holder of railroad shares by the
barrel will alike pay Or walk.
The pass amendment agreed to toda,
Is so stringent that I think it WORT
quoting in full. as follows:
mo carrier subject to provisions o.
this act shall, after January /, 1907. di
rectly or indirectly, issue or give an.
interstate free ticket. free pass, or fire,
transportation for passage. Amy car
rier violating this provision shall b,
deemed guilty Of a misdemeanor ant
shall, upon conviction thereof, be pun