Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-07-05
WaslnlngtOn Letter.
(FRoM OUR REGULAR CORREsPONDENT.)
Saturday, June 30, 1906.

Washington Letter.
(FRoM Our REGULAR CoRREsPoNDENT)
Saturday, June 80. 1906.
With a whoop and rush Congress
wound up the present session. There
were rumors on Friday that an adjourn
mept might be reached on Friday night
and in expectation Of such develop
ment special train was kept all night
at the depot to be ready at any time to
take Che President to Oyster Bay if he
so desired, it being known that he want
ed to get out of Washington with Mrs.
Roosevelt just as soon as possible after
getting Congress off his hands. There
were many callers at the White House
early on Friday to shake bands with
the President and to tell him good bye.
Then came the cabinet meeting at which
most of the discussion was over the
pending prosecutions against the Stand
ard OIL company. Attorney General
Moody has engaged Messrs. Morrison
and Kellogg as special counsel for the
department to work up these cases so
as not to take the regular lawyers OF
the Department of Justice off their
routine work of which there is plenty
to keep them busy.
There was considerable speculation
early in the day as to how Congress
might act. there being still the rate bill
and the Pure Food Bill to dispose of
and the conferees on both sides remain.
ing stubborn. There were reports ear.
~ IN the day from the conferees on
both bills saying that it wac impossible
to reach an agreement. The House
stood out for the alteration of the rate
bill 80 that pipe lines would not be de-
eigued as common carriers and thus
work ha, dship on the Standard Oil
Company which owns all Of the pipe
lines and the bulk Of the oil that they
transport to say nothing of owning
Congress- The House conferees on the
Meat Bill were also stubborn as to the
provision putting the cost of the in
spection on the Government. This
meant matter of 100000 for in
spectors wages and though the Senate
conferees were willing to go half way
and appropriate million and half
dollars for the inspection with the pro.
viso that the other half should be raised
by fees IRON the cattle slaughtered,
running not more than five cents a
head, the House would not hear TO it.
Things looked dark for while and
there was talk even that Congress
might be carried oyer till next week.
Then late in the afternoon came the
news that a compromise had been
reached on the rate bill, that the SEN
ate had accepted the House report,
which WAS equivalent to the passage of
the bill. all except the signature of the
President. 1t vas not many minutes
later that the same report was made as
to the Pure Food Bill and that also was
practically law. With these two i'm
portant measures out OF the way, it
was only matter of hours for the loose
ends to be gathered up and an adjourn.
ment was in sight.
Both of the bills as passed were com.
promise measures and in both Of them
the House which has been the more
lenient to the corporations has won lite
last point. Senator Tillmau was very
bitter over the pipe line provision and
made strong speech against it on Fri.
day afternoon only little while before
the final report Of the conterees was
rendered. He complained that it was
a complete surrender on the part Of the
Senate to the House and that the emas
culated bill was almost Of no value at
all. In fact go warm had been his OPP
ncosition to the bill in it's final form that
refused to sign the conference
and the bill had gone to its final
Inference with Mr.. Cullom in charge
for the Senate, thus depriving Senator
Tillman of the management that he has
exercised ever since the bill came to
the Senate.
1t may be remarked in passing that
the members were rather good to them.