Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-02-23
THE WEEK IN THE WORLD.
Great Events and Movements Which
Are Making History.

Voting on the railroad rate bills, in
Guiding the Hepburn bill passed by the
house two weeks ago, was to have be
gun in the senate commerce committee
Friday; but the president asked delay
until Senator Knox should be heard
from with his two amendments and vot'
ing was postponed until to-day. Fully
200 amendments will be pending when
voting begins. Prominent coal opera
tors from the west and southwest sub
mitted protest last week against any
rate regulation legislation giving to the
| Interstate Commerce commission power
over rates, except with provision for
the review of the acts of the commits
sion in the courts. They said that judg-
| ing from the past record of the com
mission, the Hepburn bill, as passed by
the house, means decentralization, retro
gression and confiscation. Senator Dol
liver declares that the court review
amendment project is dead, n majority
of the committee and the president be-
ing unalterably against it,.
The Hepburn bill is made up from
10 other bills which were before the
interstate and foreign commerce com
mittees and from information con.
tanned in FIVE volumes of testimony
from senate and house committee hear
ings. 1t is said to embody the presi-
dent s ideas of desirable legislation
and to be demanded by him, as public
need, with the alternative of an extra
session of congress if this bill, or a
similar one not essentially amended, is
not passed by this congress, Senator
Lodge said in the senate recently that
he would support ''proper bill " for
controlling railroad rates, one which
should safeguard the right Of appeal
against the commission Is orders. He
considered the rate question one of the
most important ever before congress;
but he should vote for a rate bill with
reluctance for he has the gravest
doubts as to the wisdom of government
rate-making. He declared that rebates
are the real evil and that there is no
remedy in rate.making by the govern
ment
The Hepburn bill gives the Inter
state Commerce commission authority,
when a rate has been complained of as
unreasonable by shipper, to inves-
tigate that rate, state whether or not
it is unreasonable, and if found to be
unreasonable, TO name rate which is
to be Just and reasonable and fairly re-
munerative, which is to be the maxi
mum rate to be charged. This rate so
fixed is to 60 into effect 80 days after
it is announced by the commission, sub
iect during that time to be set aside
or suspended by the commission or by
the courts After it has gone into eff
feet, it is to remain the rate for three
years. During this time, the opinion
has been expressed by those who have
participated in the debate, the rate
may also be reviewed by the courts and
if found to be in conflict either with
the terms of the act or with the consti
tuition, by being confscatory, can be
set aside by the courts. Another
important feature is the defni-
ton of the words, "railroad and
+" transportation in a manner to in
clude all auxiliary instrumentalities of
the common carrier and to bring them
within the control of the commission.
Other provisions include publicity of
methods which is to be aided
by prescribing system of bookkeep-
ing and charging the commission to
seven members and increasing salaries
of members to $4,000 a year.