Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-28
srN1rnRt1L oRsrRror1oN.

After refusing time and again 10 fix
a date for voting on the rate bill, Sen
ator Aldrich. as the leader of the open
opposition, formally rejects PROPOSE
ton TO close the debate ON May IA with
undiminished power and apparent pur-
pose still TO object to any later date
that may hereafter be suggested. The
advocates of railroad legislation have
from the first urged action. Its oppO-
nents must bear the exclusive respOn-
sibility for the protracted delay so far
and the further indefinite delay which
they have just made sure OF.
There can he absolutely no excuse for
such obstruction. This identical subject
WIS before the last congress and there
was then opportunity for thorough con-
sideration as there was public demand
that It be given when the Eech-Town-
send bill was passed by the house and
sent to the senate. The opposition de-
layed and defeated action on pretense
Of further investigation, and the senate
interstate commerce committee held
hearings through the long recess. That
the motive was purely dllatOry became
doubly clear after the converting Of con-
gress on the first Monday in December,
when the senate committee, instead of
formulating, or endeavorlng to formu-
late n measure of its own, simply
waited for the house to act on February
8, Notwithstanding the committee had
before 1t all the time identically the
same bill introduced in the senate by
Senator Dolliver December 10. Even then
the Aldrich- Elkins- Foraker-Kean COM
bination held up the house bill in com
mittee and permitted it to go in its orig
inal form to debate on the floor only
after they had contrived circumstances
which they believed would gravely
prejudice It there. Thus perversely re.
fusing as long as they could to let de-
bate begin, they now refuse with equal
perversity to let it end.
After a year and a half of cOntinu
GUS critical consideration, after six full
months of the present session, the sen
atorial obstructionists have now decreed
another half month Of delay, with every
sign of determination to procrastinate
indefinitely beyond the middle of May
The executive branch of the govern
ment has done everything in it's power
IN 20 NI,r -
months ago. The deliberate demand OF
the people for relief is definite and in
sistent. That the will even Of the sen
ate itself is to pass a substantial meas
ure of relief is demonstrated by the
very course Of corporation obstruction
lists in the senate. If they were not as
sured- that the Dolliver-Hepburn bill
would pass and that amendments
drawn for the purpose of emascuIatinl
it would fail on a vote, they would b.
pressing for a vote instead of obsti
nately preventing it,
Nothing could happen more disas
trous to the corporation interests repre-
scented by this opposition, even If the!
could temporarily thus thwart the will
of the people either by refusing to per
NIT vote at this session or by atbi
trarily holding up the subject unit
through some cunning trap or mishal
to the advocates Of rate control tn,
measure could be mutilated and rem
dered abortiye. But as the case stand
they seem bent on exposing themselve
to the wrath of an aroused public b!
venturing TO the utmost verge of de
fiance.