The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-06
Elective Delegate From Alaska.

A Senate bill providing for an elective
delegate to Congress from Alaska was
passed. Pending the passage of a minor
bill the floor was yielded to Mr.. Shackel-
ford of Missouri, who took occasion to
denounce the rules of the House and the
despotc and absolute power of the
Speaker"
Mr. shackelford expressed personal adj
miration and affection for Speaker Can
non, but there was, he said. no man in
Europe more absolute in his jurisdiction.
He had read only the other day that the
Speaker had packed" the ways and
means committee with ten men who
would stand pat" as men of stone
against any aud every attempt to amend
the tariff This Mr.. Shackelford accepted
as true and complained bitterly. If the
"stand pattersr would come out in the
open, he declared, it would be found they
had not corporals guard. Another in
stance of the "absolutism" Of the
Speaker was in the passage of the state
hood bill. On this point he read a lengthy
interview purporting to be by Mr.. Adams
of Wisconsin denouneing the rules.
A Senate bill was passed authorizing the
sale and disposition of the unalotted lands
of the Colville Indian reservation in the
state of Washington; also a bill granting
81 acres of public land lying adjacent
TO the city of Biloxi, Miss, to that city
for park and cemetery purposes.
A bill was passed consolidating the city
of South McAlester and the town of Nc
Alester as the city of MeAlester in the Nm
dian Territory; also a bill to bridge st
Francis river at 4Iadison, Ark.
Calls Up Williams Resolution.
Chairman jenkins of the judiciary COM
mittee called up. the Williams resolution
/ calling ON the attorney general to inform
the House "if in his Judgment an not
Incompatible with the public interest
whether any criminal proceedings have
been instituted against any individuals or
corporations recently declared by the SUI
preme court of the United States as
guilty of violating the laws prohibiting
unlawful combinations in restraint Of
trade Mr. Williams took the floor and
asserted that the people of the Unitet
States know now that only the execution
of the criminal provisions of the anti
trust law will stop the viola ton of those
laws. Injunctions, he said, would be
evaded, and fines would be paid and
nothing short of the enforcement of the
power of imprisonment will stop the 'vio-
lation of the laws.
Mr.. Williams dwelt upon the growing
difficulty of impeachng public officials
for not performing their full duty in
executing the laws, and in that connec-
ton spoke of the wholesome influence
Congress might have. He spoke of the
difficulty of prosecuting the rich. He read
sections of the opinion Of the court in
the Northern Securities case to show an
efrectuaI block to competition had been
arranged, and that such Il combination
is more than contract it is an offense-
a crime
No Steps to Prosecute.
So far as he had been able to ascertain
no steps to prosecute these Criminals
had yet been taken, although one year
and ten months had elapsed since the de-
cislon Mr. Williams did not believe in a
fine or Imprisonment but in 81 fine
and Imprisonment" Last year he said
the same resolution was passed and the
answer had come back that it was in-
compatible with the public interest to
inform the House He had then believed
this to be the fact because the decision
then had just been rendered.
Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio. criticised Mr..
Williams for making bitter and far
reaching speech before he had the In