The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-05-17
Why the Democrats Rage.


On Saturday Senator Tillman read
a written statement charging Presi-
dent Roosevelt with betraying the
Democratic senators who had prom
ised to stand by him on the rate bill
upon the understanding that he would
adhere to his position in opposition
to an amendment permitting court
review
Senator Bailey followed with a
gcharge that the president had sur
rendered to the enemies of the bill
and abandoned his demand for IAN
effective measure"
Apart from any denial by the pres
ident or defense by his supporters
in the senate there is good reason
for the belief that there is no ground
for these deliberate charges by the
Democratic senator who has had the
management of the rate bill in the
senate and the Texas senator who is
the leader of his party in that body
AS to the charge that the president
" betrayed" Democratic senators, il
is most improbable that he entered
into any agreement or understand
ing with them or made any promise
to them in consideration of their sup
port of the rate bill.
If Democratic senators made known
to him that they intended to support
the rate bill it is not improbable that
he let them know that he would be
glad to have them support such .
measure as he had recommended, but
that by expression or implication he
made them any sort of promise it
consideration of their support is un.
likely in the extreme
Whatever understanding there ma,
have been was merely what they took
to be his attitude on the general sub
Ject of rate legislation and they may
have misunderstood. 1t is not un.
common for men to think that what
is in their minds is in the minds OF
Others.
What these Democratic statesmen
complain of is that the president has
abandoned his original position or
the saoject of court review. As to
that the record is clear enough.
There is no reason to believe that
ne has at any time questioned the
right of carriers to appeal TO the
courts for protection against any
wrongful order of the interstate com
merce commission made under the
provisions of the proposed law. He
said SO only few days ago in stat
ing his view of the so-called Allison
amendment. He said h.. had believed
that the bill as it came from the
house went as far as was necessary
in comforting jurisdiction. But il
'"~'~ was any douDt ABOUT IL, as
some sincere friends of the proposed
legislation believed there was. il
would be best to remove it by ex-
press provision.
Such a provision was prepared and
agreed upno by the Republican sena-
tors, but it was SO guarded that car
riers could not take advantage of il
to defeat an order of the commission
by dilatcry litigation. In fact, every
reasonable provision was made to
expedite all proceedings before the
courts in every rate case and reach
fna. decision as soon as possible.
The president has expressed him
self as satisfied with this plain pro-
vision for court review of orders OF
the commission with the accompany
ing provisions for prompt hearing
and final decision of cases. In SO do
ing it is plain that he has not aban-
doned his original position on that
subject.
What has made the Democratic
leaders angry is not any change in
the position of the president or the
violation by him of any understand
ing between him and them, for We
may safely assume there has been
nothing of the kind, but the fact that
the Republicans have reached an
agreement and are now in a position
to enact a rate bill as Republican
measure and that an effective meas
ure is going 70 become law whether
they vote fos it or not.