Milford chronicle., 1906-05-18
PRESIDENTS
STATEMENT
did l. Not Pledge Himself to Any
Amendments to Rate Bill.
NOT TRYING TO DICTATE ACTION

Washington, May 15--ThR ssensa-
tional rate bill incident In the senate
:. Saturday, during which Mr. Gilman
on the authority of former Senator
.. Chandler, made statements regarding
the. presidents course in connection
with pending railroad rate legislation,
some of which statements were denied
by Mr. Lodge on behalf of the gpresi-
dent. had its sequal when an official
statement was issued by the White
House giving an account OF the sub
Ject on, the part of the president and
Attorney General Moody The state
=. ment comprised two letters ore from
the president to Senator Allison and
e.. the other from Attorney General
Moodv;to the president The president
says:
'.In no. case. either in the case ,of
Mr.. Chandler or any one else, was
there the slightest opportunity for any
honest misoonception of my attitudecor
any belief that pledged myself spe-
cihcallyltO Dne, and only ONE, amend
uent or ses of amendments, an that
would not be satisfied Vetrh s9ny
amendment which preserved the essen
tial features OF the Hepburn hill ias It
came from Etne house.
The president says that as TO many
of the amendments, including the So
called Long Overman, Bacon and
Spooner amendments, he had said he
should be entirely satisfied to have
them in the 3ill and suggested modi-
fications as TO other amendments, but
that "as to nane (of the ameTdtments)
did ever say either to Mr. Chandler
OF to any one else that should insist
upon having them in the bill as a con
dition Of mya approval" and that 'on
the contrary, Nhe the president, was
careful to state; that he was not trying
to dictate any particular programme OF
aaction.
The president dhen says: Il aGsB iTs-
peatedly stated that while it was en-
tirely satisfactory to me to simply
leave the Hepburn bill in substance as
1T. was. that it. with the recognition OF
the Jurisdiction of the courts but with
out any attempt to- define that jurisdhc-
esoa, yet that Twas entirely willing
that there should be a definition, pro
;wided that this densitiOn did not seek
TO grant a broad review, but explicitly /
narrowed it to the 4ayo subjects which 4
as a matter of fact o. believed that the,
courts would alone consider in case
there was no attempt to define the \
Iimitscof their review; that is, would \
limit'it to the question as to whether
10 TrfV ]
and as tO,.whether any mans cOnstitu- !
tional rights had beer impaired. l
stated that If the question of defining !
or limiting. the review was brought up !
at all personally felt that this was
the way in which it should be limited |
or Defined
The president says the statements |
smade to Senator Chandler were the
same in substance as those made to |
Mr.. Allison. aaad other sena89rs of both |
parties He said he was asked to see
Senator Chandler as the representative |
OF Mr.. TillmaH in charge Of the bill, |
and that the conferences Attorney |
General Moody elad with Senator'S Till
man and Bailey were such as had been
held with many other senators to de-
tern1ine the phrdseology and discuss
the effect of amendments proposed by
them. The president states that he
became convinced that it was impossi-
BILE for senators ~with advantage" to
use him as an intermediary, and sug
gested TO all to whom he spoke that
they communicate with Senator Ali
son, whose purposes and the presi-
dents were Identical"
The president says that his own
opinion that the Allison amendment in
no way changed the court review as
provided Ia The original Hepburn bill
is also the opinion of attorney Cen
eral Moody aIs1 Secretaries Root and
Taft.
The attorney generals letter gives
an account, at TIE presidents request,
of the conferences which b1r. Moody
had, by the presidents direetion, with
Senators T1llman and Bailey regarding
the court review feature. He says he
advised the president that he should
not, at any stage, become finaI1y COM
mftted beyond recall to any form of
language in any part of the bill and
the president affirmed the wisdom of
that course. He reviews the Discus
sion Of interlocutory injanctions. and
concludes that there was nothing in
the conversations between the seha-
tors and himself which bound the
president to any particular amend
ment.