The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-03
CONGRESS- AGREES
ON 4 RATE BILL
Continued From First Page.
for its amendment, but that remains to
be seen. I; ..s 49,.
Two Great Evils,

.
The anti-pass provision as adopted
originally by. the senate containsd
Of tie people of the country. The
theory Of the conferees was that the
pass system embodied and was respon-
sible for two great evils, one political
and the other economic. One the -coun
try has seen great deal Of in the in:
fuence of railways in state and local
politics, this influence coming almost
wholly thru the issue of passes.
but it has been quite as potent for
harm. On account of the large number
| of passes issued, the railways have been
| unable to reduce the passenger fare. By
abolishing all passes, the conferees
think they will not only correct the
evil Of railroad politics, but also make
| it possible for the fare to be cut down.
Expected Of States.
4 It is the general opinion here that
many of the state legislatures next win
ter will enact anti-pa legislation, sup
plementing what congress has just done.
The work Of congress, of course, ap-
plies only to interstate business. It
to take strong hand in the politics Of
| the northwest states, for example, pro-
! vided he thinks it worth while. Until
the northwest legislatures have acted
he can issue all the passes he wants to
Tissue within state lines. - ~.
H. A prominent member Of the Mime
! sofa senate, in town few days ago,
told me there was no question but the
legislature next winter would adopt an
anti-pass provision. He thinks it would
have done SO at the last session but for
reasons purely Of personal nature iii.
rected against one or two members who
4 were pushing that legislation.
! Clapp's Prominence.
Senator Clapp of Minnesota is the
northwestern man in congress who has
been closest to rate legislation. He il
member of the senate committee which
considered the, question for more thar
3 year, and he took a prominent par
( in the debates. He authorizes the fol
lowing statement: s.5..2 =. >. E 49,
= "While we have known in q genera
i way what the conferees were contest
d. ing and what they would likely agree
to, there are many details which max
it impossible at this moment to full.
analyze the report, as it came in lat
:. this afternoon. The report will b
). printed in full Monday morning, an
9 a copy of the bill as it will appear !
4 the report is adopted. Till then,
!. would be quite impossible for indivij
: uals to? make a study of the entire re
: port, as it is not in their possession.
e -! Court Review Retained.
ttThe senate provision as to revie,
9 is retained. The senate amendment t
/ the provision for the summary proceed
I ing provided in the bill, to be brougt
u by the commission inserting the woI
0 lawfully in the place Of regularly
! stricken out, leaving the house la
y guage, which limits the inquiry in thu
: der. This proceeding has been co
= fused by many with the proceedir
! which the carrier may institute to tie
- it's constitutional rights, and II thin
>. the house provision is the better of tt
! two. .z.f
=. HThe provision relating to pass
3. has been materially changed, narro'
&. ing the issuing Of passes. 1 think tn
i. is a mistake. Employees of railroa
n n have always been accorded certain pa
% privileges for themselves and famille
n While it has not been "a part of the
ii compensation. strictly speaking, St
e. no doubt it has had something to.
20 with fixing the scale of compensatio
m and can see no reason why 1T shou
j. the employees might well enjoy witho
D. detriment to anybody. In fact. my oy
'hs:. idea of the pass matter was simply
: have a, plain, short prohibition, p!
hibiting government officials from ri
ing free. .-..... ~
g -, Good Features Added. -
. "The conferees have added two
thee matters, the most important, pr
~ haps, being the one relating to the s;
t. ary Of the secretary of the comm
~ sion, which is liable to give rise to sol
deposition, !on the ground that it is nj
matter and. outside the purview OF &C
~ ference. III. 81. -..,.t s.sss..
: .EFrom cursory examination of t
on report, think it is perfectly safe
70 say that while some details may me
ht objection, the report is in complete hi
de mony with the spirit of the bill, a
.ss would warrant the conclusion that
n conferees had acted in good faith, a
should subsequent examination disclt
an the fact that any mistake has be
pc made, you may be certain it will
an corrected, altho I am firmly Of
lal opinion that the report, when it con
ass to be analysed, will show that the c.
ms ferees, as to all substantial matt
ais have been actuated by spirit of i
atty to the purpose Of the bill
nee Carpets made from elephant hide are