The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-05-15

ed ultra vires-and as to whether any
mans constitutional rights had been
impaired stated that If the question
81 defining or limiting the review was
brought up at all 1 personally felt that
this was the way in which it should be
limited or defined.
Many Amendments offered.
At different times, at least a score
Of tentative amendments were either
prepared by the attorney general +'7e
request OF senators or submitted to me
Dy senators. AS to many of these
amendments qncluding among others
the substance of the so-caIIed Long,
Overman, Bacon and Spooner amend
1llentsJ, 7 stated that I should be en-
tirely satisfied to have them in the bill;
as to others, ] suggested notifications
which would make them satisfactor
as TO none, did ever say, either to Mr..
Chandler or to anyone else, that I
should insist upon having them in the
Dill as a condition of my approving It.
On the contrary, I was always most
careful to state that I was not trying
to dictate any particular programme OF
action.
In no case, either in the case of Mr..
chandler or in the case of anyone else,
was there the slightest opportunity for
any honest misconceptiOn of my atti-
tude or any belief that I had pledged
myself specifically to one and only one
amendment or set of amendments, or
amendment which preserved the essen
tial feature of the Hepburn bill as 1t
came from the house. You will doubt
less recall that in the course of the
several visits that you personally made
me, we discussed anumber Of these
proposed amendments, trying to find
out for which one there could be OBJ
tanned a sufficient body of assent to
secure its passage and the passage of
the rate bill.
Objections to All.
ITO almost every amendment pro-
posed by any one. found that there
were other excellent men who object
ed, or who, at least, wished to change
1t, and finally became convinced that
1t was impossible for senators with adj
vantage to use me as the Intern ediary
in coming to an agTeeme tent with their
colleagues, especially when they only
communicated with me through an
other Intern ediary, and I earnestly
suggested to all to whom spoke that
they should communicate with you,
whose purposes and mine were identi-
cal. About this time, I was informed,
by various Democratic senators, that
they could not come to an agreement
upon any amendment, and that the
best chance for success lay in passing
the Hepburn bill substantially IN
changed. was informed and be-
lieved, that this was Senator Bailey's
view; and a number of the Republican
pressed the same opinion.
Shortly after this. you, in company
with Senator Cullom, called upon me
with the amendment which is now
commonly known as the Allison
amendment I told you that While
should prefer the Long and Overman
amendments. yet that your amend
ment was entirely satisfactory. Your
amendment does not in the slightest
degree weaken or injure the Hepburn
re
friends have always asserted was i'm
piled by the terms of the bill.
Roosevelt Made No Changes.
II may add that my own opinion that
your amendment in no way changed
whether by diminishing or charging
the scope of the court review as provid-
ed in the original Hepburn bill, is also
the opinion of the attorney general. of
Mr.. Root and Mr. Taft. Their tudg-
ment is that the amendment merely
avoids the criticism that the Hepburn
bill would be cOnstitutionaIly invalid
In not expressly providing the court re-
view which its supporters have always
contended was plainly implied in the
original language.
THE original Hepburn bill stated that
the venue for certain actions was in
certain courts; the amendment states
that these courts shall have jurisdiction
| to consider such actions. To my mind
it seems difficult to assert that this
/ works any change whatever in the prin-
ciple of the bill. Yours sincerely,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Mr.. NOody's Letter.
The attorney generals letter to the
president. which he inclosed to Senator
Allison, follows:
"OnIce of the Attorney General, Wash
ington, D. c., May IA. 1s06-Afy Dear
Mr.. President: send, at your request,
an account of the conferences which I
had by your direction with Senators Till
man and Bailey upon the subject of
| the court review feature Of the pending
rate legislation.
"On April Il, you told me that Messrs.
Tillman and abbey had communicated
forming you that they were willing to
support an amendment to the Hepburn
bill. which, while expressly comforting
jurisdiction upon the courts to review
the action of the commission, should
| limit the review TO the two questions
of the authority of the commission and
the constitutionality of it's action, and in
clude a provision forbidding the is
suance of interlocutory injunctions.
Avoided the President.
you told me that they were not
willing to confer directly with you, but
| would meet me. You asked me If ]
| thought that congress had the power to
prohibit the issuance of interIocutory
| injunetions by courts inferior to the su-
preme court and told you that, having
read part only of the debate upon that
question, the subject being new to me,
I had not formed a final opinion. You
vision were declared unconstitutional. 1t
| would affect other provisions of the
law. I told you that in my opinion it