The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-03-30
THREE MEN SPEAK
 ON THE RATE BILL
Medical Department of Army
 to be Reorganized
.ELKINS PROTESTS LOYALTY
Says He Is a Better Friend of the Rail- road Bill Than Any of Its Sup porters-The Senate Ad-
 journs Until Monday.

iourns Until Monday.
 Washington, March 29.-The Senate to- day listened to speeches on the railroad rate bill by Messrs. Clay Carmack and Newlands. and then debated and passed a Dnll, which provides for the reorgani- zation of the medical department of the army by authorizing the appointment Of officers to take the place of contract surgeons.
 The senators who spoke on the railroad rote bill indicated a purpose of support, but MT. Clay expressed the hope that it would be so amended as to afford 8 limited court review of the orders of the interstate commerce commission.
 Mr. Hale criticised the military medi- cal bill as showing a tendency of in crease in the army which he said was not desirable in time of peace.
 When the Senate met today, Mr. Gull | herson presented and the clerk read memorial from the Cattle Rasers Asso- ciation of Texas urging the passage of the railroad rate bill as 1t came from the House. The letter was accompanied by letter from S. H. Cowan, attorney for the association, in which he said the railroads have in the last six years in- | creased rates on cattle shipments to the l extent of SIS a car. causing total out lay of s1O,O0O GOO above the amount that it would have been necessary to pay under the old prices. He said the change
  petition urged the Senate to resist ef- ! forts to seriously amend the bill as mere | subterfuge on the part of the opponents.
 The Senate agreed to adjourn from to- day until Monday.
 The following bills were passed:
 Bills Passed. Amending the law requiring lights on rafts so as to make it apply to rafts in l tow.
 Authorizing the erection of a dam across the Choctawhatchee river in Dale county, Ala.
 MT. Lodge presented the conference re- port on the consular reorganization bill and it was agreed to without discus l sion.
 When the railroad rate bill was taken up | MT. Clay addressed the Senate. saying that he did not consider the principal point of controversy serious one. He | had heard charges that both the House l and Knox bills were drawn in the interest | of the railroads, but the facts he declar- ed. were convincing that such was not l the case. He then traced the history of the House bill. saying that it owed | It's origin to the interstate commerce commission and had been accepted by the entire membership of the House commit tee republicans and dembcrats alike, and | had passed the House with practical unanimity.
 The bill might not be perfect, but he | was satisfied that 1t had received only | honest consideration. Soo, too, he was satisfied that the Knox, the Tillmand and the Culberson bills had all been drawn in the interest of the people. He discussed | the question of a court review of the | orders of the interstate commerce com | mission saying that if under the house bill the regularity of the commissions l orders only was contested the carrier would be deprived of the right of contest ing a rate fixed.
 Adrich and Deliver Have CoIloquy.
 MT. Aldrich interrupted with the state ment that MT. Deliver had said that the | only question that could be taken into court was whether the committee had de- cided that its opinion would be a just and | reasonable rate.
 | q neevr expressed such an opinion," re- | sponded MT. Deliver.
 MT Aldrich replied that the record would bear out his assertion, and he quoted a statement made by the Iowa senator in a colloquy with Mir. Bailey in support of | his contention.
 | Mir. Dolliver declared that this state ment was fragmentary and said that he | had stated not fewer than ten times on the floor of the Senate that the courts would necessarily review the findings of | the commission from the standpoint as to whether the commissions order de- | prived the carrier of property without due | process of law.
 | q am willing to let the record speak l for itself" responded MT. Aldrich adding that the friends of the bill failed to agree l as to it's purport
 Why not say so directly in the bill | and get over the controversy" he said | "I believe review ought to be permit l ted, but that the review ought to be confined to the question whether or not | the rate fixed is constitutional. The court | should not be authorized to go into the l whole case"
 i Mir. Tilman and Mir. Fulton asked why | if the review privilege was to pe confined 1 to the constitutional privilege and what | kind of provision was necessary, and Mir | Clay replied that he would agree with l them if there were nothing in the bill | as 1t stands on the subject of review 1 but that in view of the text of the bill | he thought 1t should be amended so as | to authorize the courts to say whether the rates fixed weer confiscatory MT EllSins. like MT. Aldrich asserted | that the friends of the bill do not agree | in its interpretation
 | "The trouble is not among the friends of the bill,'' said MT. Nelson but among | it's enemies. One class opposes on high constitutional grounds, and contends for the right of review, while a third class, | like MT Elkins stands out against any | regulation at all"
 | MT. Elkins replied by declaring that | he Is the best friend the bill has and | that his only reason for desiring to have | the bill amended is to make 1t stand. | He declared that he is even better | friend of the measure than either MT. | Deliver. MT Nelson or Mir Tillman | Mir. Clay took the position that con- | gress had the power to fix a standard | of rates governing just compensation; | that both the carrier and the shipper | should have authority to go into the | courts to define the question of just com | pensation; that the power to issue in- | junction should he hedged about with all | proper restrictions and that carriers | should be confined to their own busi- | ness.
 Carmack Discusses Bill. When the big stick keeps company | with the pitchfork. surely the halcyon days of politics have come" said Mir