The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-09
CUTTING OUT PASSES
ron RAILROAD EMPLOYEs LIKELY TO DE q FACTOR IN FALL
 ELECTIONS.
May Cause Defeat of Several Rcpubli- cans n New York and Illinois. and Other Northern and vest
 ern states--Other News.

and Other Northern and Vest
 ern states--Other News.
 washington. D. C., June S--tspeciaD --The action of the conferees on the railway rate bill in depriving the rail- road employees and their families of the free transportation privilege has been the subject of much adverse com ment here The vote stood four to two in favor of cutting off the passes. Those who voted to cut off this transporta- ton were Senators Tillman and Gull lom, and Representatives Hepburn and Sherman. Senator Elkins and Repre- sentative Richardson made hard fight to prevent the railroad employees from having their free transportation privileges cut of.
 It is believed that if Congress fin- ally agrees to this action of the con ferees it will have an important bear ing on the congressional election. There were three Republicans and only one Democrat in the Conference Com mittee. who voted for cutting the raii- road men out of their transportation while one Democrat and one Republican voted against cutting them out. IT the Republicans claim credit for the passage of the rate bill they will also have to assume responsibility for cut ting out the free transportation or railroad men. Furthermore, one ot the conferees who helped by his vote to cut on the passes of the railroad men, Representative Sherman, is chair man of the Republican Congressional Committed It is said that the rail- road employees are already threatening to 20 after him in his own District ana In the national fight he is preparing to make 1t is said that the same Is true in the cases of Representative Hepburn and of Senator Culiom. some of the friends of the latter are afraid that the whole railroad vote Tn lill- nofg will be turned to Governor Yates who is a candidate for Cullom's seat It is pointed out that the railroad vote constitutes the balance of power in Illinois Politicians will watch the re- suit carefully as 1t will constitute the best test of the strength of the labor vote as factor at election time
 Do They Approve Itf
 Probably the most significant state ment yet made by a Republican leader about the working of the tarin was that made by Senator Aldrich in the course of q running debate on the question of materials for the construe- tior of the Panama Canal Speaking Of the sale of American goods abroad Tor less than they are sold at home, un- der the protective tarifr, he said:
 sIt Is a we'll known fact. about which there is no dispute, that producers in the United States and in every one of the great industrial centers sell por- tions of their products from time to time a ta less price to people or otn' CT countries than to their regular GUS toners at home. This fact, which Is we'll known to the people of the United States, has in the sense affected thelr decision as to what the policy or the country ought to be with reference to the tariff"
 This seems to be the throwing down of the gauntlet ny the Republicans on the tariff question, and thus. for the forty-leventh time have they changed front on the tariff question. In the campaign of 1902 1t was denied vigor- ously from every Republican stump in the country that American products were sold cheaper abroad than at nome In 1904 1t was conceded what in some cases this was true but that 1t repre- sented only a surplus product. Now the whole thing is admitted, since It can no longer be denied and the Re- publicans believe that the people are so afraid of the Democrats that they will vote for continuation or such a program rather than to see the Dem ocrats come back into power. JohE sharp Williams says that If the peo- ple, knowing these things vote to con tiuue such conditions he will be ready to conclude that Barnum hit the nail nlumb on the head when he said that the American like to be humbugged.
 President For Revision.
 It Is definitely known that the President is for tarin revision, In the draft of his last message to Congress he had a paragraph recommending revision of the tariff at the present session of Congress He submitted 1t to a large number of Republican leaders, but the majority of them advised him to cut it out. saying that it would be idle for Congress to attempt to reVis" the tariff and to pass a rate bill at the same session. The President considered the point so well taken that he dietded to postpone the matter until the next session. It is said that the President has expressed himself to many of his friends as believing that It will he dangerous to the Republican party to postpone the consideration of the mat ter any further than the next session.
 As a matter of fact the President is as much of a free trader at heart as Grover Cleveland. and more or free trader than John sharp Williams. By ron W. Holt, the leading tariff expert of the country once told me In the course of a conversation that Roose- welt was a member of the Tariff Re- form Club of New York during his own membership, and that he had heard Roosevelt make some of the most stren- uous free trade speeches he had ever heard This was along about the time he wrote his Life of Benton" in which he says that 1t is pretty gencr- ally agreed by all political economists that the protective tarif Is vicious in theory and wrongful in practice. Some who enjoy his confidence to this day have told me that thIs represents still the personal attitude of the Honest Man" of the White House. Demo- cratic House In the Sixtieth Congress would probably postpone revision of the tarfff untilafter 1908. but 1t would presage a Democratic victory in the Presidential campaign of that year.
 Senator TilIman's Way.
 Beneath a rude exterior Senator Till man possesses all the finer qualities of a gentleman, and as a conversationniist he Is always interesting. A few days public I happened to be in Senator El- kins' room at the Capitol just before the conference committee on the rate bill met. Senators Tillman and Cullom. and Representatives Richardson and Sherman were there. and they fell to discussing the beef trust report. Sem ator Cullom ventured the remark tkat he fancied the picture was somewhat overdrawn. Senator Tillman said that he had no doubt but that such was the case.
 always puts on more airs than the
 To this Representative sherman re- That is exactly right, Senator, but no one could have put it so well as you