New-York tribune., 1906-05-13
THE COURT REVIEW SETTLEMENT.


Attempts to stampede the public into think
ing that President Roosevelt surrendered to
the railroads" when he approved the so-called
Allison amendments to the Hepburn Rate bill
will continue 10 be made perhaps, by Demo
cratic newspapers and Democratic politicians
disgruntled at the solidlhcatiOn Of the Repub-
lican majority in the Senate on an issue which
seemed for time to threaten a party schism.
But these attempts will mislead only the most
partisan, for the more closely the Allison
amendments are studied the more evident it
becomes that the new draft merely makes
explicit the intention of the Hepburn bill and
affirms the existence Of remedies at law which
the trainers Of that measure had idea of
questioning. II substitutes a declaration for
an implication. But it does not alter the fun
damental relation between the courts and the
Interstate Commerce Commission established
by the House bill. Nor does 1t turn the courts
into rate making commissions of a superior
sort.
If the advocates Of broad review" intended to
vest the courts with general authority to super
wise the ministerial and administrative work
of the Interstate Commerce Commission, to cor
rect its mistakes Of judgment in dealing with
transportation problems, as well to check
its usurpations of power and violations of con-
stitutional guarantees, the Allison amendments
are no more an embodiment Of their theories
than was the original Hepburn bill. IT, on the
contrary, they have merely desired to have the
constitutional rights Of appellants explicitly rec
ognized the dispute between the marrow
view" and broad review" factions has been
from the beginning, as Senator Allison said
on Friday, merely a wrangle over forms and
phrases.
1t is unconvlncing, therefore, to say, as Sen
ator Rayner did, and as THE New York World
has done, that "the Allison amendment repre-
"sents everything for which the so-called rail
road Senators have been fighting" If this
is true, the fight conducted with so much
insistence by the broad review" faction
has been a meaningless fight, and much
time could have been saved by an acceptance
three months ago Of the review theory underly
ing the Hepburn bill According to this inter-
probation, If there has been any material narrow
review" issue before the Senate 1t has been the
issue raised by Senator Bailey in his anti-in-
junction amendment. But the House of Repre-
sentatives had incorporated no feature of that
sort in the Hepburn bill, and the Republican
Senators classed as narrow review" men were
as stoutly opposed to that innovation as were
the Republican Senators classed as broad re-
viewers" If any narrow review" proposition
has now been abandoned 1t is that Of the Texas
Senator. Hence the disposition Of Democratic
leaders, seeking political capital, to deplore the
agreement reached by the Republican majority.
1.-The Springfield Republican" though it tells
its readers that there seems to be question
"at Washington that the President has been
"tricked by the conservative Senators into an
Endorsement of court review amendment to
"the Hepburn Rate bill which he probably would
mot have indOrsed had he known It's origin is
too judicious to echo the surrender" verdict
1t says frankly:
AS q matter OF fact the so-caed Allison
amendment does not accord a whit greater
measure Of court review than would be obtain
able and would be asserted under the bill 1t
passed the House; and the President has all
along been ready to accept the Hepburn bill
unamended
This sagaciOus Democratic critic sees already
that the surrender" theory is untenable. Other
Democratic critics will soon find that it is i'm
possible to fOist such deluslOn an intelligent
public. Yesterdays sensational debate in the
Senate marked the elimination Of the Demo
cratic partisan attempts to defeat this reason
able Republican agreement to carry out the es-
sence Of President ROOsevelts policy, and in
spite Of the violent efforts Of Senator Bailey and
Senator T1llman to discredit the measure, it's
adoption will be accepted by the American
people as a great victory for the President,
since it will assure the most effective regula-
ton of rates compatible with the constitutional
rights OF common carriers