The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1906-03-16
SIGNED, But pSApPR0VHD.
President Fails to Display
Enthusiasm for Once. "a
SENATE IS 4 RESENTFUL.
That Cattle Bill Government
Pays Railways too Much.

The spectacle Of President Roose.
velt failing to display energy and
enthusiasm in anything pertaini nj
to the railroad Investigation is some
thing new. But that was what
happened this week in the case of the
Tillman.Gellespie joint resolution di-
recting the Interstate Commerce
Commission to inquire into the rail-
road situation. The President signed
the joint resolution, it is true, but he
sent it hack to the Capitol with a
message that voiced his disapproval
and placed the finger at once on the
weak spot in the measure. The
President said that the resolution
would accomplish very little If it
accomplished anything, and even
that liCtle might be bad.
Altogether the President made out
a decidedly bad case for the resolution
and said that he signed 1t with the
greatest hesitation. There is some
excuse for Mr.. Gellispie turning out
such bad piece of parliamentary
work, for he is a new member and
IMMERSED in u good many things. But
Senator Tillulan is old in trespasses
and sins and there is nothing to be
said in his defense. There is nothing
to be said in behalf of the other men,
bers who allowed such piece Of work
to 20 to the White House, and the
whole performance casts shadow of
suspicion On the good faith Of those
who are SO apparently in earnest 10
railroad legislation and investigation.
The whole situation calls to mind
very forcibly the fact that the oppo-
sition to the Administration measure
that has come to the test has been
the Philippine Tariff bill and that
was killed, just as surely out of re-
sentiment by the Senate as though a
certificate to that effect had accom-.
panied the vote in committee.
1t may be we'll to call attention as
has been done before in these letters,
to the pending livestock transporta-
tion bill which IL it is passed, will be
one Of the most indecently lnhuman
measures that ever got by an indiffer-
ent Congress. The measure, as is
generally known, provides for extend
ing the time during which cattle may
be transported on the railroads with
out food or water from % to SO hours.
The agitation is largely because the
Secretary OF Agriculture two years
ago began to enforce the existing
twenty eight hour law and thus made
many Of the cattle shippers feel the
cost of treating their stock with some
show OF humanity. The proposed
law is infamously cruel, and it can
only be defeated by a strong appeal
to the individual congressman or
better still to their influential back
ers in the home districts. Voters
usually can reach the District mana
ger personally, and strong appeal to
him, showing that votes were apt to
he affected adversely, will induce him
to put the matter to his member in
Washington much more forcefully
than vastly larger number of indi-
vidual appeals mailed to the Capitol
Notwithstanding the fact that oul
mail service costs from twenty tt
forty percent more than it ought tt
cost and that the railroads are charg
ing the Government very much mor'
than they are charging express COM
panies, corporations or private con
Germs, the appropriation for the mail
this year will be three millions o
dollars more than it was last year
The Postmaster General Is maxim,
every effort to ecOnomize. The coun
try knows that it is paying exhorhi
tant rates. Congress admits tina
this extravaganza needs correction
nevertheless, it appears to be impo
tent to do plain and urgent piece Q
economical legislation.
TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY.
Take LAXATIVE BROMA QUIN