The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-23
PRESIDENT STILL
HOLDS WHIP HAND.
Rejecting Knox Plan for Court
Review, He Relies on
House.
White House Conferences Fail to
49,. Turn Roosevelt or Reach
Agreement. -
Nv w. W. Jermane.

BY w. w. Jermane.
Washington, Feb. 2s.-It looks
Wednesday and Wednesday night
ate together on court review amend
ment to the Hepburn bill would be the
end of the work in that direction. The
two sides met in series of highly in
teresting and good-natured conferences
and agreed to disagree. The presi-
dent would not accept the court review
amendment drafted by Senator Knox,
who was the spokesman on this occa-
sion for the CONSERVATIVES forces of
the senate, and Senator Knox would
not accept the amendment drafted bv
the president and Attorney General
Moody.
Relies on the House.
The conferences came to close, and
hereafter the president will permit the
senate to go its own way, knowing full
well that the house Of representatives is
with him and not with the railroad in
terests. It will be possible for the
house to keep congress in session all
summer, and, with campaign coming
on, even the railroad members Of the
senate could not afford to run the risk
that would follow the focusing Of pub
lie sentiment on the body to which thew
belong
To the outsider it is very evident
tnat the president has the whip hand
and 1t looks as if he would eventually
get what he desires, namely. the enact.
nent of sub stantially the Hepburn bill
as 1t passed the house. All stories Of
MS having yielded, or having done this,
that. or the other asinine thing, should
be read with good deal of discriminat-
Ing care by the public He is keenly
alive to the situation in all it's varied
details, knows exactly what he wants.
Is acting intelligently and in the inter,
est Of the public, and will continue to
do so. "
......... Sent for Moody. -. ssss..
After Senator Knox had offered his
court review amendment on "wednesday,
the president sent for ATTORNEY General
Moody, who came o~the White House
post haste. The two looked the Knox
amendment over, and so far as they
could see 1t did not provide for any
harm to the vital principles underlying
the Hepburn bill At the same time,
however, the attorney general thought
the amendment, if made at all, should
be made in somewhat different languages
from that proposed by Senator Knox
He and the president debated this
point, and as the result Of the debate
providing that the courts might have
the right Of review for the purpose of
determining whether the commission
had exceeded it's authority or had in
fringed upon the constitution.
Senator Knox came back to the
White House late in the afternoon
when the president showed him the
Moody amendment, telling him at the
same time he thought 1t better than the
Knox Was Caught.
The Pennsylvania senator read the
Moody amendment, and looking ur
quietly at the president said:
would rather have the original Hep
burn bill.'
$50 would we,' replied the presi
s dent, laughing and there the discussion
Now, one Of two things is true: Sen
ator Knox declined to accept the Moody
substitute for his amendment either be
as his own amen ment had covered, o.
(second) because he was miffed at tn,
president for choosing Moody's phrase
ology In preference to his own.
The first alternative is reflection
against Knox's integrity, for it sup
poses that he had concealed in hi
amendment something the railroad
alternative hits at his vanity and sensi
tiveness. The second alternative is tn,
more probable one.
Sticks to Hepburn Bill.
The president is perfectly satisfied
with the Hepburn bill, and he is no
now ready to abandon it. He is not re
sponsible for what the public pres
has had to say about his attitude. AL
he knows is that he is standing pat, an!
will not yield anything that will attacl
the integrity of the Hepburn measure
or imperil even one of it's salient fea
lures, in the slightest respect.
He has not advocated amendments t.
the bill, and yet when men have COM
along with amendments he has con
sented to look them over, and to &C
cept them, provided the bill would no
thereby be harmed. If the men offerin.
these amendments could be kept in goo,
humor by. such performance, why no
permit it?
Such a performance, however, is yer,
FAR from anything suggesting that tn
president has yielded.
Senator Knox felt rather oaggrieve
at the reIuSai or the president to d
business with nm, and so, yesterday, h
introduced a rate bill of his own. whic
is practically the same as the Hepburn
bill, with the addition Of court re
view feature. The court review sectio
of the Knox bill is the section whic
the president refused to accept.
Court Review Question.
It is the Judgment of the presiden
and Attorney General Moody that
great deal of unnecessary fuss is bein
made over the court review question
They think that the Hepburn bill b,
implication carries everything that
necessary for the protection of the rail
roads, and that the courts would 8
hold, once the question were brough
before them. They therefore think i
not important for the rate bill to pre-
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