The Washington times., 1906-02-24
Bitter Fight Over Hep
burn Measure in Com
mittee Room.
TILLMAN TO REPORT IT
Sardonic Thrust at Senator
Dolliver in Thus lgnor-
ing Him.


career. the Dolliver-H Hepburn rate regu-
lation bin yesterday afternoon came out
of the Senate Committee on Commerce
in a fashion that quite put in the shade
the unanimous report with which the
House committee sent il TO the floor of
the lower body.
Senator Dolliver. driven to his last
resort, turned on his enemies and by a
coup Is brilliant as it was effective
forced the issue jsst at the time and
place best calculated for his purposes.
He took a short cut through the maze of
amendments and arguments which con-
fTonted the committee. by moving that
the House bill be reported unamended.
On this he forced an issue, and il car
Tied Every Democrat in the committee
voted for it; Dolliver and Clapp. Re
publicaDs. did the same. and the vote Of
Cuilom was also cast for IL on the proxy
which DOlliver held for him.
Hard Fought Battle.
No profigate displays of the boasted
Senatorial courtesy have marked the
consideration of this bill in the Senate
committee. Every effort of parliament
airy tactics and of outside influence has
been employed 20 defeat the favorable
report. Senator Cullom, the venerable
father of interstate commerce IegisIa-
ton. absent because of illness, was
granted the right to be voted in favor
Of the House bin only after strenuous
protest. and upon its being made plain
that. If the privilege were denied, he
would take the long Journey from Flo
rida at the risk OF his life. And even
after this had been granted. it was
eaH n, daHx aim ha rfxr 70 Hax-
his vote cast against the amendments to
the measure. Although he had tele-
graphed general authority TO Senator
DOlliver to vote him against all amend
ments except those regarding which the
committee should be unanimous
1t was right here that the opposition
overplayed its hand. Attempting to dis
franchise CulIom during the cousidera-
ton Of amendments, they forced Mr..
Dolliver, in order to prevent amending
the bill TO death. 10 ignore pending
amendments and move at once that the
bill be reported as it came from the
House. This brought the issue. sharp
and unmistakabIe; and on this issue
DolIiver and Clapp, with the solid Demo-
cratic support. won the DAY.
Senator Doliiver Ignored.
But the resources of Senatorial dis
courtesy were not yet exhausted.
Beaten on the real issue, the Aldrich
following refused to permit Mr.. Dolliver
to report the bill which ne had himself
written and for which he had fought
so Ions and successfully. Senator Aid
rich moved that Senator TiHman, Demo-
crat and the bitterest antagonist of the
President, be instructed to report the
bin. 1t was a saTdonic jest with the
President as its butt; it was also a
means of depriving Dolliver of the credit
Of handling his own bill on the Senate
floor; and. finally, il was an effort to
arouse prejudice by making the bill
look like a Tillman measure, and there
lore DANCE fously radical
Senator DOlliVer did not ask to be
permitted to report the bill; he wanted
Senator Cullom, by right Of seniority
and because of his paternity in inter-
state commerce legislation, to do this
But on the vote four Republicans
Aldrich. Kean, Crane, and Foraker
and one Observation-Disclosures
for TilIm8n; two Republicans, Clapp
and Elkins, and one Democrat, New
lands, voted for DolIiver- The others
refrained from voting. Thus there was
a Democrat OH each side, and the
Issue was decided by the Republicans;
anu the VOTES OF the IOuT ueTeaIeU Op-
ponents made ii a Democratic measure
to the extent Of turning It over to a
Democrat to report and TO manage on
the Senate floor
A SaTdonic Achievement.
There was a vigorous effort on the
part of the defeated faction to mag
nifty this incident into the appearance
OF the predominating achievement of
the day. The Republican Senators who
had turned over the bill to TiIlman
laughed with all the appearance of
hearuness and satisfaction over their
joke on the President and their revenge
against Dolliver. Oh. yes. it was now
Democratic measure; it was TO be
handled and managed by the Presi-
dents dearest enemy. They wondered
when Tfllman would make his first call
at the executive office for conferences
about further policies in the premises
They recalled that the other day TIL
man in a speech had criticised this
same House bill, during a speech on
the Senate floor and they chuckIed
over the amusement they would derive
when they quoted his own words
against the manager Of the bill, in the
debate on the floor.
But all this effort to bedim the ac-
complishments of the day detracted
from the general significance of the
days substantial achievement. Senator
Elkins frankly admitted 1t a defeat to
the opposition. He said, after ii was
all over, that he had recently learned
that for three weeks there had been
deal between the House leaders, the
rouse and Senate Democrats, and the
senatorial friends of the bill for the
Continued on Second Paze1