The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-17
SENATE COMMITTEE
 AFRAID TO FACE MUSIC
COURT OF REVIEW FEATURE 4 HARD ONE FOR
 THEM.

No One Wishes to bring It to Vote--
 Statement of Chairman Elkins--Com-
 mittee Adiourns Ostensibly Because
 Senator TilIman is Suddenly Taken
 Ill and Could Not be Present and Be-
 cause Senator CuIlum is Expected
 to Return from Florida Next Week.
 Washington, Feb. 16. We have heard as many opinions on the rail- road rate question as there are mem bers of the committee and each man is afraid to bring the court review feature to vote," said Chairman El- kins to-day when the senate committee on interstate commerce adjourned uIl- til Thursday without having taken a vote on a bill or considered an amend ment for judicial review of orders of the interstate commerce commission. This statement was made in the pres ence of Senators Deliver and Clapp, who are contending for the Hepburn bill in the form that it came from the house It was said in jest, but 1t IS believed that it more nearly expressed the situation than any previous alleged authoritative announcement The corn ,mittee agreed that important amend ments will not be voted on until Fri day of next week.
 Ostensibly the committee adjourned because Senator Tillman was suddenly taken ill with threatened pneumonia and could not be present and because Senator Cullom will return from Flori- da some time next week and cast his vote in the committee. The real reason for adjournment is believed to be the attitude of certain democratic members in not disclosing their positions on the court review feature. Neither repub- lican faction in the committee was cer- tain of the outcome and a vote there fore was not insisted upon to-day Sup porters of the house bill were encour- aged, however, by telegram received to-day by Chairman Elkins from Sem ator Cullom asking to be counted against amendment to the Hepburn Deliver bill if a vote were taken to- day.
 Without taking up the question of judicial review of orders of the com mission the committee considered many amendments offered to other sections of the house bill. Senator Carmack, who ha dbAen absent during former deliber- ations this week, offered an amend nent increasing the interstate com merce commission from five to nine members.
 The amendment was adopted by a vote of to 5 as follows Affirmative EllSins, Aldrich, Kean, CarInack, Eos ter and Crane Negative, Foraker, Dol liver, Clapp, McLaurin, and Newlands. It was agreed, however, that Messrs Cullom and Tillman have their votes recorded on this amendment and this may change the result, though this is not believed likely.
 Another amendment offered by Sen ator Carnack to fix the liabilities of common carriers, railroad and trans portation companies for negligence, was adopted unanimously and will be incor- porated in, or added to the bill as a new section. The amendment is as fol- lows:
 That any common carrier, railroad or transportation company receiving property for transportation from a point none state to point in another state, shall issue a receipt or bill Of lading therefore and shall be liable to the holder thereof for any loss, dam age or injury to such property caused by it's negligence of any common car rier railroad or over whose line or lines 1l1- .l r1alIcL1. IIA--