Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-01-06
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE

Washington Bureau Of the Courier,
Washington, D. c., January a.
About next Tuesday, In Colonel Hep.
blHn's committee room, in the house
the movement in the direction of rail- |
road rate legislation will begin in real
earnest So far as definite developments |
are concerned. At the same time the
preliminary steps toward the reporting
of bill from the senate committee
will be taken, but conditions in the
senate committee and in the house are
SO widely different that no such expedi-
ton can be expected ,in the senate as
| in the popular branch of the legislative
body.
A Herculean Task.
Some conception Of the task that
confronts Col. Hepburn and the other
| sixteen men composing the house COM
mittee on interstate and foreign COM
merce may be obtained from the state.
ment that there are now on the docket
OF the committee more than seventy
five bills bearing upon the subject of
railroad control and corporation control
through their interstate operations. OF
this number about fifteen relate speci-
! f1cally to the freight rate question. Be-
/ tween this Cate and the meeting Of
the committee next Tuesday there Is
no telling how many new bills may be
introduced. Many of the members
have been at home during the holidays
and they may have returned loaded
down with ideas which will find express
. sion in concrete bills. However, 1t is
not expected that any other Iowa con-
gresham than Col. Hepburn will in
J troduce a bill. The measure that Mr..
Hepburn has been working on since
the beginning Of the session will prob
ably be the committee bill under
the title of the Hepburn bill AS has
been intimated this bin will, to all In.
tents and purposes be duplicate to
the Dolliver bill introduced into the
> senate by the junior senator from
Iowa. The bills will be SO nearly
!. twins that probably if each should pass
2 it's house and the bills should In any
manner lose their identifying marks, Il
! would be difficult to tell which was
!. the Dolliver bill and which the Hep
> burn bill.
= Testimony Is All In.
No more testimony of consequence
at least. will be taken by either com
I. mittee, and probably by January 20
L the house bill will have been reported
1t is expected rule will be presented
at once for its consideration and tina
: debate will begin speedily 1t is no
= understood to be the purpose to limi
: amendments or to rush the measur,
:, through the house. Perhaps four days
:. time on each side of the house will b.
permitted and then vpte will b.
7 taken. The result is foregone cor
.. clusion. Not the slightest doubt exist
as to the ultimate decision; there vii
y be few if any votes against the bill
"a although that is not saying that a goo
many congressman are not privatel
p hoping and praying that the senat
will manage in some manner to emas
culate the bill and render it less dras
tic.
,sJ No Certainty About Senate.
n When the senate committee will RI
a port a bill and what progress will b
made in its consideration when 1t
reported nobody In Washington PR
70 fesses to be able to say. All that
= known is that the ship subsidy bill, II
troduced by Senator Gallinger, has tn
right of way at the present time,
proposition which Is expected to suppl
material for a convenient debate Whe
90 necessary, AS matter of fact tn
"details, even in a general way, Of til
. next five months of legislative proce
ure nre thickly yelled at this momel
and the most far seeing of the o.
= timers admit that it will be possible
: map out work only for the time bein
OF at farthest for few days In a
vance. Frank j Stillman.
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You will not find beauty in rouge p'
or complexion whitewash. True beau