New-York tribune., 1906-06-26
ANOTHER SETBACK.
RITE BILL 4T'T4CkED.
TilIman Says STANDARD OIL Got IN It's
Work-Fwther Conference.
1From The Tribune Rur.au.l

! tFrona The Tribune Bureau.I
| Washington. June 25--The Senate put IN g
| strenuous session to-day. The La Toilette reso-
| luton calling on the Interstate Commerce Com
mission to investigate the elevator trust in Min
| nesota and the Northwest was adopted, as was
the report of the conferrees the bill TO protect
| Niagara Falls.
| Senator Timan broug 1T in the conference re-
port on the Railway Rate bill. and this precipi-
tated long debate. the end of which is not yet.
as it will be continued when the Senate meets
at IL o'clock tomorrow. Senator Timan. in ex-
planning the conference report made charac-
| teristic speech. in which he announced that he
| had declined to sign the report because of the
| change made in the Elkins amendment in favor
of the owners of pipe lines. The change in this
amendment said Mr.. Tillman. "means-it
simply means that the Standard oil has got in
its work" And later, describing the attitude of
the House conferrees this subject. the Sen
ator from South Carolina declared that no
sooner had he heard expression of their views
than he began to smell mouse-or something"
The conference report, as previously an
nounced in these dispatches. provided for the
change of the words common carriers" to rail-
ROADS IN the Elkins amendment so that only
railroads are prohibited from carrying their
own products in interstate commerce thus ex-
empung pipe line owners from the restriction
senators Lodge Spooner and others analyzed
the conference report the provision prohibit
Ing passes, showed that it left the railroads
free to use passes TO an unlimited extent in
lieu OF cash rebates and failed to accomplish it's
purpose of forbidding the issuance of passes to
Senators and Representatives, etc The whole
section is so loosely drawn as to require it's
redrafting, and the measure will doubtless be
sent back TO conference tomorrow.
TILLMAN SMELLS SOMETHING
Immediately after the Senate met to-day the
clerk OF the House of Representatives an
nounced the action of that body on the Railroad
Rate BILL but it was allowed to lie on the Vice
Presidents desk until 2:30 p. m, when it was
called up by Senator Tillman. After the report
was read Mr.. Tillman called attention to the
iact that his name was not attached. He pre-
sented and defended it. he said at the request
of the Republican Senate conferrees but he said
he was opposed to the agreement concerning one
amendment to which he would later move that
the Senate disagree He had reference to the
McLaurin amendment divorcing the carrying
and producing business. which was amended so
that 1t does not apply to pipe lines
The change in the amendment "in plain Eng
lsh, he said. meant that the Standard Oil
had got in it's work" The agreement in regard
to this amendment. he said relieved the STAN
dard Oil Company from control and regulation
of the Interstate Commerce Commission
When the bill was sent TO conference second
time Senator Tillman said. he found an en-
tirely different atmosphere from that of the
first conference, as the House conferrees insisted
upon opening the whole subject including all
matters on which an agreement had been
reached. Then 1 began to smell a mouse or
something" he said.
"Or something. probably" said Mr. Elkins
Continuing. Mr.. Tillman said anyway he be-
came more or less skeptical as to motives. as
one is likely to do after service in the Senate"
He contended that the change of the words
common carriers to railroads" would simply
destroy the effect of making pipe lines common
carriers.
There you see the result OF this additional
deliberation." he added. "The House had us up
a tree and insisted upon taking the Senate pipe
line amendment it originally inserted,
thus making effective the change in the COM
modify amendment. BY this change the di-
vorcement OF transportation from production
would be confined to railroads, thus relieving
the Standard Oil Company from the operation
Of the requirement that transportation COM
panies shall not carry articles produced by them
selves"
So firmly was he convinced of the instrument
tality of the Standard company in securing this
change that in his estimation every Senator
who votes for the conference report will have
s. o. branded his forehead He would not
vote for it because he did not want anybody
saying. You've got s. o. branded on your
forehead. Ben Tillman." He considered the in
dependent companies whose interests are sup
posed to be involved to be myths.
Senator Culberson insisted that the word
company should be inserted after the word rail-
road. otherwise the railroads themselves might
be relieved from the operation Of the law.
LODGE AGAINST STANDARD OIL
Senator Lodge agreed that the purpose of the
change from common carriers TO railroads
had been to '1et out the Standard Oil Company
so that il could continue to both produce and
transport oil" Under the amendments of the
Senate, he believed that the pipe lines could be
compelled to carry the product of the indepen-
dent companies. He could see no reason for the
change because he believed that transportation
companies should devote their efforts to the
carrying business. He believed that all of the
agitation In the supposed interest of the inde-
pendent companies had been instigated by the
Standard Oil Company.
Senator Bailey took the position that the
change made by the conference committee in the
commodity provision would nullify the pipe line
position. 1t equivalent TO making the STAN
dard OIL Company the exception to the re-
quirement that producers shall not transport
their own articles He did not charge the
Standard Oil Company with direct effort to
influence legislation. but to frighten independent
companies who. 1t had transpired sell their oil
to the Standard.
If" he said. "the Standard company wishes
TO be producer. transporter or a reiner let
# engage in either of those lines of effort, but
don't let it monopolize all those branches of the
oil industry"
He thought the Independent companies should