The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-01
SENATE WINS IN
RATE BILL FIGHT
Conference at the White House and
a Court Review Amend
ment Proposed.
SAILS ARE BEING TRIMMED
ROOSEVELT TRYING TO STEM
THE TIDE.

WaShln gtOn, March St--fNiend5 O.
the house railroad rate bill. in con-
ference with President Roosevelt ut
The White House tod2v. agreed upon
an amendment providing specifically
fer judicial review of orders Of the
interstate commerce commission. This
amendment. will be presented on Mon
day by Senator Long, Il pronounced
opponent of any amenument which
would permit the railroads to obtain
a review of a character amounting to
a retriaI of the merits of the commits
sions order.
Called to White House.
Senators Allison, 9 Illom, Doniver,
CIapp and Long, Attorney General
Moody, and Interstate Commerce Com
missiOnerS KnaDO and PTGTtY, were
called to the White House late this
afternoon. Soon after they assembled
the president sabmittel the cCUr: re-
view amendment that was afterwards
endorsed by all presen+. A number of
the conferees previously had seen the
draft, but It's authorship was not dis
closed. The president ANNOUNCED that
he had decided upon the meeting be-
cause he desired to ascertain the pres
ent state of feeling in congress re-
garding a judicial review feature in
the legislation. 1t was made. clear dat
he had not changed his views regard
ing the pending bill, and similar stands
were taken by the others.
The president thought, however, that
in Difference to the large number OF
senators who honestly believed that
the bill without such a feature would
be unconstitutional, the bill should be
amended if it could be done without
a surrender of the purposes of the
legislation
RooseVeIt's Amendment.
This could he done. he believed, by
an amendment which he then read.
1t proposed to strike out the para
graph at the bottom of page Il and
insert as a part of section Is the fol-
lowing:
THAT all orders of the commission,
except orders for the payment of mon
ev. shall take effect within such rea-
sonable time as shall be prescribed by
the comm ,ssion, and shall continue for
such period of time, not exceeding two
wears as shall be prescribed in the
order of the commission. unless SOON
er set aside by the commission or sus-
pended or set aside in a suit brought
against the commission in the circuit
court of the United States sitting as
a court of equity for the district where
in any carrier plaintiff in such suit.
has its principal operating Office, and
Jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the
circuit court of the United States to
hear and determine in any such suit
bevond the authority of the commits
sion or in violation of the rights Of
fine carrier secured By the constitu-
ton
Discussions continued for an hour.
If was anaIyZed TO ascertain whether
under it's terms an order OF the COM
mission lowering a rate could be de-
Iaved in taking effect Attorney Gen
eraI Moody and other lawyers pointed
ont that the discretion of the commits
sion is absolute. With specifically de-
claring against restraining orders. it
makes it extremely doubtful whether
a court would attempt to interfere
with an order except in the manner
provided
When the president asked whether
an amendment OF that character would
be adopted by the senate, the senators
present said they thought they could
promise twenty mine Republican votes
for IT, and that there is little doubt
that practically the entire minority
would support it,
It was agreed that the amendment