The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-06
OPPOSITION TO
RAILROAD BILL
Llttlefield of Maine and Grosvenor of
Ohio Speak Against Hep
burn Measure.
LATTER GROWS SARCASTIC
PRESIDENTS PET ISSUE CALLED
A "FAKE."

Washington, Feb 5.-Before the rail
road rate debate began in the house to-
day two bills were passed. One pro
Vtded for setting aside townsites in the
Flathead Indian reservation in Mon
tana; the other authorizes the further
expenditures Of $50 600 for county i'm
provements from the sale Of town lots
in Lawton. I. T.
An hour to oppose the railroad rate
bill was yielded to Mr.. Littlefield of
Maine.
Bill Goes Too Far.
Mr.. Littlefield believed the pictures
OF distress on the rate question were
entirely too lurid. The proposed legis-
lation went too far and he should vote
against IT. He had been willing to go
as far IS the president had recommend
ed IN 1904 and 1905. Not member of
the house. he maintained, could say
what is a reasonable rate. This was
one Of the great and tremendous diff
culties the bill presented and indicated
the vast and arbitrary power that was
to be vested in a political tribunal. In
the zeal with which both political par
ties were running a legislative race.
they had gone far beyond the presi-
dents desires.
A remedy for nine-tenths of rate
evils. he said, row exists in all courts
under the present law and the COM
mon law Under the proposed bill a
curious and heterogeneous condition was
proposed. When the commission deter
mined whether a rate was reasonable,
1t was acting in a judicial capacity:
when ii prescribed a rate for the future
It would be legislating, and when it ad-
ministered this finding it acted in an
executive capacity. This was a COM
bination of three functions of govern
10 Lot s---4
cial-in one single body.
Mr.. Littlefeld said the commission
had been Overluled twO-thirds of the
time.
Senators Listened.
A number of senators listened to Mr..
Littlefield's argument, including Sen
ators Foraker, Perkins. Willard, Kean,
Bulkely, Rayner, Piles. Scott, CALM
ger and Alec.
Developing his contention that under
the bill the commission could regulate
the differantial between the long and
short haul. Mr. LittIefieId said he was
unwilling that a political commission
should say whether or not the New
England cotton manufactures should
or should not be wiped out. He would
he said. demonstrate for their own rec
ord the utter incapacity of the inter
state commerce commission to admin
lister rates.
Mr. Stevens of Minnesota said the
huge and awful" things which h
been depicted would not result from
the enforcement of the legislation.
The committee which considered the
bill were unanimous that it would not
work hardship.
On the other hand there was every
indication by the popular demand for
relief that conditions now are not sat
isfactory. The bill, he said. was a
compromise and was not perfect.
Grosvenor's Criticism.
Mr.. Grosvenor. of Ohio, criticised
the claim that there was any popular
demand for the legislation. What
there was had been manufactured out
OF whole cloth in congress. There
never had been such a fake issue
launched The question of rebates
constituted the only legitimate COM
plant being made, land yet" he con-
tinued, the gentlemen who reported
the bill have absolutely lodged every
question of the slightest Importance to
the shippers of this country
What they had reported, he said,
mot one of them could tell exactly.
Everyone thought it meant a differ
ent thing, and the whole thing was to
be left to the construction Of the
courts. And yet It was born at the
dawning OF a political millennium in
this house. All the angels sang to-
gether on the day this bill was re-
ported and sang the same tune"
Mr.. GrOsvenOT said he should pro-
pose an amendment TO correct what
he regarded as the real evil. His
amendment would prevent railroad
COMPANIES or officers from owning
productive interests along their lines,
Would XIII Competition.
The bill in operation would kill all
competition and the result would be
exactly the same as the effects of the /
old pooling bill, with uniform rates
He said the center of the country
would not suffer, but that it would /
be the extremities OF border states.
Having expressed himself on the bill
Mr.. GrOsvenOr continued:
And I shall aid In getting It out of
this house as speedily as possible"
Mr.. Davidson OF Wisconsin advoca- |
ted the bill.
At the close Of the days debate the
Notifications appropriation bill was
reported, and at 5:25 o'clock the house
adjourned until tomorrow at II !
o'clock.