The Minneapolis journal., 1906-02-16
Roosevelt's Friends in the Senate
Fear He May Be Led :
Astray. !
=
AIDRICH LEADS IN
r. RATE BILL ATTACK
Effort Is Being Made to Induce
Executive to Yield on
Court Review.
Sy w. w. .jermane.

BY w. w. jermane.
Washington, Feb. 16.-Some Of the
president 8 staunch friends in the SEN
ate are fearful that he will finally yield
to the railroad pressure and lndorse
some bill for passage thru that BODY ~
Ha''n the Hepburn W1a n"7f bilf, Which VIII passed the
house almost unanimously, and so play
into the hands of the railroad people,
who seem determined not to Withdraw
their pressure until the senate has &C.
cepted some bill which they Will dlo-
tate.
These fearful friends come mostly
from the middle west. and their attl-
tude is so pronounced that 1t Justlness
some Consideration of the question OF
yielding and what is meant by thas
word.
These friends themselves do not e1-
actly know what it is that the railroads
want, beyond the right Of court review
of any rate fixed by the commission.
They know that this much Is wanted,
be other things, and that the. president,
surrounded by unwise or disloyal ad-
visers, may accept the railroad plan,
not himself being skilful enough law
yer to detect the "nigger in the wood
Aldrich Leads the Attack.
The story that. is now going the ne
rounds Of the capitol among some OF OF
the presidents friends, is. to the effect
that Senator Aldrich is the chief plot
ter; that Senators Spooner and Knox
take his orders and endeavor TO carry
them out; that Senator Crane IS sort
Of go-between; that Attorney genera Ia
rus, as have Secretaries Taft and Root,
and that, with such men advising nm,
the president can hardly fail to go
astray. ,-r
these fearful gentlemen that the. presl-
dent would knowingly do anything ne
thought was not proper. But the presl,
dent, having openly said that he would
look for counsel to such men as Moody,
Taft, Root, Knox and Crane, there Is
a feeling that he is IN danger or pelng
lad astray without knowing it,.
Senators Cfapp and DoilIver, on the
other hand, standing up for the Hep
burn bill, are declared to be the cham
pions Of the measure that the president
really wants, since he Endorsed 1t before
1t came up in the house.
Injustice to Roosevelt.
1T is taken for granted in a good
many quarters that if the president
should consent to, court review as tc
reasonableness of any rate fixed by the
commission, he would be yielding, an ane
does the president an injustice, in proof
of which are submitted short statements
from his last. two messages to con
In December, 1904, addressing con
gress, and speaking OF the rate question
he said, in part:
"While I am of the opinion that a
present it would be undesirable, if i
were not impracticable, finally to cloth
the commission with general authorit,
to fix railroad rates, do believe that
al a fair security. to shippers, the com
power, where q given rate has bee
found to be unreasonable, to decide
subject to judicial review, what sha]
be reasonable rate to take its place
the tGlng qf the con nj to TAX
and until it is reversed by the cour
of review.'
His Most Recent Message.
Addressing congress at the beginnin
Of the present session, he said: "I
my judgment, the most important pre-
vision which such law should contai
is that comforting upon some competen
administrative body the power to dc
eide, upon the case being brought be
fore it. whether a given rate prescribe
by railroad is reasonable and just, an
if it is found to be unreasonable an
unjust, then, after full investigation Q
the complaint, to prescribe the limi
of rate beyond which it shall not b
lawful to go, the maximum reasonab]
rate, as it is commonly called, this d,
cision to go into effect within reason
able time and to obtain from thenc
onward, subject to review by II
Reference to the speeches which th
president made during his southern tri
last year will disclose that he advocate
review by. the courts then also, So /
is pretty thoroly committed to the cou
review principle.
I favored the Hepburn bill, which gran
j no special review, but leaves the RAJ
" roads to their rights under the const
tuition, which forbids the taking
/ property without due process of la
IN other words, prevents confiscato1 G
not get that bill enacted into law, al
( If he can be convinced that the cou
! feature, properly inserted into the bi
! will not nullify it's major provision, J
will accept that feature, in line wi
I the statements of his messages. o..
The president is still waiting for h
advisers to get together. Meanwhi
, he will investigate every amendme
providing for court review that may
submitted to him-Spooner g, Aldrich
: Elkins' Taft's, Roots, Moody's.
- will not accept any of them if he thin
, by so doing he will defeat the ma
purposes of the legislation His mil
Is entirely open. He does not intend
Z be goldbricked.
Committee Defers Vote.
Washington, Feb. 16-An importa
s amendments to the railroad bill per
ing in the interstate commerce CO
i nlittee will go over until next Friday,
was decided today soon after the co
r n1ittee met Senator Tillman has Sc
letter to the committee saying t1
+, he is threatened with pneumonia a
cannot attend for several days It
also stated that Senator Cullom, "
is in Florida, will be here next Frid;
= The senate committee on CONNIE,
today, by a vote of 6 to 5, agreed
an amendment increasing the memb
ship of the interstate commerce co
mission to nine members.