Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-23
Hamer of Buffalo Still in Front as Cham
pion Of Corporations
MOTION TO PASS MADE BY CLARKE
shrewd Parliamentary Tactics Sweep
Opponents Of Their Feet.
.oLL CALL ON THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
Four ballots Necessary and Final one
Shows sixteen Republicans in
OppOaItion-Five Fusion
fists for Bill.
CFrom a STAFF Correspondent1

CFrom a STAFF Correspondent)
LINCOLN, March 22.-(SpeciaL)-By a
vote OF 56 to 20 the senate terminal tax bill,
as amended in the committee of the whole,
passed the house on third reading this
morning. The fight was bitter and at times
personal, and true to the promise made by
Hamer, he and the other railroad-controlled
republicans and fusionIsts fought to the
last, bringing to bear every device and trick
of the trade to secure the recommittment
Of the bill that it might be killed. In fact.
they never quit fighting. The pledges they
made to the people who voted for them and
trusted them counted for naught They
were under the eyes OF a big railroad lobby,
which for days has hung over the railing
of the house lobby and haunted the hotels,
and which was present this morning to see
that not a railroad henchman went back
on the corporations.
OF the sixty-seven republicans present,
fifty-one voted to stand for the republican
state platform and for the promises they
made their people. OF the twenty-nine
fusionists present five refused to be con-
trolled by the railroads, but stood with
the pedge-keeping republicans and gave
to the bill five more votes than were neces-
sary TO carry It. These men were Fries of
Howard, Funk OF Phelps, Heffernan OF
Dakota, Quackenbush of Nemaha and
Weems of Nance. They withstood the de-
mands of Tom Allen, democratic state
chairman. who had some political debs to
pay TO the railroads, and they withstood
the pleadings and arguments and threats
of the railroad lobby, ana are counted with
the republicans who stood up for their
promises. Two republicans and two fusion
! lists were absent Bolen, Davis, Gilman and
Whitney.
! Republican RePudiatiOnists.
| The republicans who violated the repub-
! lican state convention platform and voted
with the railroads were: Baker Of York,
| Buckley of Polk, Culdice Of Saline, GLEN
! Of Red Willow, HameT or Buffalo, Hill OF
| Chase, Killen of Gage, Logsdon Of Fill
more, Mccullough of Gage, McMullen Of
! Gage, Renkel of Webster, Saunders OF
| Knox, Springer Of scott's Blum, steinauer
of Pawnee and Wilson of Custer.
Johnson of Saline refused to stand for
| Ralph Browns smooth railroad talk, ana
voted for the bill and against the Hamer
crowd, though Brown was able 20 fix Gull
dice Johnsons colleague; Barrett of Buff
| falo killed Hamer's vote by staying with
| his pledge. Byram OF Burt and Lahners
! Of Thayer whom the railroads thought
! they owned, also refused on final roll call
TO do their bidding. The leaders for the
/ railroads, McMullen, Mccullough and Kill
len of Gage Hamer Of Bunalo, Hin OF
Chase and Wilson of Custer were spotted
| early in the session as railroad henchmen
though Culdice got in later, when Burling-
ton Attorney Foss and Ralph Brown and
Ben White and the rest of the railroad
! lobby got after him.
Leeder I'm the Fight.
The Douglas delegation had splendid as
sistance from Speaker Nettleton. Ned
| Brown and the Lancaster delegation, Bar
| rett OF Buffalo, Harrison of Otoe Knowles
| of Dodge, Jenison Of Clay Keifer Of Muck
oils, Hart of York and all the other pledge
| keeping republicans and Quackenbush OF
Nemaha. Whitney of Sarpy, who was
Gently stricken with paralysis remained
in Lincoln two days to help out, but II
was impossible for him to stay to see the
final grand finish, while Gilman OF Lam
caster got up after operation for ap-
pendcitis TO help, but he, too was unable
to stand the strain and he could not be
present today Clarke OF Douglas has de-
voted his whole time practically TO the bill
and the delegation assisted him materially.
At noon Clarke, who fathered the bill in
the house. was so exhausted and worn out
over the long and uncertain fight that he
was about ready 70 take TO his bed A
number Of Omaha business and professional
men helped Clarke 10 get favorable action
on the bill, the most conspicuous OF them
being W C. Ure, Victor Rosewater, w. A.
PennOck and J. A. c. Kennedy fusionist.
Bill Comes Up Early.
After the house had concurred In the
conference committee amendments TO the
railway commission bill Clarke Of Douglas
moved that s. f. 96l the terminal tax BILL
be advanced 70 third reading He ex-
planned that several members had come
10 the house this morning from their sick
beds 10 be able 10 vote on this bill, and
therefore the measure should be placed on
its fnal passage.
Clarkes motion did not come as a sur
prise. He merely beat the railroads to their
motion to recommit the bill for specific
amendment, for Hamer at once moved as
a substitute that the bill be recommitted
for specific amendments His amendment,
he explained, was 20 accomplish what the
Cone amendment which for legal reasons.
did not accomplish, namely cause a dis
tribuuon Of railroad property located in
towns and villages not located on the
, right-of-way for city and village assess
ment. His amendments we're TO the title
and to the body OF the BILL making it an
amendatOry act instead of an independent
act as contemplated by Clarke. Under his
amendment the railroad spokesman said
= not a cent of railroad property would es-
cape assessment for municipal purposes.
The arguments for the bill, he said. had
! been that nine-tenths of the railroad prop
erty now distributed does not pay any city
or village tax anywhere.
, Il propose now" he said, 'bo distribute
this property 20 those cities and towns U0-