Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-30
AUDIT OF RAILWAY BOOKS
Proposed to See if Law Is Being
Obeyed.
LARGER FUND Is WANTED
Enforcement Of Clause Of Hepburn
Act In Question Declared to
Be Essential.

The usual point of no quorum was raised
when the House reconveped today on the
motion pending from yesterday that the
House go into committee of the whole for
further consideration Of the sundry civil
appropria ton bill under the minute
rule The doors were locked. and the roll
was called on the motion. which prevailed
In accordance with yesterdays agree
ment the committee took up the amend
ment proposed by Mr. Townsend of Michi-
gan to increase from $4,000 to S350.0oO
the appropriation to enable the interstate
commerce commission to enforce that
. clause of the Hepburn railway rate act
directing an investigation of the books OF
the railroads of the country to determine
whether they are complying with section
30 of the Hepburn railroad rate law pro-
.viding that a system of uniform accounts
must be kept, as prescribed by the inter-
. state commerce commission.
Speaking to that amendment, Mr.. Town.
send quoted from a message from the
President. in which the executive SAID
that failure to make appropriation Tor
carrying out the publicity clause or the
Hepburn act would be to attack the law
in its most vital point and to give reiief
TO those corrupt corporations which the
law was intended to reach.
Mr. Townsend said that the publicity
provision had not been a part of the law
long enough to enable any one to say that
it should be abandoned: that the purpose
of the provision was to find out whether
the railroads were obeying the Hepburn
act. and that refusal by Congress to pro-
vide for the expense OF these examina-
:. tons would be tantamOunt to an lnIormaI
population and repeal Of the law itself.
Resented by Tawney.
:. NJ, Tawney. chairman OF the APP
preparations committee. complained that
Mr. Townsend was misrepresentng the
action of that committee in cutting the
original estimate for this work from sIao,-
ESQ to so0.O0o and placing the committees
mo i've in d false light.
4 The intention was denied by Mr.. Town.
,5send.
!. Mr. Fitzgerald New York asked If It
WAS not true that the commission had
that instead of an examining
force of 80 men 800 men would be re-
e.quired to Investigate annually the ac-
counts of the interstate railroads of the
country and that the cost would be so
great that the commission was afraid to
state it.
= Mr.. Townsend's reply was that it would
he impossible 10 put the full quota of
sexaminers into the field before January
Il 18D and for that reason the sum OF
s-$i500c0 would be adequate provision for
1.-The present.
:. Mr.. TaWney deprecated the CRITICISM OF
the action of the appropria tons commit
tee by the gentleman from Michigan who
made noseffort to ascertain the reasons
prompting the committee, but contented
himself with efforts to excite the preJu-
,dices of this House against the commit
tee by insinuating that the members
are opposed 10 the Hepburn law
and wish to defeat its purposes.
Mr.. Tawney declared that if it required
-.an army of examiners and delivers and
Special agents throughout the country to
enforce the publicity clause of the COM
:merce act, then that clause was COM
.pIete failure. He said the interstate CON-
MERGE commission had already prescribed
gust how the accounts of the railroads
snail be kept, and If an annual inspec-
tiOn was now to be made of the books of
every interstate carrier to determine
whether this prescription was being obey
:: ed an army of men would be required
and the work would amount to d yearly
federal audit of all of the business OF all
Of the railroads in the country.