New-York tribune., 1908-03-27
FEARS FOR BILLS FATE.
HEPBURN HITS CANNON.
Displeased By Reference of Amend-
ment to Sherman Lac.
fFrorn The Tribune Bureau.l

Washington March 2S.-Representative Hep
burn. of Iowa, chairman of the House Com
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, is
not very sangune over the chances of the bill
amending the Sherman antitrust law, which
was introduced early in the week. In fact he
is outspokenly pessinisttc, and when inter-
viewed on the subject does not hesitate to say
unpleasant things about the sending of the bill
to the judiciary Committee. to which the bill
was referred by order of the Speaker.
It was supposed by the President and by Mr..
Hepburn that the Speaker would refer the bill
TO the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Com
rnittee. and Mr.. Hepburn marked this reference
on the bilI-as is often done by sponsors-when
he introduced il.
The fact that this reference was crossed of
and that the bill was sent by the Speaker TO
the Judiciary Committee, by whose chairman
it was committed to a subcommittee, whose
chairman is Representative Littlefeld, of
Maine led to a report that this course fndf-
Gated unfrendliness on the part of the Spealsr
toward the bill. And the further fact that
organized labor and Representative Lttleneld
are at enmity caused this report to be taken
seriously in certain quarters. 1t is, however
said to be a fact that the day after IT was
introduced Speaker Cannon told Mr. Hepburn
he favored the consideration Of the bill in good
faith.
Mr.. Hepburn mad a td4k With tilS L AVSiNoitN
to-day about the reference and prospects When
he left the Presidents office he Uas asked When
he expected the bill to be reported.
It'll give il up" he replied. LAS there has
never vet been a question upon which more
than three members of the Judiciary Commit
tee would agree that question is pretty hard TO
answer. If it should happen that the Dill Is
referred to a subcommittee composed OF no
more than five members, and as many as three
of them can reach agreement on the motion
10 report it to the House, the bill may possibly
be reported some time"
When Colonel Hepburn was asked why the
bill was directed to the Judiciary instead OF
to the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Com
rnittee he at first shook his head. Then he said:
POSSIBLY because the original Sherman law
bill was referred to the judiciary Committee
But you should remember that all that hap
pened a long time ago, before the Interstate
and Foreign Commerce Committee was as i'm
portant as it is now, and before the Judiciary
Committee had fallen into decay
Speaker Cannon did not decide TO send the
bill to the judiciary Committee until after a
conference with Asher c. Hinds. the pariia-
rnentarian Of the House. who is the clerk at the
Speakers desk.
Mr. Kinds said: The referring of the fed
Grafton bill! to the Judiciary Committee was
not an arbitrary act on. the part Of the
Speaker but was dictated by a direct line OF
precedents To have referred II to the Com
rnerce Committee would have been to depart
from the long established practice of the House
In the eighteen years since the consideration
of the Sherman bill the jurisdiction or the
Judiciary Committee over this subject has NOT
been seriously questioned. But the House itself
NAV change the reference by majority vote
from the judiciary Committee. TO any other
committee that it may select.