The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-29

|\ge%)liS De~,
nounce it as unconstitutional when
they feared to meet the question on
its merits. Here was a question Of
right and wrong, and Long takes a
wrong side and defends himself by
the unconstitutional excuse.
The next charge reads:
when it was proposed to limit the
issue of stocks and bonds on the pro-
posed Lake Erie-Ohio river canal, SO
that the charges on freight might not
be made heavy to pay fixed charges
on watered stock and fraudulent
bonds, Long voted with Wall street
1926, volume 40, part 9. Again on
page 1929 he voted the same way and
on page 1919 he voted against
provision that empowered the COM
mission TO find what the canal cost
and regulate charges accordingly:
The charges on this canal If built would
affect every pound of transcontinental
freight that comes to Kansas or
leaves it, but also it will affect millions
of dollars of interest in Wall street, and
LOns NOt6u against hdHSdS anu WIN
Wall street.
Longs defense is that to restrict the
amount of stocks and bonds issued by
the canal promoters would embarrass
them. Yet the restriction of stock and
bond issues is now a part of the Re-
publican platform adopted at the Chi
cago convention. Either Longs vote
| in those Erie canal matters was dead
wrong-a Wall street vote--or the
| Chicago platform is wrong. Either
senators must vote for their people
| whether 1t "embarrasses" promoters
or not, or go back on the Republican
platform. Which does Long propose
to- do---to go back on his vote or upon
! the publican platform =
The next charge reads:
"On page $685. Long voted against
the proposition to allow the Interstate
Commerce commission of it's own mo-
| ton to correct unfair rates. Wall
street desired to make it as hard to
correct injustice as possible and Long
voted with Wall street" p.
Longs defense Is that such a meas
ure was tout of harmony" with the
general trend of the measure and that
| 1.-THE commission would have all 1t
| could do to correct abuses upon COM
| plaint." This looks well on paper,
| but the truth is that often in corr
recting one rate the commission has
to create another injustice, and II 1T
could adjust matters of its own mo-
| ton, then and there, it could do great
good and prevent abuses before they
occurred But the Wall street crowd
desired this handicap on the commits
sion and Long went with his friends.
The next charge reads:
ION page 6774 Long voted against
prohibition judges who pass upon rail-
road questions from owning stock In
the roads involved
Longs defense is that 1t would be
the IN ftrdiniarv Vet the
law prohibits members of the Inter-
state Commerce commission from
holding stock in railroads upon which
| they pass: why is the court any less
sacred than the commission? The
facts are the Wall street crowd lined
up against the amendment. and Long
went with them. Also he went with
them on the next charge. which
reads: s-.E
HE also voted against a measure
providing that when railroads intro.
duced evidence in court that they did
not introduce before the commission,
the commission should be given a
chance to pass upon the new evil
dence."
This measure was to compel rail-
roads to try their cases in the COM
mission and not in the courts. In the
courts are delays. And railroads cited
before the commission often introduce
little or no evidence before the com
courts and try cases upon technical
grounds Longs defense of this OBJ
noxious practice is that his vote to
stop it would interfere with the regu-
Iarity Of court procedure. Regularity
of court procedure is a fine thing,
when you recommend Democratic
railroad attorney for federal Judge, as
Long did, to control the court pro-
cedure, and then vote to tie up the
railroad cases in the courts and out OF
rorn m fasion
The next charge reads:
am the antipass matter Long voted
for the Fulton amendment at first.
Fulton being the notorious senator
Just defeated by the primary In Ore
gon."
But it was the attempt of the railroad
crowd in the senate to get a! mild"
antipass law. They failed and Long
took the next best thing. The next
| charge reads:
against prohibiting railroads from
competing with citizens in various
lines of business, an obviously unfair
thing to do, as they can carry cheaper
than their competitors"
His defense here Is what It is IN
these charges: That he voted before
or afterward for similar amendments
which were in the bill as signed by the
president. and that If Long is wrong
the president is wrong: The point In
that case is this: That invariably
Long took the easy side of 1t for Wall
street, and lined up not with the free
senators in the senate, but with those
who surrendered with Wall street
This, of course, does not mean that all
| points were controlled. but that all
| crave n, The controlled crowd Long was