Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-18
IS WORRIED.
Break With President in Sight
as Regards Suggested Leg
islation
NAY FORCE ANOTHER MESSAGE
REGARDLESS of Denial That One is Con-
.emrIated, President May Be- Pushed
to Necessity of Telling Congress
Few Things = For Fair Pools and
Boycotts.

Boycotts.
WASHINGTON, March 1S-The ten
sion between the president and cong
ress is becoming greater, and while
there is no particular indication that
the breaking point will be reached,
such a thing is clearly within the pos
sFbilities. Public attention here is now
focused on second special message.
Congress says frankly that it doesn't
like this way of having things done.
1t regards the president as being
his interference along that line. The
break referred to would probably come
about if this were not a presidential
year. and even that consideration may
not stave it off, in case the president
in his message bears down as hard as
it is believed he will.
The president wants his legislation
put thru the house first, after which he
will bring all possible pressure to bear
upon the senate. His chief adviser
on the house side at present is I'm
Gle Pete Hepburn, chairman of the
committee on interstate and foreign
commerce, whose age and body infirm-
ities, have, during the past year or
two, caused him to lose much of the
wonderful grasp which for SO long a
time he has had on national affairs.
This decline of power has become so
marked that many members of the
committee referred to have lost conf
dence in his tact and ability, and are
no longer on terms Of intimacy with
him. They now watch him good
deal more closely thS.l at times they
have watched each other.
1t is the desire of the president to
have the bills which he favors, and
which are now being prepared. referred
to the Hepburn committee, rather than
to the judiciary committee, to which
has gone, and Chairman Hepburn
SteIlS dSIGGSDUlG. llc I1eppOlA NOlli
mittee has jurisdiction over some of
the questions presented by these bills,
and the proposed reference would
therefore not be strained, but it would
be clearly against precedent, and so
many house members are vexed.
The employers liability law will be
made to conform to the decision Of the
supreme court, and SO the president
will not worry himself about that. But
he will bear down as hard as he can
on two other propositions. One is the
amendment of the Sherman antitrust
law in. two particulars, and the other
is control by the government Of the
capitalization of great corporations,
more especially the railroads.
AS to the Sherman law, the president
wants it amended SO that it's provisions
will not apply to the railroads. Such
legislation would, of course, overturn
the supreme court decision in the
railroad combinations or pools for the
establishing of rates, subject to federal
supervision. He also wants the Sher-
man law amended SO that it will not
apply to organized labor, thus meeting
and overthrowing the recent decision
Of the supreme court in which the
boycott was declared illegal.
Several Of the prominent members of
the Hepburn committee have Informed
The Journal correspondent that such
legislation would be clearly unconsti-
tutional, but that Chairman Hepburn
seems favorable to it. The battle will
be hard one in that committee. The
constitutional objection to these pro-
posed amendments of the Sherman law
is that they are class legislation.
The presidents advisers in these
matters have been a personal repre-
sentative of ]. Pierpont Morgan, who
is demanding the amendment of the
Sherman law to permit railroad COM
binations, and Samuel Gompers, presi-
dent of the American Federation of La
Dor, who is demanding the amend
ment of same law, to permit the boy
colt to continue.
Speaker Cannon IS to be reckoned
with. Should he so desire, he would
be able to prevent the bill from COM
ing up in the house; but, with presi-
Dental aspirations of his own, he may
yield.
With regard to federal control of the
financial operations of corporations do
ing an interstate Enthusiastically the
railroads-there is not much room for
honest difference of opinion. Such a
law would be welcomed by many
prominent railroad managers. The chief
danger is that there will not be enough
time before adjournment properly to
draft it.
There is not so much opposition in
congress to permitting railroad combi-
nations. for experience has in many
cases shown that such combinations
necessary to any proper conduct of
are not only beneficial, but absolutely
railway affairs. But as to legalizing
the boycott in the face of the supreme
courts statement that the boycott is
mschievous and even worse than that,
there is much divergence of opinion.
This article has been written from
the point of view of congress, rather
than that of the White House, in order
that Journal readers may understand
the congressional attitude toward the
presidents legislative program.
House leaders are already mapping
out program of legislation which
Go 10 he MT thrr1 AT this session