The National tribune., 1909-10-07
COMING LEGISLATION.
Continued from page one.)


congress.
The rate law vas passed only after
lit had been discussed before two Con-
Igresses. The House of Representatives
passed two or three different bills be-
fore it hit upon legislation that could
be pushed thru to finality. The Pres
lident has proposed several amendments
Ito the rate law, and it is unreasonable
to suppose that the House Committee
on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
of which Representative Mann, OF
Chicago, is President, will get around
Ito consider bills embodying these
amendments before January. II the
committee brings out report by the
lend of January it would be doing ex-
Iceedingly well. as such matters pro-
gress in the House committees. For.
besides the question of initiative in rate
making, there is the question of phys
Ii ical valuation, which, also. has been a
great bone of contention before both
Houses of the National Legislature.
once a railroad-rate bill is reported,
it need not be a matter of much time
before it is disposed of by the House
itself. Perhaps g. railroad-rate bill
could be enacted by the House before
the end of February. But the history
of such legislation discloses that not
only must there be extended hearings
before the House committee, but before
the Senate committee as well. There
are influential men on both committees,
and some of them are determined that
the railroads shall, at least, be given
square deal The whole subject would
| have to be thrashed over before the
Senate committee. There was a Sum-
mer of hearings on the railroad-rate
bill by the Senate Committee on Inter-
/ state Commerce, of which Senator
Elkins is Chairman, before the House
It.;II ID 60 xx-a- hrn IOh
before the Senate for action. 1t is not
| improbable that such course Will be
| followed by the Senate with the new
| bill. There will be men to argue that
| the subject could be well left in abey-
ance till another session, when the
country would have new light and the
Senate could act and vote intelligently.
But if it should be decided to press
the railroad-rate amendment to final
passage in the Senate, it would be well
toward Summer before vote could be
reached. That is only one of several
big questions the President has broach--
ed for action. There is the amendment
of the Sherman law so as to exempt
labor unions from the restrictions upon
boycott-a Very important question
that has never failed to set Congress
by the ears whenever during the last
20 years either of its branches has
taken it up for consideration. There is
the ship-subsidy question, which always
provokes big Congressional fight;
also, the labor injunction question
brings out a very great variety of Con-
gressional opinions and contentious.
There are also proposed amendments to
the Sherman law regarding combina-
tions in restraint of trade, modifica-
tons of authority of the Interstate
Commerce Commission by diverting to
other bureaus certain of its investiga-
tory functions, and several minor
topics.
Labor Legislation.
1t is very rare that Congress deals
with more than one big legislative
question at any one session. The
solOns might dispose of rate amend
ments before the campaign, OF of
amendments to the Sherman law, or
of labor and injunction. or of ship SUBJ
sidy. Or it may be that conservation
legislation, which will be no small feat
ure in itself when enactments regarding
water powers on the Federal domain
and Federal control of mineral lands
and further regulation oe irrigation
projects are completed, will be about all
the Senate and House will want to ham
die during the Winter and Spring.
The pressure for labor legislation will
be very strong, but in spite of all the
President has recommended on his
Western trip the opponents of sweeping
statutes will recall that the last Re
publican National Convention refused
to go on record as favoring the exemp-
tion of labor unions and farmers or
ganizations from the operations of the
Sherman law. President Roosevelt
favored such, a plank, and the Chair
man of the Resolutions Committee at
Chicago, former Senator Hopkins, was
selected for the place with the under
standing that he would favor that
plank; but when that program was be-
ing pressed to the front Speaker Can
non hastened up from his home in
Danville, and he and Senator Crane, of
Massachusetts,, fought for a modifica-
ton of it and won. That fact will be
a stumbling block in the way of obtain
ing labor legislation at the coming ses-
sion.
The big Republican opposition to
ship subsidies has long been in the
Middle West. the section of the country
where the Republicans may have to
fight their biggest battles in next years
campaign. A vote on ship subsidies in |
the House has never been reached till |
after weeks of canvasSing and wire
pulling, and with one exception such
campaigns there have always ended
in failure. A similar canvas and pro-
lOnged preliminary struggle would GER
tainly be inevitable if the ship-subsidies
bill is pressed before the House this
Winter, and if it should pass it would
be weapon in the hands of the oppo- |
Sition in the Western elections, this side
of the Rocky Mountains. 1t is very
much more probable that the Senate |
will get bill thru this Winter. and that
the House will let it alone till the fol- |
lowing or short session, when members |
have a new lease of political life
The Presidents Wishes.
Much win depend upon the Presi-
dents wishes as expressed to the Senate
and House leaders. No outward oppo-
Sition at the start is expected from |
them to his program. They will be will |
ing to have the questions put before |
and carefully investigated,
and all the signs point to a Winter of |
very active committee work. The Com
mittee on Merchant Marine in the |
House will, as heretofore, conduct ex-
haustive hearings upon the plans for |
mail steamers to the Orient |
and South America. The Judiciary /
Committee will begin sessions with the
New Year to go over the injunction
question Whether all bills affecting
the amendment of the Sherman anti
trust law will be referred to the Judi
ciary or whether some of them VIII go
to the Interstate Commerce Committee
remains to be seen. The House 1rriga-
ton Committee will be busy working
out new legislation regarding reclama-
ton The House Committees will be
more aggressive in this preliminary eff