The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-10-22
BY Ernest G, Walker.
Mail Special to the Advertiser. J

WASHINGTON, D. c.. October A.
| The Western progress dominates in in.
terest. Even though the President has
now delivered all the principal speeches
of his tour the country is following him
down into California, to San Francisco,
| where he stays two days. into the
| Yosemite Park, where he tarries for
three days, into Los Angeles, and thence
| to the Texas ranch of his brother, where
! he pauses for four days for rest and
recreation before resuming the journey
eastward into Dixieland.
| But while the dispatches of the Pres.
| dent S daily doings will wane in vol.
ume and interest, perhaps the interim
will be filed with much public reflection
and comment upon the great program
he has mapped out for the next three
years Of his administration. For in the
two weeks and more of his travelling
he has outlined tasks, which can not
possibly be accomplished in one year
or two years. Congress would have to
sit in continuous session probably for
eighteen or twenty months to dispose
of all the questions he has proposed for
the lawmaking branch.
Wise ones in Washington look for
the President eventually to indicate the
things he would prefer to have dealt
with first. That would be the natural
thing for him to do, after discussion has
ragged for while and public sentiment
has developed. At best the next session
of congress will not have vast deal
of time for general legislation. AS
usual little, except the passage of two
or three appropriation bills, will be at
tempted before the holidays. There
will be hardly any serious work in
either the senate or the house till into
January-after the Christmas holidays.
But the advent of the New Year will
set many western congressman to think
ing about their reflections The pri
mary law rules in many western States
and the primary campaign starts early
|, BY April or early May scores of these
westerners will insist on returning home
. to look after matters pertaining to
their denomination. That means the
attendance in the house will be de
5 pleted in the spring and with the mar
, row majority now prevailing because of
t combinations between the insurgent Re-
3 publicans and the Democrats, the con-
!. troll of the house might be menaced if
t action on other than appropriation bills
were attempted when so many members
=. are away trying to win the fights for
r denomination, of which there promise
= to be a plenty.
Railroad Rate Problem.
The railroad rate amendments might
alone occupy all the available time of
congress at its session. The President
has indicated a preference for the lodg-
= ing of power in the interstate com.
merce commission to fix rates on its own
= initiative, rather than to decide upon
I complaints, whether rates are unreason.
able or discriminatory. The distinction
between those two things may appear to
!, be slight, but in fact the difference is
u fundamental. There was prolonged con-
9 tention over it when the rate regulation
law was enacted under the Roosevelt
administration and undoubtedly there
: will be tremendous contention over it,
should the question be pressed again
before congress.
Il The rate law was passed only after
= it had been discussed before two con
crosses. The house of representatives
u passed two or three different bills be,
" fore it hit upon legislation that could
a be pushed through to a fnality. The
President has proposed several amend
;, ments to the rate law, and it is un.
reasonable to suppose that the house
Il committee on interstate and foreign
: commerce, of which Representative
p Mann, of Chicago, Is president, will
. get around to consider bills, embodyine
e those amendments, before January. II
u the committee brings ont report by
= the end of January it would be doing
u exceedingly well as such matters pro
a gress in house committees. For besides
- the question of initiative in rate max
=, ing there is the question of physica
10 valuation, which, also, has been
great bone of contention before bot
houses of the national legislature.
Square Deal for Railroads.
40 Once a railroad rate bill is reporte,
n ii need not be a matter of much tim
40 before it is disposed of by the hous
no itself. Perhaps a railroad rate bill
-, could be enacted by the house befor
ID the end of February. But the histor
~ of such legislation discloses that no
no only must there be extended hearing
NO before the house committee but befor
IN the senate committee as well. Their
Id are influential men on both committee
~ and some them are determined tina
no the railroads shall at least be given
70 square deal. The whole subject woul
: have to be threshed over before the ser
RI ate committee. There was a summer O
rs hearings on the railroad rate bill by tn
cd senate committee on interstate con
N. merce, of which Senator Elkins is chat
,is man, before the house bill that Roost
lie welt favored was brought before tn
I'D senate for action. 1t is not improbabl
n. that such n course will be followed b
an the senate with the new bill. Their
ii. will be men to argue that the subieC
n. could be well left in allegiance ii
another session, when the country woul
hnNn nav linht mud tho snnntn nnnl