The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-12-10
A HISTORY NAMING SESSION.

congressional session which opsns
today will place some important
Nobody seriously supposes that it
will do as much work q. was
performed by the session Of 1oos-6,
the FIRST In RooSevelt's elected term
the session which passed the
railway rate regulation act, and the
pu food, the meat inspection aud
the national quarantine laws. That
session, however, broke all the
records for legislation on large
issues since the civil war era. Nor
is II safe to assume that half of the
work which Mr.. Taft outlined in his
addresses on his recent tour will be
performed. Sone ct the nsasares
which he suggested at that .ine will
have to 70 over to the session which
begins year hence. All Of them
could not be enacted between now
and the day of adjournment next
May or Jane, even if Congress we're
anxious TO enact them. The tllae
consumed by an ordinary long
session would be too short 20 deal
with all the important subjects
which the president is likely to urge
ia his regular aessaGs this week
and in the special messages which
he may send in between now and
the Middle of the session.
Some large questions will come
up in The next few Months. One of
the most important Of these relates
to the railways engaged is interstate
commerce, which means all the roads
in the couatry of any consequence.
Aa ef-rt will be made to sive
greater powers to the Interstate
Commerce Commission than it has
under the act OF 1906. The law
enacted In that year broadened the
scope Of the com MISSIONS activities,
but on his tour the president
suggssied a furtksf incrsase. AS
means of brln. Jag to an early
settlement such disputes between
the railways and the commission
as may take place, the president,
as Indicated by his talks on the
tour, will ask for the creation of a
separate court to try all these Issues,
the appeal from which will be
directly to the Urited States
Supreme Court.
Ia its various ramifcations the
railroad legislation which is likely
to come before Congress will be as
comprehensive as that comprised in
the Hepburn law of 1906. 1t will
be remembered that that bill was
under discussion ia the Senate for
about three months, and that it was
changed in many places before it
was sent to the president. Then,
too, legislation will be asked which
will have for its Immediate or
ultimate purpose the establishment
of governaental surveillance over
the operations of the larger corpora
tions. This is part of the program
which was marked out on the tour.
A broad policy for the conservation
of the country's natural resources
was suggested in several Of Mr..
Taft's talks. Possibly waterway
improvement on the general lines
laid down by the National Waterway
Commission which Mr.. Roosevelt
created IN 1907, and which the
then Secretary Taft favored, will
be urged before the session ends.
1t is safe to predict that Congress
will be too busy to allow any
factionl fighting among the Republi
cans between now and adjsurnment
five or six months hence. Messrs.
LaFollette, Cummins, Parsons,
Murdock and the rest of the insur-
gents in each chamber will not have
time to make any assaults on
Senator Aldrich or Speaker Cannon.
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