Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-05-03
7 RAILWAY
LEGISLATION
DEFEATED
INSURGENTS MUTILATE
MEASURE IN SENATE
Regulars in Caucus Admit Inn
possibility Of Getting Bill
Through in Form Advocated
by Administration.

tBy Morning Journal sDeeial I-assd Wirel
Washington MAY . President
Taft's railroad legislation viii be
emasculated.
At the close of protracted confer
T ence OF leading regular" republican
senators tonight it was apparent the
revolt Of the senate insurgents" had
been virtually successful. and the Sec
tons of the bill relative to traffic
agreements and mergers, which SEN
+ ator Cummns and other insurgents
! have been fighting to amend will be
abandoned
Practically nothing distinctive of
the original bill viii remain, save the
sections providing for the creation OF
Ia court of commerce. Even that has
mad perilous time in the house and
nobody tonight is prepared to guar
antee il Will be enacted.
In fact. the differences between
the senate aud the house are so great
il would surprise nobody If the sell
ate bill should tail in conference.
So serious became the situation of
the bill late today that President Taft
himself at Pittshurg, was advised Of
the situation over the long distance
telephone by Senator Aldrich.
Despairing of putting the bill
through the senate as reported from
the committee on interstate com
merce the leaders i'm this conference
tonight decided to eliminate section
seven, which the insurgents claim
practically wound have repealed the
sherman antitrust law BY permittlns
traffic agreements, and section twelve
81 hich would have localized mergers
tn cases where one railroad corpora
tion owning e>ready 30 per cent of
another desired to control outright
sfrt.sfft.rftrttlsFf n
Tation viii endeavor to place the re-
sponsibihty for the failure of the Taft
railroad legislation. 70 senator Al
driel over the telephone, Mr. Tatt is
said to have expressed htas en-
phatically to this effect
He said he had inhiat~the pend
ine measure ana had advocated it
throughout the country in the form
reported to the senate and il com
bination OF insurgent republicans and
democrats rendered IL impossible FOR
the republican majority TO enact the
bill he felt the administration should
be relieved of sponsiblilty for It's
defeat He rested the entire matter
in In hands of senator Aldfieh and
his republican associates, who were
then in conference
IN Che conference were Senators
Aldrich. Elkins Carter. kean crane,
Root, curtis Flint, Brandege, Lodge
and other republican leaders
Although admittedly stopped from
passing the bill in the form in which
they wished the administration sena-
tors at once began the formulation ol
plans to take away from the insur-
gent republicans the chance to claim /
Il elean-cut victory They even wore
an air of iubilatiOn tonight over the /
prospect Of putting the insurgents /
10 rout on the pending Cummins |
to the traffic agreement /
section which viii be the first mat /
ter voted upon when the bill is taken +
up again, probably tomorrow
When the original Cummins amend
ment to this section. introduced as a
for the Elkins Crawford
provision. WAS voted upon SATURDAY I
the administration senators won by n
margin of six votes 1t was senef-
ally supposed this vote constituted "a
test of succeeding votes ana the
Elkins- Crawford amendment. when
It's opponents charged was bold
method Of repeating the sherman
antitrust law, so far MS its applica tlon
to railroads is concerned, would pc
adopted But there We're SO many
lbsentees on Saturday that the result
With the fun membership present
could not be foretold.
From messages received from some
IF the absentees il was evident that
he regular republicans Wonld meet
With "A reversal on the next vote, lor
lnder the rules a vote easily coulu ne
delayed until the arrival of the aD-
After the vote saturday sen
ltor Cummins Immediately otiefeu
mother amendment TO accomplish the
ame purpose as that which had Just |
been voted down.
As the pending Cummins amend
nent is offered as "A substitute for the
1lkins-CraWford provision. no motion
an sidetrack t7ss provision, II must
De- disposed of before any other steP
an be taken That is where the ad-
senators believe they o
ave the whip hand of their opp"-
rents. The republican leaders dis
oVered there were certain members
f, no preferred the Cummins 20 The
llkins Crawford amendment. but
we're opposed to the entire traiiic
greoment section
These senators did not hesitate to .
inter- into an agreement with the reg
liar republicans to vote against the
'ummins provision in return for an
greement to eliminate the section
together.
Ii the administration senators are
orrect in the poll they have taken
he Cummins amendment viii be iust y
~ the narrow margin of one or two h
otes. and for that victory the admin
stration agrees TO pay the price oi ,
triking out the whole section. IL is
greed that section twelve must be-
handoned also. II is not certain that 7