Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-01-04
Only Minor Changes WI.
Several Sections.
CONFERENCE LASTS TWO HI
Objection is Made to Any Regulation
at This Time.
PRESIDENT CHANGES PLAl
Message wiz he Divided Into Two
Parts, Antitrust Section Goes to
Congress Thursday and Rail-
road section Friday.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3.-Folowing a |
fcroncon conference with presidents of
six Of the great railroad systems of the
country. President Taft late this afternoon
announced a change of program in the
/sending OF his message dealing with inter
state commerce and antitrust law amend
ments to congress.
The message will be split into two parts.
The section dealing with the trusts will
be sent to congress at noon Thursday. The
section dealing with the Interstate com
merce law, in which the railroads are d.
rectly interested, will be deferred until Fri
day noon The presidents special message
on the conservation Of natural resources is
expected to be ready for congress next
Monday.
A short time after the railroad presidents
had left the White House II was announced
that the president still hoped to have his
message ready for congress Wednesday.
IT had been his original intention to treat
together the two subjects of interstate com
merce and antitrust amendments. 1t was
said late this afternoon that the message
would probably receive greater attention
If divided into two parts, neither of more
than 1000 words.
VIII Make Few Changes.
AS result OF the call OF the railroad
presidents, 1t was said that only a few
verbal changes would be made in the draft
of the message dealing with the interstate
commerce law, and that these would be
only to the end of clarifying the meaning
OF the recommendations.
President Taft found the railroad men
most conslderate in presenting their views.
While deprecating the idea of any legisla-
ton at all at this time when they de-
clared conditions in the railroad and in
dustrial worlds are righting themselves
after two years OF more or less depression,
they did not seek to deter the president
from sending in his message. They de-
voted themselves to more 'or less specific
obiectiops to the bill prepared by Attorney
General wickersham which forms the text
of the message. The president, It is de-
clared, will not attempt to force the Wick
ersham or any other bill upon congress.
He will say in his message that such a
bill has been drafted and has been placed
at the disposal Of the appropriate com
mttees OF the senate and house. The rail-
road presidents themselves admitted that
their objections to the, proposed amend
ments to Tie Interstate commerce act We're
general In their application to all of the
amendments
Morgan Arranges IntervfeW.>
position clear to J. P. Morgan. in a brief
interview before breakfast last Friday
morning. Mr.. Morgan in turn arranged for
today's conference and advised the rail-
road men to confine themselves to sugges-
tions of amendments rather than an attempt
to influence the president as to his general
course Mr.. Taft has let 1t be known he
will not only make recommendations for
changes in the law. but he expects con-
gress to adopt the suggestions at this ses-
sion and thus carry out the promises OF
the republican party as written in the
Chicago platform.
Those who attended the conference to-
day were Presidents McCrea of the Penn
sylvania, Vovett OF the Union Pacific and
other Hartman lines Brown Of the New
York Central Mallen of the New York
New haven q Hartford Baer Of the Phil
adephla & Reading and Finley of the
Southern.
The railroad presidents brought Lewis
N Cass Ledyard of New York with them
IS general counsel. Attorney General
Wiokersham represented the legal depart
ment OF the government.
Holding of other Stocks.
One Of the changes which President Taft
agreed to make in his recommendations
has to do with the language of the pro-
posed amendment prohibiting a railroad
from acquiring stock I'm any competing
railroad In the future or from holding stock
in a competing railroad after a given date.
1t was claimed that the wording of this
proposed amendment was such that It
might be held TO apply to lines like the
New York Central and the West Shore.
The latter is and for many years has
been New York Central line, serving
virtually as an overflow trackage system
gho ,,ff ha ma
The law as President Taft will suggest
II, will provide that wherever a railroad
owns 10 per cen or more of the stock of
another II may acquire the remainder.
This, II Is said, would afford a measure
OF protection to minority stockholders, for
II the railroad owning the majority stock
should be prohibited from acquiring any
more the minority stockholders would lose
their only probable purchaser. Where a
railroad holds less than the majority OF
stock in another line. however, il will be
provided that il can acquire no more
Nothing in the interstate commerce
amendments will be 50 drawn as to legal
ize In any way the holding OF stock in a
competing line where the holding Of the
stock comes into VOCATION OF the anti
trust Jaw.
hiRgnHtes Make Many Protests
Tho railroad presidents were listened tc
attenuvely by the president for more thar
two hours. He had been informed In ad-
vance and taken for granted many OF tn,
objections that they would make and n,
practically Informed them that while theil
Views would be given every consideration
In the final wording of the message h,
could not alter his basic recommendations
The proposed Interstate commerce cour
OF five members TO consider appeals froH
the Interstate Commerce commission with
an appeE. only to the supreme court OF IN,
United States. was particularly objected tS
by the railroad REPRESENTATIVE They de