Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-06-10
PROGRESSlVES RIGHT IN OPPO.
SING RAILROAD RATE BILL.
NOT IN PEOPLES INTERESTS
Bill Undoubtedly Has Been Framed at
Dictation of the Corporations-At-
tempt to Make President
Taft a CatspaW.

eral Wickersham was that under 1T
the stock and bonds of railroads would
be regulated and it would pro-
hibit the overcapitaliZation of the
transportation roads of the coun-
try. AS was frequently pointed
out during the discussion, the provi-
sion drawn by the attorney general to
carry out this purpose would in real
ity permit the issuance of still great
er amounts of watered stock and
bonds, and the bill, if it became
law, would legalize the issues which
are already outstanding.
Put through this BILL" 'the presi-
dent stands for ii, +" this is the presi-
dents bill" These are the orders and
the commands heard about the cap
itol. And the men loudest in shout
ing them and using this whip over 9th
er members are those allied with the
Aldrich organization in the senate.
Sections IS. IA and Is, known as the
capitalization sections, were among
the principal parts of the bill, and yet
because of the public criticism as to
the real purposes and what would be
accomplished under these sections, the
organization had to give way and per-
NIT these to be taken out of the meas
ure. This was significant as demon
strating the real purposes of these pro-
visions to be just what the Progress
sives claimed they were-that is, that
they had been framed in the interest
Of CT in interest
of the public.
Chairman Elkins and no member of
the majority of the committee on in
terstate commerce made any attempt
to defend the sections. Every mem
Der of the senate, with the exception
of Senator Burton of Ohio, voted to
remove the sections from the bill.
Ideas of the President.
President Taft has been insistent
that there shall be some legislation
which shall regulate interstate COM
merce. He has the promise of Sena-
tor Aldrich that such legislation shall
be enacted Senator Elkins, chair
man of the committee on interstate
commerce of the senate, has also
promised that he would do all in his
power to enact such legislation.
Immediately following the elimina-
ton of sections 49, ii and Is from
the railroad rate bill Senator Dolliver
introduced a comprehensive section
drawn in the interest of the public
which would have done no injury to
any legitimate Wall street enterprise,
that would have been fair to every
interest, and yet when the Dolliver
proposition was placed before the SEN
ate 1t received but 10 votes. The SEN
ators who voted for it were all Repub-
licans, with the exception of four
Senators Chamberlain Newlands, Pur
cell and Stone, who are Democrats.
The Republicans who voted for it were
Beverage, Borah, Bourne, Bristow,
Browne, Burkett, Burton, Clapp, Craw-
ford, Cummins, Dixon, Dolliver,
Gamble, Jones and La Toilette Forty
seven votes were cast against it. The
Vote upon the Dolliver amendment is
one of the most significant that will
be cast in many years. The men who
have been shouting loudest that they
are supporting President Taft's legis-
latiOn voted against carrying out Pres
ident Taft's recommendation that
there should be legislation to control
the issue of stocks and bonds by the
railroads. The only reason they could
advance for voting against it was that
the Dolliver amendment was drawn
in the interest of the public and not
in the interest of the railroads.
Senator Dixon's Amendment.
When the Dolliver amendment was
defeated Senator Dixon proposed that
telegraph and telephone companies
should be brought under the interstate
commerce act. The amendment which
the senator from Montana introduced
was the same as the provision which
appears in the house bill. 1t fitted
very we'll in the house bill, but was
not suited for the bill pending in
the senate. In the debate it seemed
that the matter was so complicated
as to endanger it before the senate,
and Senator La Toilette came to the
rescue with a simple proposition put
ting the telegraph and telephone com
NAMES engaged in interstate com
me, &c under the jurisdiction of the
interstate Commerce commission. 1t
carried unanimously. The La Fol
lette proposition is the only one placed
mon the senate bill by Progressive
in the form in which the Progressives
prepared it. Speaking to the Dolliver
amendments, Senator Newlands said:
my observation of the action of the
members of the majority party in this
hodv is that they will not willingly
accept any amendment that bears the
stamp of any Progressive Republican
in this body, and that they will defeat
onv amendment, however good it may
no which has authorship among the
progressives; and that the success Of
the Progressive Republicans has beer
in this, that their arguments have
heen so strong, they have been so sup
norted by public opinion Throughout
the country, that they have forced the
majority of their own party to finall,
accept notifications of this origina