Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-05-03

even sections thirteen fourteen and
iiiteen. which provide for federal reg
ulation of the issuance of securities OF
railroads can be saved. The agree
ment reached today does not cover
these sections
The chamber of the senate and the
several adjacent committee rooms oc-
cuped by leaders have not been the
scenes OF so much jockeNing over leg
islauon since the making of the
famous allison compromise to the
Hepburn rate law -four years ago As
in That case. the radical movement
taken by the men in charge of the bill
came like a bolt from the hluc. Tha
the administration had not the votes
10 carry out it's program was not gem
/ orally suspected.
Throughout the day the efforts
were made To effect an agreement be-
/ tween those who favored the Cum
minis amendment and those v 20 sup
ported the Elkins-CrawfoFd provision.
! fhc first would require all traffic
agreements and all changes of rates
/ to be approved by the interstate com
merce commission before taking ef-
( feet. The latter would make trafile
agreements lawful under the sherman
! law. but would not require that rates
made by railroads should be sub
mitted To the commission in advance.
The insurgents were unyieldinS
/ They believed victory was within their
grasp. After the adjournment of the
enate. Senator Cummins Was called
into the final conference He was
asked if the insurgents could not get
together on some provision less OBJ
noxious to the majority of the repub
licans than was the pending Cummins
amendment
Mr. Cummins is quoted as saying
personally he would agree to the
adoption of some provision insuring
substantially the same things, but he
did not think the insurgent body
would accept nXthing other than
straightout proposition compelling
railroads to obtain approval of the
commission before putting new rates
into effect.
When senator Cummins came out
of senator Aldrichs room he said
We are not compromising We be
lieve we have the votes to adopt my
amendment
1t was apparent he had not been
told of the plan to eliminate section
seven, and did not suspect any such
intention on the part of those having
the bill in charge. lie joined Sena-
tors Clapp Dollver and La Toilette,
who had waited in the corridor To
learn the result of the conference A
newspaper man who Joined this group
Was told they were confident OF win
ming
harmony Was not complete IN the
conference of the senate leaders Sen
alor Fllht was not Wiling section
seven should be stricken out. At the
same tlme, ne WAS opposed 10 giving
the railroads iull mower to raise rates
without approval OF the commission
and made it clear that on final vote
he would act against his associates
ana support the Cummins rather than
the Elklns-CraWtord amendment
several senators We're asked tonlShl
To What they attributed thelf laliure
70 get enough votes 10 adop5Sthe ri
killh-CfaWlord aine~dmeht
IheN were almost unanimous M the
IMPRESSION that II could be charged
dlfecllN To the Tear that II rates We're
raised by the railroads the people
would say tho repeai of the sherman
antitrust law IN its applcation Z"
railroads was responsible.
lnquestona bly, the possible polit-
ical effect Of the adoption of that see
ton frightened away some OF the
carly supporters OF the provision.
senator Root was noticeablN an
noYed at the outcome of the confer
encc When asked what caused the
change of front in connection with
section seven. he said
Cold feet Some of those who
ought to support the bill were afraid
Of the political effect"
The action OF railroads i'm the
Western Trunk Line association in
filing new classificatous with the in
.erstate commerce commission giving
notice of material increases, WAS re-
.erred to by a number of those who
attended the conference today. In /
view of the fact that wages have
Deen increased il was agreed that
here would certainly be other adj
.ances. and certain republicans feared
he political effect.
The adoption of the program agreed
lpon today would leave the first six
ections of the bill. which related TO
he proposed court of commerce. the
.ection under which railroads would |
pc required to furnish applicants with
ritten statements of rates: the pro- ,
.ieion authorizing the commission to
tx rates upOn it's own initiative or [
Ipon complaint that existing rates are
Unjust. and providing for a suspen- {
ion of "a change i'm rate for period !
{ sixty days pending investigation as t
q its reasonableness
Practically all the sections that t
would remain if those relating to j
tocks and bonds were eliminated. /
rescribe penalties and the form oi \
eports which railroads would be re- +
uired to make 10 the commission p
Senator Elkins in charge of the bill. i,
further trouble on the
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