The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-04-08
DEBATE
TO Be LONG ONE
Difference Of Opinion Manifested
Among Legislators as to In
terstate Commerce.
BILL DRAWN BY PRESIDENT
Chief Executive Said to Have Given
the Measure His Personal Atten.
tion-Proiected Court of Pat.
ent AppeaIs-The Presi-
dents Tour.

w ash M 3 Nol!.-- 1BeIS is every lnGiCa'
ton that the debate in the senate on
the amendments to the interstate com.
merce act will be long drawn out and
that it will be marked by many of the
acrimonious features of the tariff de
pate OF last spring and summer. The
argument of senators on the measure
VIII not be exactly the same as that
on the customs measure, but the ma.
jority of those who will be in opposi-
t,on TO the bill as it was introduced
VIII be the senators who fought many
OF the provisions OF the Payne-Aldrich
bill.
1T Is doubtful if there ever was in.
roduced into congress bill upon
"hlch there were exactly so many d.
verse opinions as there are upon this
measure which the senate now has
under consideration. OF course the
measure affects largely the work Of
the members Of the interstate com.
merce commission, and yet the mem.
Ders OF the commission themselves are
at variance in their views as to the
efficiency OF the bill in some of it's par.
uculars. The amendments were pre-
pared in the first instance by a COM
mittee appointed by President Taft,
every one Of the members of which
was lawyer of high standing. Then
MT. Taft went over the measure him
self, bringing to bear on it all his ju.
dlcial training. The cabinet officers
| t0nk n - =
1t was proof against attack in the
courts.
Experts Disagree.
There never was such a case per
haps of supposed experts disagreeine
on the efficiency OF bill. There is a
provision in the proposed legislation
which allows the railroads to enter
into traffic agreements on rates, the
agreements to be submitted to the in
terstate commerce commission, who
shall be allowed to pass only on the
question as to whether the rate as ar
average is exorbitant.
Some members of the interstate
commerce commission declare thai
this takes away much from the prop
osition as advanced originally by The
odore Roosevelt The former presi
dent agreed that the railroads should
be allowed to make traffic pools, bu
said that the interstate commerce com
mission should be given the power tt
nullify them provided it was showr
that the pools were contrary to wha
might be considered public policy
Other members of the commission sa,
that as long as they have the powe
to get at the rate that is all that il
necessary and all in which the peopl
are interested. Mr.. Taft and his law
yer members of the cabinet hold t,
this view and seem to believe tina
they have smoothed the path through
many difficulties by giving the rail
roads the pooling right under the law
President Taft believes that appea
eases should be put into the hands O
the attorney generals office for dc
tense because he has implicit conf
dence in the ability and sincerity O
the law officers connected with til
cabinet department. Moreover, he
averse to multiplying the legal depart
ments Of the government.
For Court of Patent Appeals.
For years the lawyers of tn
country, particularly the patent Law
yers, have endeavored 10 get COZ
gross to pass a bill to establish
United States court or patent appeal
Senator Beveridge recently introduce
such bill in the senate and tn
judicial committee, through Senate
Brown of Nebraska, has just reporte
it favorably.
The day that this bill was reporte
to the senate it happened that FREE
erick p. Fish, an eastern attorne
and who is called the father Of II
proposed legislation, was arguing
case in the supreme court only fe
yards away from the senate chambe
Mr.. Fish ten years ago began a cal
paign for a court Of patent appeal
and he has been assisted in the VOL
by Edmund Wetmore OF New Yor
at one time president of the America
Bar association, and by other prom
rent attorneys in the work of attemr
ing to secure the passage of the mea
urc.
In discussing the proposed bill, NJ
Fish had something to say about Il
patent system Of the United Stat
and he gave some interesting inform
ton concerning what might be Gale
tho patent industry OF the Unite
States and the inventive genius of Il
American people. THE patent Law