The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-03-26
A Test Will Be Made When
the Rainey Resolution is
Sent to Committee.
r PROVIDES FOR A CONGRESS-
aoNAL INVESTIGATION OF THE
TWOlMILLIoN DOLLAR SUGAR
UNDERWEIGHING F r A I'D s.
THE QUESTION ARISES, WILL
THE NEW RULES COMMITTEE
REPORT THE RESOLUTION TO
The HOUSE,?
Special to the Journal.

- Special to the Journal.
Washington, March 25.-Has Can
nonism really been stamped out?
Has that unseen power which sorts
out the legislation that shall pass
and that which shall be throttled re-
cefved a death thrust, or only an irri-
tating pin scratch, through the recent
Improvement of the house commit
tee on rules?
x0r, in other words, will proposed
Mislation of a character that was
Naylaid and murdered in the commit
te1 on rules when Speaker Cannon
WIS chairman, now be allowed to pro-
ceed on its Legislative journey and
come before the house for a vote,
50 that the entire membership of the
house can do the legislating instead
Of the committee on rules?
"A test of these questions is to be
ade,, and promptly. Representative
enry T. Rainey, of Illinois, has in
tloduced a resolution asking for
c6ngressional investigation of the
s000,000 sugar underweighing frauds
hd other recent crimes of the sugar
QMmbine. Although the sugar trust
atknowledged its guilt by returning
tie stolen duties, the government has
0Dne no more thap send few under
Inss to the penitentiary. 1t is point
e6 out that the men who would have
pocketed the $2,000,000 of plunder had
not their crime been discovered, have
mt been called to the bar of JUS
tIce, much less punished. A con-
gTessional investigation, it Is contend
e4 would at least reveal the identity
4 the really big thieves, who, il
there is no investigation, will in all
livelihood get off scot free.
APEcULIAR SITUATION.
fzM the new committee on rules will
not report the Rainey resolution and
allow the house to take the RESPONSE
bility of passing or refusing to pass
the measure, peculiar situation will
present itself.
are at the present time in the ma
jority. The Democrats will support
the Rainey resolution to a man. What
will the Insurgents do?
The point cannot properly be rais-
ed that the proposed investigation is
a partisan question, as Representative
Campbell, of Kansas (Republican)
has introduced a resolution that is al
most duplicate of the Rainey reso-
luton.
Nor is the argument which Presi-
dent Taft made last December to the
effect that congressional probe
might give immunity to the men
higher up" now tenable, inasmuch
as three mouths have passed and no
move has been made by the gov
ernment prosecutors in New York to
bring the higher ups to trial. 1t is
contended, in fact, that the high up
sugar thieves are getting far more
immunity through CONGRESSES fail
ure to investigate than they could
possibly enjoy with congress investi-
eating.
The treatment of the Rainey reso.
luton by the new rules committee
and the house will be test of the
question whether under the new order
of things chlorofrom can be success
fully administered to proposed legis-
lation antagonized by the special in
terests.
BEEF TRUST HALTED.
That the beef trust which, working
behind tariff wall in this country
has managed to monopolize the
American market, has been halted in
its effort to control the London mar
ket, mainly by competition made pos
sible by the lack of tariff restrictions
in England. is the statement made
by J. Martin Miller, former United
States consul to France and Ger.
many, upon his return from Grea.
Britain. While in London Mr.. Miller
got in close touch with the meat situa-
ton. Admission was made to him by
American beef trust managers that
on account of competition, due to free
trade, they were selling American
beef in London from 20 to 25 per cent
less than in the United States. and
after paying transportation on the
live cattle from the western part of
the United States to England No
wonder that Armour & Co. was able
10 reap profit of 35 per cent on its
American business last year, as was
revealed in statement submitted in
connection with the issuing of 4
bond issue of s30,000.0O0 on the New
York stock exchange.
SOME HIGH FIGURES.
When the item of $237.66 for shoe
ing the horses of the state depart
ment during the year 1909 came up
on the floor of the house Minority
Leader Champ Clark and Courtney
w. Hamlin, of Missouri. registered
kicks. The item referred to the shoe
ing of four animals. except during a
period of less than three months.
when the number was six. Clark and
Hamlin declared they could keep four
horses shod in Missouri for a whole
lot less than S237.66.
You have got to take all these
smaller items, as well as the larger
items, or you will never have anv
kind of economy in this house. The
state department used SIS 900 to keao