New-York tribune., 1910-04-27
COMMERCE COURT SAVED
Bennet's Vote Makes Tie IN
House.
ORGANIZATION NEAR DEFEAT
Insurrent Democratic Coalition
Succeeds in Amending Ad-
ministration Railroad Bill.
rrro.,, The rr.hrne Rureau.l ]

u.shi,eton April s.-Representative
,,-,r,ar, 3 panrAt. of New York. and 13s
other Republicans saved the commerce
-, .ootion of the administration railroad
hill today. One hundred and forty mem
bars os the fnsursert- Democratic coalition
strove bitterly against the section ana
voted for an amendment presented by Rep
resentative Hubbard. OF Iowa, to eliminate
~ from the bill Mr. Bennett was chairman
Of the committee Of the whole, and when
the vote hv teIIers showed 40 in favor OF
ana 1s9 against the amendment, ne prompt
" voted No and effected tie. thus de-
feating the Hubbard motion to strike out
the section. A return OF some usually
stencb insurgents 20 the organization fold
enabled the regulars 70 save the court for
the time being. Another vote will be taken
when the bill If brought into the House.
but il IL predicted tonight that the result
will not be changed
The vote was taken by tellers, so that
no record was kept, but the following in
surgents were seen TO support the Presi-
dents recommendation for a new court to
expedite Justice in railroad litigation: Rep
resentatives Cooper. Kopp. Kustermann
and Davidson, OF Wisconsin; Henshaw and
Parsons and Fish. Of New York; Pickett,
of Iowa: Hayes, of California. and Gard
ner. Of Massachusetts. Republicans who
voted against the court were Representa-
tives Hubbard. Haugen. Woods, Good and
Kendall. Of Iowa: Madison and Murdock. OF
Kansas; Poindexter, OF Washington; Cary.
Morse, Nelson and Lenroot, of Wisconsin.
Davis. volstead. Lindbergh and steenerson.
= n Nahy6Cka and
Cronna, of North Dakota The Democrats
voted solidly against the court.
Before this vote was taken several i'm
portant amendments to the bill were adopt
ed. all bv unusually close votes. while sew
eral others were defeated by narrow ma
torities The bill was considered under the
Ave-n1inute rule and when adjournment
was taken an amendment 10 Section was
pending.
The most important amendments adopted
we're those presented by Representative
Lenroot, Of Wisconsin, one Of Senator
La Follette's lieutenants. The first Of these
provided that the power Of designation and
assigning the Circuit Judges who shall COM
pose the Commerce Court, after the first
designation by the President, shall be
vested in the Supreme Court instead of in
the Chief Justice OF that court. as provided
in the bill reported by the committee. This
also gives a majority Of the Supreme Court
the power to i'll vacancies in the Commerce
Court. The amendment was adopted. 143
to lis. Mr.. Lenroot's second amendment
places the power Of designating the Judges
of the Commerce Court in the first instance
I'm the Supreme Court instead of in the
President This does not prevent the Presi-
dent from naming the five additional Circuit
judges who shall fill the vacancies created
by the appointment Of the Commerce Court
judges. This was carried by 135 10 131.
Representative Madison. Of Kansas. OBJ
tanned the adoption of another amendment.
which reduces the period in which the court
may suspend or STAY the operation Of an
order Of the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion from sixty TO seventy days. This. Mr.
Madison held, conforms 10 the ti-intunc-
ton plank contained in the Republican
platform. and his amendment was carried
by lSS to 12i- An amendment by Representa-
tive Lenroot. which provided that an sp-
peal from an interlocutory order OF the
Commerce Court might be taken to the
Supreme Court Of the United States, was
defeated by one vote.