The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-03
WILL KNOCK OUT
RAILROAD BILL
Continued from Page One,

correct in the poll they took, the Cum.
Minis amendment would be lost by the
narrow margin of one or two votes
and for that victory the administration
agrees TO pay the price of striking out
the whole section.
Ii is agreed section IL must be aban
doned also. 1t is not certain that even
sections l3, IA and Is, which provide
for federal regulation of the issuance
Of securities of railroads, can be saved
The agreement reached today does not
cover these sections.
The chamber of the senate and the
several adjacent committee rooms oc
cupied by leaders have not been the
scenes OF so much iockeying over legis'
lation since the making OF the famous
"Allison compromise TO the Hepburn
rate law four years ago. As IN that
case. the radical move taken by those
in charge of the bill came like bolt
from the blue. That the administration
had not the votes to carry out its
programme was not generally suspected.
Throughout today efforts were made
to AFFECT an agreement between those
who favored the Cummins amendment
and those who supported the Elkins,
Crawford provision. The first would
chanoes OF rate TO be approved by the
interstate commerce commission before
taking effect. The latter would make
traffic agreements lawful under the
Sherman law, but would not require
that rates maze by railroads should
he submitted to the commission in ad'
vance.
Insurgents Stand Firm.
The insurgents were unyielding. They
grasp. After the adjournment of the
senate, Senator Cummins was called
into the final conference. He was asked
if the insurgents could not get together
on some provision less obnoxious to the
majority of the Republicans than the
pending Cummins amendment Mr.,
CummIns is quoted as saying possibly
some provision iDsurlng substantially
the same thing, but he did not think
his insurgent colleagues would accept
anything other than a strelght-ou
proposition compelling railroads TO OBJ
tain approval of the commission be-
fore putting new rates into effect.
When Senator Cummins came out of
Senator Aldrich s room he said:
sWe are not compromising. We
think we have the votes to adopt my
amendment
1t was apparent he had mot been told
of the plan TO eliminate section and
did not suspect any such intention on
the part of those having the bill in
charge. He Joined Senators Clapp, Dol.
in the corridors to learn the result of
the conference. A newspaper man who
Joined this group of insurgents was
told by all they were confident of win
ming.
Discord Is Apparent.
Harmony was not complete III the
conference Of the senate leaders. Sen
ator Flint was not willing that section
be stricken out At the same time
he was opposed TO giving railroads full
power to raise rates without approval
of the commission, and made it clear
that on q final vote he would act
against his associates and support the
Cummins rather than the Elkins- Craw-
ford amendment.
''If you adopt the Elkins Crawford
provision and the railroads increase
their rates, as they must do,' de-
clared Mr.. Flint, cit will be charged
moval of the possibility of prosecution
for violation of the provisions of the
Sherman law, If the Cummins provision
is adopted IL will be physically impos-
sible for the Interstate commerce com
mission to pass upon the great volume
of new rates presented, ! believe the
railroads should be permitted to make
IraHlc agreements, buC They should be
prohibited from making any change in
existing rates without approval of the
commission.
Mr.. Flint proposed as a compromise
that traffic agreements be permitted
and the commission should give blanket
approval of existing rates. but that no
new rates should be put in force until
they had been approved. His proposi-
tion did not meet with the acquiescence
OF a majority of those participating in