The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-08
PROGRAMME FACING
CONGRESS IS FAIRLY
WELL OUTLINED NOW
Leaders Have Apparently
Agreed Upon Legislative
Work for the Coming
II Months

Washington, September THE pro-
gramme of antitrust, railroad and cur
rency legislation that faces Congress
lfor the ensuing l2 months has become
fairly we'll outlined during the last
week President Wilson and the demo-
cratic leaders in the two houses of
Congress apparently have agreed upon
an ambitious plan of legislative work
which will bring all of the most inn
portant reforms contemplated by the
Wilson administration within the period
that ensues between now and the end
of the next regular session of Con-
gress.
The tariff bill will be In the hands
of a conference committee of the House
and Senate before the end of this week.
Currency legislation already has forged
to the front and promises to dominate
congressional activities a few days. The
prospects for immediate currency leg
islation in the Senate have not i'm
proved during the last week, but sup
porters of the administration bill hold
to the hope that by the time the meas
ure has passed the House the Senate
committee on banking and currency will
be ready to act upon it.
Important Amendments Made
In the meantime, Senate leaders are
announcing that antitrust legislation
and further important amendments to
the railroad laws are to be among the
first subjects taken up at the regular
session of Congress next December.
Twice within the last week Senator
Simmons, in charge of the tariff bill
in the Senate, has headed off attempts to
put through a railroad rate amendment
these subjects will receive prompt and
effective consideration when the winter
session begins.
President Wilson'S ideas of antitrust
Legislation have been we'll known since
his eff :ective work in New Jersey, dur
ing the closing days of his adminis-
tration as governor OF that state He
has a general outline of what lie de-
sires in the way of trust control leg
a series of seven laws enacted in New
Jersey. This plan undoubtedly will un-
dergo elaboration in Congress and the
influence of republicans as well as dem.
ocrats who long have been active in
the fight for more adequate regulations
of the trust will be felt in the making
of these reforms
Senator Cummns failed in his attempt
to have the tariff bill changed so that
railroads would be forbidden TO lower
rates to importers. This will be pressed
at the next session as a part of the rail-
road rate law programme Senator Sim
mons announced yesterday that he be-
lieved important changes would be made
in the railroad laws at the next Con-
gress.
The Currency Hearings
The currency hearings before the Sem
ate committee On currency and banking
have developed radical expressions of
opinions from members of the committee
which indicate that long debates and dis
cussion within the committee Will be
necessary before any general agreement
can be reached on the administration
bill That measure is to come formally
before the House tomorrow. and it Is
believed that it will be passed practicable
without change in that body
While little marked antagonism has de-
veloped at the Senate hearings among
the democratic committee members to-
ward vital features OF the administers
tion bill. there have been many individ-
ual expressions of committee members as
to the economic strength of certain feat
ures. Senators Hitchcock O'Gorman.
shafroth and Reed, democrats. were par
ticularly active in their questioning of