New Britain herald., 1914-04-09
OPEN HEARINGS BEGUN
 ON TOLLS QUESTION
Debate Resumed on Selection Of
 Regional Reserve Cities.

ings on the administrators bill to repeal the tolls exemption clause of the Panama canal act began today before the senate committee on inter- oceanic canals, to continue fifteen days. Authors of nine pending sub- stitute bills or resolutions, five re- publicans, three democrats and one progressive, had been asked to appear first to explain their proposals. Sug- gestions from committee members that former President Taft, Secretary Bryan and former Secretaries of State Knox and Olney be invited \to testify, attracted attention, but it was con- sidered unlikely that any witnesses other than senators would be called until after the representatives of commercial organizations which have asked for hearings have appeared. Telegrams have been despatched to such bodies in New Orleans, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Port land, Ore, and other cities asking them to fix dates upon which they would like to have their representa- tives heard.
 Debate Is Resumed.
 Debate over the selection of the
 
 new federal banking systm was re- sumed in the senate today. The dis cussion followed the calling Ap by Senator Hitchcock of his resolution providing that the organization com mittee of the federal reserve board submit all its data and the reasons upon which the fixing of reserve dis tricts was based. The introduction of %h 1,1fi fo1l Q hot debate. participated in mostly by southern senators, over the selections of Atlanta and Dallas as against New Orleans. Senator Ransdell of Louisi- ana is authority for the' statement that an attempt would be made to have the reserve board overrule the selections of the organization commit tee
 Hearings Are Concluded.
 The first of a series of hearings on the question of collective bargain ing. mediation and conciliation in industrial disputes was concluded here today by the United States commis- sion on industrial relations. The last witnesses were Samuel Gompers, pres ident of the American Federation of Labor; J. A. Emery, counsel of the
 
 CTS; J. E. Williams, chairman of the grievance committee n the suit, cloak and skirt industry of New York, and w. L.. Mackenzie King, former min- ister of labor of Canada.
 Many of those testifying before the commission have, favored the solu- ton of industrtal disputes by a fed, eral board similar in character to the media ton, and consultation board es- abolished seM settle railroad contro- sveraies ,inderR the sNewlands act. Questions directed to witnesses by dicated that such a board is being seriously considered.
 Hearings will be conducted in vari- ous industrial centers throughout the country before the commission under- takes to reach a conclusion. X Investigation Is Asked.
 Senator Tillman today had read in the senate copies of two more letters from southern coal operators support ing his resolution for an investigation of alleged discriminations by the so- called Coal Trust acting through the Southern Railway against South Atlantic ports.
 Jake Bewley of Bristol, Va, charged in his letter that the Coal Trust indirectly or possibly direct ly, outlines the policy of the South ern Railway in the matter of estab- fishing coal rates and in building coal docks at Charleston or other south ern ports"
 Frank c. Wright, coal producer in southwestern Virginia, wrote that Senator Tillman's resolution touched the real interest of the south and If the investigation was authorized 1t would uncover conditions in the southeast, under which the cost of fuel at tidewater is maintained at a figure high enough to confine the major portion of the supply to mines in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia to theI exclusion to coal mined in the south.''