The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-11
ILLINOIS STILL
FOR BONUS BILL;
RAIL RATES UP
Judicial Appointments VIII Await
Pending Legislation; Rush
BelIeYiiie Field.
Washington News Bureau
Rock Island Argus.


Washington, D. c., March IL
Chairman Joseph W. Fordney OF
the house ways and means COM
mittee will return to the house
Monday, following his trip through
down-state Illinois, to find mem
bers of the Illinois delegation pre-
pared to vote almost as unit for
his soldiers bonus bill, which is
expected to come to a vote here
this week.
The flood of letters and tele-
grams against the bonus which
Illinois manufacturers and other
individuals and organizations have
been sending to Washington in the
past month apparently have not
changed a vote.
Uncle Joe" Cannon of Danv1lle
remains the only down-stater who
is likely to oppose the bonus. He
opposed it on principle when 1t
came up last spring and it is I'M
likely that he will change his atti-
tude. Representative Yates, Will
liams, Brooks, Shaw, Rodenberg,
King, Graham, Mckenzie, Copley
dLu Il ulSA will dl1 fOLo AOA IhO
bill, and the Chicago members are
likewise expected to favor it
The Democrats have already
opened their attack on the certi-
ficate plan of paying the bonus,
declaring that it is more bonus
for the bankers" than for the SOL
diers. They will undoubtedly sug-
gest amendments providing for a
direct cash payment, such as the
provision carried in the bill passed
by the house last spring. When
these amendments fail, however,
the Democrats will fall into line
almost to a man in support of the
bill as reported by the Republican
ways and means committee.
Chairman Fordney left for Pc
oria last week. the same day he re-
ported the bonus bill to the house,
addressing a political meeting
there and another meeting in Chi
cago later in the week.
Railroad rates in Illinois, and
the appeal of the Illinois com
merce commission for restoration
of state control over intra-state
rates again came before the atten-
ton of congress this week, when
the house committee on interstate
and foreign commerce took up the
Sweet bill, amending the Esch-
Cummins transportation act of
1920.
The Sweet bill proposes the re-
peal of the so-called rate guar
anty" clause carried in section 15A
of the act, and restores state con-
troll over rates within each state.
President ]. R. Howard, of the
American Farm Bureau, claiming
membership of several hundred
thousand farmers in down-state
Illinois, filed a letter with the COM
mittee late this week, declaring
that section 15A had resulted in
an "unconscionsable increase in
freight rates" on August 26, 1920,
and that these rates, in force in
Illinois and elsewhere had done
more to demoraIize the agriculture
and industry of our country than
any other single factor"
Frank l. Smith, chairman of the
Illinois commerce commission ap-
peared before the house committee
10 days ago to urge the adoption
of the Sweet amendment endorsed
by President Howard.
Illinois is the only state which
has two members on the commit
tee on interstate, and foreign COM
merce, and both come from down
state districts. The Illinois MEM
bers, both of whom have been in
constant attendance on the hear
ings this week, are Edward E Den
ison, Marion, and William J. Ora
ham, Aledo.
Representative Graham is I'M
derstood to be favorable to the
Sweet amendment, but neither Illi-
noisan has declared himself. Prob
ably a majority of the committee
have in the past been opposed to
the Sweet bill, contending that its
adoption would strike at the main
provisions of the present transport
tation act.
Work on the completion OF the