The Princeton union., 1922-09-14
NEWS SUMMARY
OF THE CAPITAL
Senate Passes Bill Intended to Check
Profiteering in Coal; Kellogg
Leads the Fight.
DEBATE ON INJUNCTION
In One Day Senate Passes l65 Bills i;
Conferees on Tariff Bill
Reach Agreement.

The governments strike injunction
has been the subject of heated de-
bate in the senate. Most Of the sena-
tors felt that the subject should not
be discussed publicly until the courts
had ruled on it but Senator Robinson
from Arkansas could not remain quiet.
He declared the injunction was vio-
lative of both the United States con-
stitution and the Clayton act, that it
abridged freedom of speech and OF
the press and the right of people to
peaceably assemble. Senator Wat
son, the republican member from In
diana, objected to Senator Robinson's
arguments and maintained that the in
junction was not a denial of a right
to strike but an injunction against
conspiracy to obstruct interstate
transportation and mails. Senator
Watson asked if "the 100,000,0O0 peo-
pie of the country other than the
strikers have no rights that the strik-
ers are bound to respect" and de-
clared that the full power of the gov
ernment should be exerced against
railroad employees or employers to
maintain transportation for the public.
The -Winslow bill which is
intended to check the profiteering in
coal was finally passed in the senate
on Friday by vote of 40 to 7. An
attempt was made to pass the meas
ure Thursday but it was impossible to
obtain a quorum. The people of
Minnesota will be pleased to learn
that Senators Kellogg and Nelson
stayed right with the measure and
put up good fight for it. In speak
ing on the bill Senator Kellogg leveled
his criticism at what he described as
outrageous profteering and cited nu-
merous instances where, he said, ex-
orbitant prices we're being charged in
various parts of the country. The
Cummins- -Winslow bill is calculated
to curb the profteering in coal
through control of car distribution by
the Interstate Commerce commission.
Cars will be denied to coal pro6teers
who are conducting an interstate busi-
ness. Senator Kellogg in his address
on the subject read extracts from
large number of letters and tele-:
grams he had received relative to the
prices some dealers and miners are
attempting to obtain for the coal at
the mines. These letters disclosed the
fact that in some cases an attempt
was being made to exact Sc to $12
a ton at the mine for soft coal, even
$12 was being demanded for screen
ings normally selling at $3.50 ton.
An amendment to the Borah fact
finding coal commission bill by Sena-
tor Dial (dcmocrat) South Carolina,
eliminating the provision directing the
commission to make study of the
"advisability or wisdom" of national
ization of the coal industry was re-
jected by vote of 80 to 19. An at
tempt by Senator Harrison (demo-
crat), Mississippi, to eliminate the
provisions instructing the commission
to study the necessity of government
control Of the industry was defeated
without roll call. The bill was then
passed without roll call, and Sena-
tors Borah and Sterling (republicans)
and Walsh (democrat), Massachus-
etts, were appointed conferees.
On Saturday the Senate held rec
ord-breaking business session; total
of 165 unobjected bills were passed.
Among these was the measure al
ready enacted by the house providing
that American women marrying
aliens shall not lose their citizenship
unless they formally renounce it.
Conferees on the tariff bill reached
an agreement on Saturday and the
measure and conference report was
presented to the house on Tuesday.
After II days of labor an agreement
was finally reached on the 2,436 points
in dispute between the senate and the
house.
Compromises were necessary on
virtually all Of the high spots in the
bill. Thus long staple cotton, which
the senate had proposed to tax at
seven cents pound, went back to the
free list, while the tax on sugar was
fixed at 2.20 cents pound on full
duty and 176 on Cuban raw. The
senate rates were 2.3O and 184, re-
spectively, and the house rates and
1.6. In agreeing to a duty of 81
cents a pound on raw wool, secured
content, the senate conferees yielded
two cents while the house managers
accepted an increase Of cents over
the house rate. With this decrease
from the senate duty of 33 cents a
pound, slight reductions were made
IN the compensatory rates on woolen
goods.