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Show Esch-Townsend Bill Passes House Four Days' Discussion Over Measure Providing- for Regulation of Freight Rates. "WASHINGTON, Feb, 9. After nearly four days of discussion the House today, by a voto of 320 to 17, passed the Esch-Townscnd Esch-Townscnd bill providing for tho regula. lion of freight rates. The negative vote was made up of eleven Republicans and si Democrats. The closing hours of the debate wcra occupied by Mcosrs. .Williams (Miss.), tho minority leader, and Hepburn (la.), chairman of the committee which reported the bill. Mr. Williams, while supporting tho minority measure, even though ho said he know It could not passi complimented the Republicans for bringing bring-ing In a bill, which was much better, than he expected would come from them" The speech of Mr. Hepburn was rather In defonse of himself. He said his deeds and acts wcro a sufficient answer to the "lies and slanders" which had been heuped upon him. Tho Hepburn bill, he said, had been prepared by tho Attorney-General, Attorney-General, and he only yielded to his colleagues col-leagues on the Esch-Townsend bill because be-cause he did not want sensational head lines. According to the rule adopted Monday tho vote will bo taken at 3 o'clock, first on the minority substitute, known as the Davey bill, and. should It fall of passago, then on the bill of the majority of tho Commltteo on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, otherwlso termed tho Esch-Townsend Esch-Townsend bill. Less than twenty-five members woro in their scats when the debato was opened by Mr. Plerco of Tennessee, who, after announcing that tho President, on tho subject of rate legislation, was tho greatest great-est leader that has lived In the Republican ranks slnco the Civil war, said ho would support tho Esch-Townsend bill He. however, how-ever, based his support upon the fact that William J. Bryan nnd tho Democratic party had declared for just such legislation. legisla-tion. Immediately tho rate bill was passed Mr. Moon (Tcnn.) called nttcntlon to the fact that tho Statehood bill had transmitted, trans-mitted, and inquired of Speaker Cannon If it would bo In order to make a motion to ngrec to the Senate amendments. Speaker Cannon notified Mr. Moon that he had examined the rules and found that, as the amendments provided for an appropriation, tho bill had gone to the Committee on Territories at once, A spirited discussion followed over th odoptlon of a resolution reported by tho Committee on Military Affairs calling upon tho Secretary of War regarding tho army transport service. The Quartermaster Quarter-master was condemned by Mr. Humphreys (Wash.), tho author of the resolution, for having, as ho stated, charged up to tho Government betweon $CO0,u0O and $500,000 and credited it to the transport servlco for carrying deadheads. Messrs. Capron and Slayden defended lho practice of .transporting schoolteachers schoolteach-ers and members of the families of officers offi-cers and men, the latter declaring that tho QUartcrmastcr-Gcneral was ready at any timo to supply to Congress any in formation It desired. In that statement Mr. Slayden was supported by Mr. Hay (Va.). The resolution was adopted. The House at 5:03 p. m. adjourned. |