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Show RAILROAD BILL BEING DELAYED Hope of Passing Bill Today Abandoned Because of Amendments. SENATOR KING OPPOSES Johnson of California Refutes Statements of the Utah Senator. WASHINGTON. Feb. 21. Hope of disposing of the railroad bill in tho senate before adjournment today virtually vir-tually was abandoned this afternoon because of delay on amendments. Plans were made to continue the debate de-bate tomorrow. Senator King of Utah contended th-. everytning tno government attempted cost "more than if undertaken by private pri-vate interests. That was denied by Senator Johnson, of California, who referred to the Panama canal. "I file a plea, as an offset of Hog Island against the Panama canal," interrupted in-terrupted Senator Sherman of Illinois. "The Panama canal is the only instance in-stance I know where the taxpayer as not been skinned to the bone." "The Hog Island situation." replied Senator Johnson, "resulted not from tho government doing the work, but because great financial interests and the great captains of finance are doing do-ing the work under a government con-tracL con-tracL You can't compare the Panama canal to Hog Island." Senator Johnson of South Dakota uTged his amendment providing for an Indefinite period of government control con-trol after the war. He also favored government ownership as a step toward to-ward solution of the labor problem and WASHINGTON, Feb. 20. The financial finan-cial situation and not war needs or freight congestion, Senator Underwood, Under-wood, of Alabama, told tho senate today to-day was the real cause for tho government govern-ment taking over the railroads. Tho senate was debating the administration administra-tion bill providing for federal control of the transportation lines during the war. "The real cause was a question of finance," he declared. When tho president issued his proclamation proc-lamation last December, Senator Underwood Un-derwood said tho railroads faced ?182,-G06.6S2 ?182,-G06.6S2 in maturing obligations ,on securities se-curities tor 1918 while for tho four years which would end in 1921 these obligations would total $998,000,000. Under normal conditions the railroad would have found no troublo in renewing renew-ing them, but because of the war and the floating of bond issues by the government, gov-ernment, it would have been an Impossibility, Impos-sibility, ho said. "There -were then two conditions facing the president," Senator Underwood Under-wood continued, "either the United States government must take over the railroads and finance these securities during the war or congress had to provide a moratorium and provide that no suit be brought on these railroad bonds and forccloso them during the war and for a r easonnblo time afterwards after-wards If wo wanted to continue to op-erato op-erato great railway systoms of the country. "I don't think there was a business man in the United States whv did not realize that something must be done and the president, in his wisdom decided de-cided on this course." For that reason, ho urged, it was now necessary for congress to recognize recog-nize tho wisdom of the president's action ac-tion and provide for it accordingly. Sonator Underwood opposed giving the president power to fix rates, declaring de-claring thero is "no war power or war necessity Involved In rate making." Senator Underwood was followed by Senator Sherman of Illinois who supported sup-ported the bill. Ho said he did not approve of all its provisions but as it is emergency legislation he would voto for it. 1 |