legislative work of the session was begun. From the outset, the desire of Speaker Reed and others in authority was to confine the work of the extra session to the tariff bill, and to such other emergency measures as the appropriation bills which had failed at the preceding session.

The Tariff Bill.-The work of congress in the way of tariff revision has already been fully reviewed in this number among the "Lead

ing Topics of the Quarter," in an article entitled "The Tariff Question" (p. 76).

The Pooling Bill. -A large number of bills and resolutions were presented to the new congress, which were in the main mere reprints of bills that had expired with the close of the previous congress; but several new measures of wide general interest were introduced.

The Pooling bill, so called, was introduced by Senator Foraker (0.), March 30. It was designed primarily to overcome the effect of a decision by the United States supreme court handed

down on March 22, holding that pooling contracts between railways were unlawful under the anti-trust law (See article in this number on "Important Legal Decisions").

The bill introduced by Mr. Foraker expressly legalizes contracts between railroads for the division of their traffic or their earnings, the clauses on this point reading as follows:

"That under the following conditions it shall be lawful for such common carriers to enter into such contracts, agreements, or arrangements, enforceable between the parties thereto, that is to say: Every such contract, agreement, or arrangement (hereinafter termed contract) shall be in writing and filed with the commission created by this act, and shall become lawful and enforceable between the parties thereto at the expiration of twenty days from the filing thereof, un less the commission shall, in the meantime, and upon such in

vestigation and consideration as it may deem proper, make an order disapproving the same; and it shall be the duty of the commission to make such order of disapproval whenever, upon such investigation and consideration it shall be of opinion that the operation of any such contract would by reason of its provisions, or for want of necessary restrictions and limitations, result in unreasonable rates, unjust discrimination, insufficient service to the public, or otherwise contravene any of the provisions of this act."

The bill further provides in detail for hearings before the Interstate Commerce Commission on questions of rates, etc. The decision of the commission, for or against the justness of a pooling contract, is appealable to the federal courts. When a pooling contract is approved by the commission, or on appeal by the courts, any violation of it by the pooling railroads is made an offense punishable by heavy penalties. The bill provides in this respect as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any common carrier, party to any joint tariff, to charge, demand, collect, or receive from any person or persons a greater or less compensation for the transportation of persons or property, or for any services in connection therewith, between any points as to which a joint rate, fare, or charge is named thereon, than is specified in the schedule filed with the commission in force at the time.'

The pooling bill is expected to lead to a most animated contest. The railroad interests throughout the country regard such a measure as vital to their interests. On the other hand it is strenuously resisted on the ground that it gives congressional approval to trusts, monopolies, etc., when effected by railroads, while forbidding such combinations in other branches of industry. Senator Chandler (N. H.), a strenuous opponent of pooling, has presented the reductio ad absurdum argument against the bill by proposing an amendment to it, authorizing trusts and monopolies, for the purpose of depressing trade, in all branches of industry.

Pacific Railroad Bill.-The first bill to be reported to the senate was that designed to effect a settlement of the debts of the Pacific railroads to the government. The bill was framed by Senator Gear of Iowa, chairman of the committee on Pacific railroads. It no longer follows the plan of refunding, or extending, the debts, which has been the main feature of all prior bills (Vol. 5, p. 109; Vol. 6, p. 364; Vol. 7, p. 124). The defeat of such measures has shown that congress is not disposed to agree to any extension of the debts. The present bill turns over the whole question of settlement to a commission. It pro

vides:

That the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of the interior, and the attorney-general, and their successors in office, be, and they are hereby, appointed a commission with full power to settle the indebtedness to the government growing out of the issue of bonds in

aid of the construction of the Central Pacific and bond-aided railroads, upon such terms and in such manner as may be agreed upon by them, or by a majority of them, and the owners of said railroads: Provided, That any and all settlements thus made shall be submitted in writing to the president, for his approval or disapproval, and, unless approved by him, shall not be binding.'

A minority report on the bill was filed by Senator Morgan (Ala.), who maintains that congress should not. surrender its prerogative of enforcing payment of these debts, to the executive authorities of the government.

Anti-Ticket-Scalping Bill.-Another bill affecting the general public and the railroads was introduced by Senator Cullom (Ill.), and is known as the anti-ticket-scalping bill.

It provides for duly authorized railroad ticket agencies, and then specifies:

That it shall be unlawful for any person not possessed of such authority, so evidenced, to sell, barter, or transfer, for any consideration whatever, the whole or any part of any ticket, pass, or other evidence of transportation, subject to said act to regulate commerce, of the holder's right to travel on any line of any common carrier subject to the provisions of said act: Provided, That the purchaser of a transferable ticket in good faith for personal use in the prosecution of a journey shall have the right to resell same to a person who will, in good faith, personally use it in the prosecution of a journey:"

The bill also provides that unused portions of a railroad ticket shall be redeemed by the railroad company.

Bankruptcy Bill.-The question of framing an adequate bankruptcy measure was taken up by the senate early in the session. Senator Lindsay (Ky.), reported from the judiciary committee a comprehensive bill, popularly known as the Torrey bankruptcy bill, as it was framed by Judge Torrey of St. Louis, Mo., an expert on insolvency legislation.

The bill provides voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy. The involuntary acts which may force a debtor into bankruptcy are specified by the bill as follows:

"An act of bankruptcy by a person shall consist of his having (1) concealed himself, departed or remained away from his place of business, residence, or domicile with intent to avoid the service of civil process and to defeat his creditors; (2) failed for thirty days and until a petition is filed, while insolvent, to secure the release of any property levied upon under process of law for $500 or over, or if such property is to be sold within such time under such process, then until three days before the time fixed for such sale; (3) made a transfer of any of his property with intent to defeat his creditors; (4) made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors or filed in court a written statement admitting his inability to pay his debts; (5) made, while insolvent, a transfer of any of his property, or suffered any of it to be taken or levied upon by process of law or otherwise, for the purpose of giving a preference; (6) procured or suffered a judgment to be entered against himself with intent to defeat his creditors; (7) secreted

any of his property to avoid its being levied upon under legal process against himself and to defeat his creditors; (8) suffered, while insolvent, an execution for $500 or over, or a number of executions aggre gating such amount, against himself, to be returned no property found, unless the amount shown to be due by such executions shall be paid before a petition is filed, or (9) suspended and not resumed for thirty days and until a petition is filed, while insolvent, the payment of his commercial paper for or aggregating $500 or over.' The provision as to voluntary bankruptcy is as follows:

Any person who owes debts, except a corporation, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act as a voluntary bankrupt.

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Any person owing debts, if adjudged an involuntary bankrupt upon an impartial trial, shall be subject to the provisions of this act except (1) a national bank; (2) a person engaged solely in farming or, the tillage of the soil; or (3) a wage earner.'

Most of the bill is devoted to the machinery of effecting bankruptcy.

A substitute bill was presented by Senator Nelson (Minn.), much simpler in form, and designed, according to its author, to relieve debtors rather than to serve as a harsh "collection agency" for creditors.

Its avowed purpose is not to provide additional machinery for the collection of debts, but rather to help multitudes of active and energetic men of business, particularly in the South and West, to make a fresh start in life through a discharge from the debts they are unable to pay. It is claimed in defense of the bill that the very men to whose vigor and enterprise the West has owed its prosperity in the past are the ones most deeply involved in the frightful business reaction against which no ordinary prudence could have guarded, and for the results of which these men cannot be held blameworthy.

Another Immigration Bill.-Immediately on the assembling of the 55th congress, Senator Lodge reintroduced the immigration bill; and on March 22 it was favorably reported.

It is substantially the same as the former senate bill (p. 114), omitting the features as to Canadian border immigration. The bill extends the exclusion laws so as to include: “All persons physically capable and over sixteen years of age who can not read and write the English language or some other language; but a person not so able to read and write, who is over fifty years of age and is the parent or grandparent of a qualified immigrant over twenty-one years of age and capable of supporting such parent or grandparent, may accompany such immigrant; or such parent or grandparent may be sent for and come to join the family of a child or grandchild over twenty-one years of age similarly qualified and capable, and a wife or minor child not so able to read and write may accompany or be sent for and come to join the husband or parent similarly qualified and capable."

The bill exempts Cubans from exclusion pending the present trouble in Cuba.

In support of the new bill Mr. Lodge presented an exhaustive report, with statistics showing the need of restricting immigration. He sums up his views as follows:

"The results of all the tables given above may be summarized as follows: They show that the illiteracy test will affect almost entirely those races whose immigration to the United States has begun in very recent times, and which are most alien in language and origin to the people who founded the thirteen colonies and have built up the United States; that it would tell most heavily against those classes of immigrants which now furnish the paupers, diseased, and criminals excluded by existing law, and is therefore a continuance of the present policy of the

United States, which has met with general acceptance; that the immigrants who would be excluded by the illiteracy test do not go out into the Western and Southern states, where immigration is needed, and become an agricultural population but, remain almost entirely in the Atlantic states, and in the great centres of population, where the labor market is already overcrowded; that the illiterate immigrants who would be excluded by the bill proposed by the committee are largely congested in great cities and furnish a large proportion of the slum population; that the illiteracy test would shut out those classes of immigrants which statistics show contribute most heavily to pauperism, crime, and juvenile delinquents; and that with two exceptions none of the excluded

races, as is shown by the letters of the governors of the different states, are desired in twenty-six states of the Union from which reports have been received. In one word it may be said that this measure will exclude a larger number of undesirable immigrants and a smaller number of desirable immigrants, so far as statistics can be relied upon, than any restriction which could be devised."

Vol. 7.-9.