176 



COXGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



we undertook to settle that for them. Tho bill 

 provides : 



" No break, stoppage, or interruption, or any con- 

 tract, agreement, or BMMfcndSng. .-Imll I*- nuide to 

 :.t tin- carnage of any pr-;* >i\ from In-ing und 

 being treated as one continuous >-..n i.i.v. in tin- inrtin- 



:.i tlii- phut- ot'f.|lil>lllrllt 1" lllC plttCO 



ct'deetinatkm, unit** MK-II .-topjni.it-, Interruption, con- 

 tract, arrangement, <T understanding \\w muoU- i. 



;io practical and ncces-Miry purposis in. - 

 out any Intent to uvui. I r interrupt MU-II oonunuoua 

 carriage, or to evade uiiy of UK- provisions of this act. 



" We take care to provide in advance that 

 the object ol the act shall not bo defeated by 

 the machinations of the railroads; and if you 

 will give us the hill 1 will guarantee that that 

 shall not be done." 



.Mr. Kiec : " 1 de-ire to ask the gentleman a 

 question right there. Does he contend that, 

 under that section he has read, Congress can 

 force the New York Central Road 1 speak of 

 that road merely in illustration to make any 

 rates beyond its terminus or to do anything 

 else than take the freight that comes to it at 

 Buffalo and carry it to its destination ? Can 

 the power of Congress be exerted over that 

 State corporation to compel it to make con- 

 tracts and rati> beyond the State?" 



Mr. Reagan : " What I propose to say to the 

 gentleman from Massachusetts is, that this bill 

 nowhere fixes any rates. It expressly avoids 

 making any rates. But it takes the protection 

 of the commerce between the States into its 

 control, and out of the monopoly powers of 

 the corporations ; it prevents charging one man 

 more than another man; it prevents rebate 

 and drawbacks ; it prevents pooling of freights, 

 and prevents unjust discriminations between 

 place and place. And the gentleman, before 

 he debates this question intelligently, must 

 separate his idea of regulating freights from 

 the consideration of this bill. 



"I know, sir, in all preceding discussions 

 here in this House, in our committee, and in 

 the committee of the Senate, the lawyers and 

 managers of railroads have attempted to con- 

 fuse this subject by saying that members of 

 Congress, by their vocation, were not qualified 

 to regulate railroad traffic. I have answered 

 that before as I answer it to-day. They have 

 said that none can do it but experts. God de- 

 liver this country if its interests are placed in 

 the hands of railroad experts, in the interest 

 of railroad companies, under the dictation of 

 railroad officers! Sir, we have done better 

 than that. We ask no aid of a railroad expert. 

 W e ask but honest consciences and common- 

 sense to solve these propositions. What ex- 

 pert is necessary to say that the gentleman 

 from Massachusetts shall not pay two dollars a 

 ton for his freight while the gentleman from 

 Illinois pays only one dollar a ton for the same 

 sort of freight over the same ground ? What 

 expert is necessary ? Common justice, com- 

 mon right, common necessity settles that ques- 

 tion, and settles with equal conclusiveness the 

 question against rebates and drawbacks, against 



the pooling of freights, and against the de- 

 stroying of one city or town or business for 

 the benefit of another." 



Subsequently, on March 1st, the House re- 

 fused further to consider the bill. 



In the Senate, on February 2d, the following 

 resolution relative to counting the electoral 

 votes for President and Vice-President of the 

 United States was taken up and considered : 



Kesolved, That the Senate will be ready to receive 

 the House of Kepresentutives in the Senute-Chamber 

 on \\i-dnesday, February 9th, at twelve o'clock me- 

 ridian, for the purpose ol being present at the opening 

 and counting of the votes for President and Vice- 

 1'resident of the United States ; that two persons bo 

 appointed tellers on the part of the Senate to make a 

 list of the votes for President and Vice-President of 

 the United States as they shall be declared j that the 

 result shall be delivered to the President ol the Sen- 

 ate, who shall announce the state of the vote, which 

 shall be entered on the journals, and, if it shall ap- 

 pear that a choice hath been made agreeably to the 

 Constitution, such entry on the journals shall be 

 deemed a sufficient declaration thereof. 



The pending question being on the amend- 

 ment reported by the select committee to take 

 into consideration the state of the law respect- 

 ing the ascertaining and declaration of the re- 

 sult of the election for President and Vice- 

 President of the United States, to strike out 

 all after the word " resolved " and insert : 



1. That the two Houses of Congress shall assemble 

 in the hall of the House of Representatives on 

 Wednesday, the 9th of February, 1881, at twelve 

 o'clock M., and the President of the Senate shall be the 

 presiding officer ; that one person be appointed a teller 

 on the part of the Senate and two on the part of the 

 House of Eepresentntives to make a list of the votes 

 as they shall be declared ; that the result shall be de- 

 livered to the President of the Senate, who shall an- 

 nounce the state of the vote and the persons elected 

 to the two Houses assembled as aforesaid, which shall 

 be deemed a declaration of the persons elected Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President of the United States ; and. 

 together with a list of votes, be entered on the journal 

 of the two Houses. 



2. That if it shall appear that any votes of electors 

 for President or Vice-President of the United States 

 have been given on a day other than that fixed for 

 casting such votes by act of Congress, in pursuance of 

 the Constitution of the United States : if the counting 

 or omitting to count such votes shall not essentially 

 change the result of the election, they shall be re- 

 ported by the President of the Senate in the follow- 

 ing manner : Were the votes of electors cast on the 



day of , 1880, to be counted, the result would 



be for A B for President of the United States 



votes, and for C D for President of the United States 



votes; if not counted, the result would be for 



A B for President of the United States votes, and 



for C D for President of the United States votes ; 



but in either event is elected President of the 



United States. And in the same manner for Vice- 

 Presidcnt. 



Mr. Morgan, of Alabama: "I desire to in- 

 sert after the word ' resolved ' and before the 

 figure 1 in the amendment the words ' by the 

 Senate, the House of Representatives concur- 

 ring.' The substance of the resolution is a 

 concurrent resolution." 



Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont : " That is neces- 

 sary." 



