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Show MERELY PERFUNCTORY. Perfunctory semi-official meetings of senators and representatives may serve a very useful purpose. Under the vacation vaca-tion arrangement such meetings aro to occur at intervals Until the recess ends late in August. On Thursday the house was called to order and the session lasted just nino minutes by a stop watch. The senators, however, could not resist the temptation to indulge in making a few remarks, and, once started, start-ed, the speech-making continued well into tho afternoon. We are heartily in favor of perfunctory moetings of the senate every day in the hope that some of the long-distance talkers may have an opportunity to blow off all surplus steam before the important matters to come becore oongross in the fall are taken up. All such legislation should be fully and freely discussed before action is taken. We all agree to that proposition. But while such debates are in progress wind jammers should not be allowed to tako tno lloor and talk tor hours upon subjects entirely foreign to the legislation under consideration. It might not be a bad idea for the government gov-ernment to provide a hall for the use of such senators as might explode if not given an opportunity to listen to themselvos at frequent intervals. No harm would be done and much valuable time would be saved. The fourth of next March will see the last of the present congress, and there is much to be done before that day arrives. The war will not wait while the senators sena-tors talk. |