| Show 1 I how it is sometimes used to check majority two defeats for the leaders philippine bill blocks reciprocity and canal measures in senate representatives clerks want more pay W his bill washington may 21 Special twice have abo leaders of the house been overthrown this session once by the beet sugar men and again by the power of organized labor exerting its influence through the various channels of petition and representatives in the capital it Is a rather remarkable fact that in doing so the best parliamentarian in the house Representative sherman of new york was overridden after ruling on a point of order the point of order is a weapon often interposed to prevent a majority of the hoase from doing what it wants to do many a time it has stopped amendments to certain bills and it s very seldom that the leaders of the bouse are ever defeated on a question of this kind it Is only when there Is a considerable number of republicans ready to unite with the democrats that tho rules are disregarded in order to accomplish bome particular object this was done on the cuban bill although sherman was sustained immediately afterward upon a proposition identical in character As to tho action on the naval bill there have been hundreds of thousands of petitions presented since the session began from labor organizations everywhere demanding that warships should be built in the navy yards of the country this was done in the interest of the eight hour law movement and was successful as to three of the ships it will mean a hard fight in the senate stringing out debate it Is rather an interesting fact that everybody thought at the beginning of the present month that the debate on the philippine bill would close in two or three weeks at the outside in fact there lias not been that much time consumed in actual debate on this bill but the senate has proceeded in a leisurely manner as it it was in no hurry whatever to have the bill passed senator lodge has been very lenient and has consulted the conven ance of senators allowing them to make one speech a day or at times allowing one senator to occupy two days it it suited his convenience to do so the result IB that the philippine bill has dragged along toward the end of the month when nearly everybody agrees that it might have been passed two weeks ago there is a faint suspicion that the opponents of the cuban reciprocity and of the isthmian canal bill have materially assisted in keeping the philippine bill before the senate as the longer the debate on the philippines the greater probability there Is of preventing the passage of these bills always a trifle more the clerks to representatives are allowed per month that is members of congress are allowed a month for clerk hire this is sometimes given coohe clerk and sometimes divided among two or three as the congressman sees fit some congressmen employ part of the fund here in washington and a part in their homes there are however a large number of clerks who are here with their congressmen receiving the full compensation they have organized an effort to secure 1800 a year which Is the sum paid clerks it was only avery few years ago that no clerks were allowed to members of the house finally a large number of members got together and determined that they were entitled to clerks and voted themselves a month for the purpose and the speaker representative of colorado was telling the liouba what a fine climate his state had for a soldiers home and that he had a bill which would provide for such a home if he could have it passed why lait you cant get recognition tor your bill asked maddox et georgia 1 I do not know answered frankly have you asked for it pursued faddol 1 I have responded bow many times chipped in sulzer of new york by this time the house saw that they were having tun with the colorado man and laughed and applauded each bally the speaker treated me very frankly wanton he said ho would consider the bill matter here tho house broke in a roar as nearly every member had beard that expression before he said yon were a good boy put in clayton of alabama still struggled on lie has not said he would not recognize me and I 1 am in hopes he will recognize me yet and ho sati down amid applause antl laughter but it was not just the kind he appreciated he had heard enough senator frye is away up in maine and everybody knows that he Is enjoy ing himself with rod and line no member of the agnate enjoys good fishing better than its president pro tern he will probably after the philippine debate la closed As presiding officer of alie senate he was obliged to listen lotmore tot more talk on the philippines than any other ona member of the senate he remarked to a frend just before solas away 1 I have heard all of the philippine debate that I 1 want to and I 1 am bot coming back here until Is over ARTHUR W DUNI 1 v |
