The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-02-22
The Oregon senatorship.

SALEM, Oregon, February 21.-Both
houses were called to order at 10
o'clock. All Democratic seats were
vacant. Nearly all have left by the
early morning train. In each house
there was more than half the member
ship, but not the two-thirds required by
the State constitu ton for quorum tor
the transaction of legislative business.
Both houses took recess until II Is.
As viewed hy the Republicans, the legal
status of the situation is clear. The
President of the Senate at Il O'Clock has
but to announce that the constitutional
hour for the joint convention having
arrived, the Senate will proceed to the
hall OF the House, when more than
half the members being present, so re-
quired by the national law, balloting
may proceed in regular and legal form.
there is, however, strong opposition to
this plan. though no question as to the
legal authority for it. The Republican
minority will probably decline to enter
the Joint convention unless the majority
candidate will withdraw.
Here is the complete story of the
mixed up affair. At II O'Clock last night
the Joint convention adjourned I'M
mediately afterwards both houses
extended the previous resolution to
adjourn the Legislature sine die at u
O'Clock last night. Both houses
adjourned until this morning at 10
o'clock and met in joint convention at
noon with no resnlts and adjourned till
4 o. clock. AT 3 p. m. a caucus of Repub-
licans was held and was addressed by
Hirsch, who said he would stand by the
party whatever be the result of the con-
test. The vote for the caucus was for
ex-senator H. w. Corbett, % to 10,
but when the joint convention met
at o'clock enough members
opposed to Corbett, staid away to
break the, quorum. The convention
resolved that both houses adjourned
sine die The Oregon Legislature of
1885 is thing OF the past and there is
no Senator to succeed Slater.
The unexpected result of last nights
work in the Legislature and the failure
to-day to accomplish what forty days
session could not effect, has created pro-
found feeling and much regret among
Republicans of this city, which is the
stronghold of the party in the State,
and corresponding jubilant feeling
among Democrats. Leading Republl-
cans express deep humiliation that
factional spirit should have obtained
the mastery over party loyalty, and
perhaps lose to the party control of the
upper house of Congress. So intense is
this spirit that it is already common
talk among Democrats and Repuhli-
cans alike that the next Legislature
will be Democratic. The principal
cause OF the failure to elect was the
bitter feeling on the part of ten William
cite Valley members against the city OF
Portland and consequently against any
man who lived there. From 8o'clecB
last night up to 4 o'clock this afternoon
HirSch and his friends used every effort
/ to swing his support over to some other
candidate that%ould be acceptable to the
opposing minority, but no man coulC
be found in the State on whom the
majority and minority factions coulC
unite and the representation in thu
/ United States Senate was surrendered
from fatigue and disgust. There is /
| good deal of talk tonight around thu
hotels and clubs about the power of thu
Governor to appoint. This Is the seconC
time in the history of the State that th'
Legislature adjourned without electin;
! a Senator. The. Very first Legislature
after Oregon was admitted as q State
turn Delagin Smith who ha,
been appointed Senator; the Governo
held that he had authority to appoin
and the State was represented from 1S5
to 1860 by Senator Joseph Lane alone
| Good lawyers here hold ito the opinion
that the Governor may appoint an
base their opinion on the case of Charlie
H. Bell, of New Hampshire. who wa
admitted to the United States Senate i
April, 1879, though Bells case is nc
entirely analogous to this. In no even
can Senator be sent from this State i
time to take his seat at the opening {
the executive session.