The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-12
A TRUCE IN THE HOUSE.
THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS COMES
TO AN AGREEMENT.

WASHINGTON, April 11.-From o'clock
until aybreak the members of the House
sat patiently in their seats or reclined on
the more easy sofas in the rear of the hall.
No motions were submitted, no points of
order raised and no parliamentary inquiries
4 submitted The House was in a state of
siege. The advocates of the direct tax bill
recognizing their inability to cope with the
parliamentary tactics of their antagonists,
refrained from any effort to dispense with
further proceedings under the call of the
House. The opponents of the measure,
conscious of the fact that they
would be out voted upon any
motion to adjourn desisted from their
efforts in that direction, and affairs came
to a complete standstill Now and then a
gentleman would make remark which
would arouse the riSibiltieS of such of the
members as were not asleep, but through
out the night there were no scenes of suffi-
Gent interest to awaken the dozen occu-
pants of the galleries, who were peacefully
dozing upon the benches. AS the early
morning light broke through the glazed
ceiling of the chamber a short informal
recess was taken to enable the janitors to
clean the floor of the accumulated rubbish
of the all night session, but the duty was
very inefficiently performed.
THE DAY WELL ADVANCED.
At $50 o'clock this morning the House
4 still continued in the session of Wednesday
of last week. The loungers of last night
q had sought the shelter of the cloak and
committee rooms or had escaped the vigi-
lance of the Sergeant-at-Arms and gone
home to breakfast; still about 100 members
B whose bright faces and genial appearance
-
E their post during the entire night, were
8 scattered about the hall attending to what
Il ever private duty or personal fancy
81 suggested as a pastime. A group
q of twenty was gathered in the rear center
q Of the Republican side telling and listening
to stories and laughing boisterously at
81 times At each more violent outbreak the
"a gavel of the occupant of the chair rose and
fell in perfunctory way but had not the
# slightest Influence upon the wags. On the
floor similar group was seen on the Demo
e cratic side, but it was of more stald and
sedate demeanor.
The floor of the hall was Uttered with
8 bits of paper, the desk tops were covered
81 with miscellaneous piles of rubbish and the
chamber as a whole had an air of frowsi-
ness and fatigue.
''Are we still in session. queried new
conner of Mr.. Burroughs, of Michigan.
'Yes; you see us now in the very act of
leglSlatlng for the whole people,"
THE FIRST BUSINESS
At 10 o'clock the first business of the day
& was undertaken 1t was a motion by Mr..
Dockery, of Missouri, that the Doorkeeper
be authorized to open the doors and venti-
s. late the chamber. Some belated fillibus-
Fl terer objected from force of habit, and
matters relapsed again. At 1918 o'clock
4 Mr.. Belmont was brought TO the bar under
arrest and was formally charged with alb
q sence witAou5 leave. He said he was
paired yesterday and was necessarily absent
& in New York A motion to excuse him was
lost upon viva voce vote, but was carried
by vote of "a to upon division.
About II O'Clock Mr.. COwles, of North
Carolina, moved that the House ad iourn
and demanded the yeas and nays on the
motion. A sufficient number of Republi-
$ cans aroused themselves and voted to have
the yeas and nays and the roll call was
about to begin, when Mr. Mason, of Illinois,
made the point of order that a motion to
adjourn was not in order, because no bust
ness had interviewed since the last vote on
similar motion
The Speaker sustained the point, and Mr..
Mason, who is new member, was immedi-
ately surrounded by an admlring throng of
Older members, who congratulated him on
his presence of mind and acumen in seizing
upon the proper parliamentary remedy to
head off the dreaded test vote.
CAUGHT MAPPING.
| As noon approached many members ap-
peared on the floor who had been absent,
and Mr.. Weaver, of Iowa, moved that
further proceedings under the call, which
began st o'clock last evening, be dis
pensed with. The ayes and nays were ordered
on this propostson, and the roll call caught
NsPping several members who, relying
upon a c5ntiuance of the unbrolen monoto-
ny of the last six hours, had temporarily
absented themselves for sleep or other re-
freshments
Mr.. Anderson. of Kansas, was among the
hrst named called, and that gentleman was
invigoratng himself by shave and sham
poo, but he was equal to the emergency,
and caused much merriment among the
observers by suddenly emerging in the hall
with his face covered with lather and a
towel neatly drawn around his neck to
answer to his name. The extraordi-
nary number of roll calls and
the length of the session has
badly demoralzed the reading clerks,
and various employees Of the House have
been tried as substitutes with Indifferent
success. As one clerk with insufficient vo-
cal ability was struggling along with the
roll-cal, on Mr.. Weavers motion, Mr..
Dockery, of Missouri generously stepped
forward amid the applause of the House,
and took up the call in a sonorous voice.
The vote resulted in the defeat of the mo-
ton to dispense with the call by a vote Of
20 yeas TO 13S nays, and the House relapsed
into apathy.
REED VERY STUBBORN.
AZ o'clock this afternoon leave was
asked that the members Of the Committee
on the District of Columbia be excused un-
I'll o'clock TO enable them to attend the
opening of the free bridge over the Poto-
mac river in west w Washlngton.
Mr. -
ton
Unanimous consent was given Mr. White,
OF New York, 20 have read the Q o'clock
oihcial bulletin which noted an improve
ment in ex-senator ConkliDg's condition.
lne reading was listened to with close at
uentlon and at its close round Of prolonged
applause arose from both Democrats and
republicans.
4 Both parties to the controversy have
iiapsed into a Micawberish state of waiting
Tor something to turn up which will put an
end to the present condition OF affairs.
CAUCUS THE ONLY HOPE.
There are rumors afloat that it has been
decided that nothing but Democratic eau
Gus can have the effect of terminating the
sssion, which began one week from to-day,
out the Democratic advocates Of and oppo-
nents TO the direct tax bill are distrustful Of