Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-13
THE EDUCATIONAL BILL.
MIR. Frye Complains of the Protracted
Discussion and Mr. Blair Replies.

MIR. Frye Complains of the Protractcd
Discussion and Mr. Blair Replies.
Debate in the Senate yesterday afternoon as
to the day on which the Blair educational bill
should be disposed of brought ont the fact
that at least one Senator is somewhat weary Of
the slow manner in which the arguments have
been presented to the Senate. Senator Frye
was the one who spoke right out. He was
talking TO Mr.. Blair and said: II should like
to ask the Senator If he has ever known, during
his experience in the United States Senate, of
bill being permitted to drag along for a solid
month in order to accommodate Senators who
said they desired to make speeches? Why
should not Senator who desires to make a
speech be ready to make it? Why should
he not recognize the fact that the bill
is under consideration and that it should con-
tnue under consideration until disposed of :?
Why should one speech be made here in day
and then go into executive session at o'clock,
when two more speeches could be made, an
hour being long enough for anybody to make
speech on the educational bill or anything else?
Why should this bill be permitted for over a
month, and perhaps for a month longer, to take
the place Of all the pending business before the
Senate SIMPLY to accommodate some Senator
who says he desires to make a speech? The
Senator should accommodate himself to the
business OF the Senate il he desires to make
speech.
Now, there is no particular desire to hear
senators make speeches on this bill. have sat
there In the presiding officers chair three or
four times during the pendency of this bill
when Senators were making speeches and
counted less than seven members of the United
states Senate present and listening. Under
those circumstance"
MIR. Blair-The Senator has on good many
other bills, too.
MIR. Frye-Ies. with. many other bills. but
never saw 1t in the case of q bill pending along
like this. If the Senator from New Hampshire
would insist that his bill should be considered
day after day against executive sessions or any
thing else until it was disposed of it would have
been disposed of a fortnight ago. but his good
nature leads him to accommodate this Senator,
that and the other. when the fact illustrates it
self every time the bill is up that there is no
living Senator who wants to hear a speech, be-
cause the Senators are all in the smoking rooms
or In their committee rooms while the speeches
are going on.
MR.. BLAIR's ANSWER.
There was an appealing tone in the voice of
the New Hampshire Senator as he said: THE
Senator has put to me great many conun-
drums, but L was never a member of the COM
mittee on rules and never officiated with any
frequency presiding officer of this body and
L never had anything to do with the creation
OF this senatorial courtesy any more than to
exercise it toward others in a very much more
marked degree than it has been exercised by
others toward myself.
Now, Mr.. president this is not the only bill
that has taken great deal OF time. though it
be the most important bill. and might well
claim time more than any other that has been
pending in this Congress since / have known
anything of it. l mean by .'ths Congress" the
Congresses l have had the honor to be
connected with. l know many another bill
which has drifted along week after week, and
never knew any Of them that could resist a
motion to go into executive session or motion
to adjourn, or the desire for dinner ON the part
of members of the Senate. and do notsuppose
that the tendency of the question of a declara-
ton of war against Christendom. against the
world, against the universe. would prevent
Senators from being caught eating their sal
mon occasionally at O'Clock in the day, and 1
think it may be fair to presume that at the
time when the Senator from Maine observed
the absence of Senators during the discussion
of this and other bills the absence has gener-
ally been during that important hour when
Senators are attending to the inner, middle
man, rather than the headwork of their sem
atorial systems"
I'VE getting on with this debate" he
said. 1t Is not any more protracted than it
needs to be in order that Senators may under
stand the subject fully. 1 would have been
glad to have had vote much earlier. but in
the exercise of ordinary courtesy, and no more
than ordinary courtesy, it has not been possible
for he to get any further along than l have
done.
Now, / have stated to the Senate Just how
it seems to ME inevitable that the slime will be
occupied from Monday until Thursday of next
week, possibly little longer and more likely
little shorter, and if this bill continues to be
considered, l do not see but that am helpless
III the matter otherwise than to do all can do,
and that have done. have done the best
could with this bill If you could have done
any better with it you should have been al
lowed to pass it. That is ALL
So far the latter sentence is concerned
has amended it in the record SAC
tually," Senator Blair said, Il have done the
best could with this bill. so help me, Cod
which made the finale quite sensational and
made people in the galleries think they were
IN the House of Representatives. The Con-
gressional Record of this morning omits the
oath