The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-05-03
SEEN AND HEARD IN THE CAPITOL.
Senators See the Need of Something
Like the House Rules.
Their August Body Too Large for Its
Present Easy Methods.
How Three Distinguished Maine Men
Met After Many Years.
Especial to the Press /

Especial to the Press.l
| WASHINGTON, May 1t would not be al
all surprising if the Senate should soon pro
vide itself with some rule by which the Vice
President may be enabled to count quorum
as Speaker Reed has done in cases where
present members have not voted. Senator
Chandler of New Hampshire has already in.
troduced a measure to that effect, and, al.
though he disclaimed to be acting for any
others than himself, there are signs that the
proposition meets with favor among some OF
| the leaders of that body on the Republican
side. The Senate has been caught without a
quorum several times this session on quite
| important measures, simply because several
Senators in the hall did not seem to be able
to break through the crust of their dignity
long enough to vote. A case of this sort oc-
Cured this week, and Senator John Sherman
was considerably exasperated. lie declared
that Il give notice that whenever there is a
quorum present in the Senate, even though
the vote does not disclose quorum, l shall
insist on the adoption of the sensible rule
that Senators shall be counted by the presid-
ing officer as being present" Mr.. Blackburn
of Kentucky wanted to know If he would
have the Vice President do what the Speak
Or OF the House has been engaged in doing"
to which Mr.. Sherman replied, II believe
that the rule now adopted in the House Of
Representatives is in exact accordance with
our own rules and the Constitution"
Nha s, 4kA
need of some rule other than the present 60
as-you-please rule which fills the record
with wastes of discussion to which very few
in the Senate listen. During debates the
Senate chamber is generally conspicuous for
its empty seats, and it is perfectly possible
for Senator to talk until he becomes the
wonder of the nation, as Senator Blair did
on his education bill the first of this session.
There is no previous question in the Senate
and it is conceivable that by speaking indefi-
nitely the minority might flibuster any
measure to death. just at present there is
hlibustering, as a few, by refraining from
voting, can generally succeed in breaking a
quorum.
The Senate is now getting to be quite
large body. The admission of new states
has brought In eight new Senators, making
the whole number in the Senate now "a.
With Idaho and Wyoming coming in. this
number will soon be increased to So; and,
ultimately, with Utah and New Mexico and
Arizona territories admitted as states, there
will be "a Senators. For so large body as
the Senate already is, it is becoming evident
that the old free and easy system Of proceed
ure will have to be curtailed.
One of the features of the business Of the
House of Representatives in which the Re-
publicans may take credit to themselves is
the disposition of the contested election
cases. In former cases, contested elections
have always dragged along as if every one
was totally Indifferent to them. Indeed,
in recent Congress, man was seated
on the very last day of the session, after the
sitting member had participated in the whole
business of the session. In no Congress in
the last twelve years have contested election
cases been handled so promptly and so care
fully as by this Congress. or the seventeen
cases eight have already been disposed of.
And the work has been done carefully and
justly. Five of the eight contestants have
been seated in accordance with the recon-
AhSbNueAoh VA bhO hAuJOAibJ Va bIO OASSeAOh
committee, while in three cases the sitting
Democratic member has .been confirmed in
his seat by the recommendation of this same
committee. The other nine cases are well
along and most of them will probably be de-
cided this session. Nor has the right of de-
bate been denied or abridged beyond the
usages of other Congresses to do this. In
the fftieth' Congress there was less debate
-. Al<1 sI.I
been in the first seven cases of this Congress.
So far the eight contested election cases
have been settled in this Congress with an
average lapse for each case of 105 days from
the beginning OF the session. In the last
Congress this period was 155 days; in the
49th Congress only four of ten cases were
settled and it took on an average of 253 days
from the beginning of the session to dispose
of each case In the 4Sth Congress ten or
twelve cases were settled, 1856 days being the
average time fr0h. che beginning Of the session
that it took for each case. In the 47th Con-
gress the average time Of the settlement of
each case was 2l1 days, and in the 46th Con-
gress BAL In the present Congress, con-
tested election cases, like every other form
of business, have gone ahead with greater
industry and energy on the part of the ma
jority than displayed before for many years.
"When shall we three meet again." has
:
the purpose Of very rude, practical joke,
yet some very distinguished people could
not keep the old line out of their heads the
other day. 1t is quite an old story now how
thirty-ive years ago there were two young
newspaper men named Blaine and Fuller
reporting the debates of the Maine legisla-
ture, at the same desk in the hall of the
House of Representatives. There was also
at that session of the legislature young
member from Oxford county named Sidney
Perham, afterwards member of Congress
and governor. The three young men be-
came quite well acquainted during that ses-
sion, although they never met. again in the
hall Of the Maine House. la fact, after the
adjournment of that session the three men
did not come together for 80 years, or until
the present week of this year of grace. On
Tuesday Governor Perham was at the State
Department making call upon Mr.. Blaine,
when who should come in but the dapper
little man with great blonde mOustache
who, as chief justice of the United States,
can put on as much dignity as the heaviest
man ON that elevated bench. Governor
time when the three had met; but Mr..
Blaine took the words out of his mouth, and
began to tell all about those days 35 years
ago. The chief justice remembered them
ptIl6Ctly, anu 50 ulu GOV6TnOr 16rldm ana
there was carried on for half an hour or so
about as lively and pleasant a conversation
as ever takes place within the limits of the
sumptuous Department of State.
Congressman Bynum of Indiana has been
coming toithe front this week again after a
relapse into comparative silence since the
great parliamentary insurrection." During
that time the country heard considerable of
Bynum, although it was not favored with
that large and varied form of bellowings
which characterized that young gentleman s
performances on the floor of the House.
Bynum is an Indiana Democrat, and repIe-
sents in Congress the indianapolis district in
which President Harrison lives. But all the
people in that district are not like Mr.. Har-
rison. If they were Bynum would not be in
Congress Bynum is young, bright look
ing fellow but he has the propensity to. be
always doing those things which the best
sense of those about him condemns. Last
Saturday night he kept the House in session
until II O'Clock out of pure ugliness in order
TO poster the Republicans. The majority of
MS own party did not like it either, but there
was small faction with him, enough to de-
mand the yeas and nays on every little mo-
LlOn, anu he managed to give a pO0d deal of