Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-04-11
NATIONS CAPITAL.
The Montana Cases Bother The
Senate.
The House Hard at Work on The AIYal
Appropriation Bill.
The Republican Caucus Considers the
Silver Question.

TIE Republican Caucus Considers tn
Silver Question.
! WASHINGTON, Anril l0-The Montan
election case vas taken up.
| Cal addressed the Senate in oppositio,
to the report of the majority Of the com
mittee. He declared the country versin,
upon condition of thinss under xhicl
men are TO hold sests in the Senate in de
h.nce to public will and obligation to III,
constitution l, va, fast approaching
time Sben political power va. {, be III.
end of all action, not the conservariou Of
the government and of its various de part
ments- In his opinion, the action of tn.
Senate in this case, disregarding the cIes,
and questionable Law of Montana, snt
the prineipl Of lA~ as declared by the
| supreme courts OF the United States, wa.
| one of the longest strides 10 that direction
Hoar said a majority of the committee
| on privileges and elections thou.h .ht il c lear
on evidence, that the qualified voters OF
Silver Bow coun had by a fair m.j ,riiy
elected five republican representatives in
the Legislature, whose election turned the
| scale In the whole transaction. No one had
the least idea that any of the ,e alien vo,ers
whose votes were rejected had taken the
uecessary oath to support the constitu ion.
He spoke of them as Armenians, Bohem-
lans and Turks working on The railroad at
that point on the morning of election, not
one residing there now These were the
men whom the Senator from Delaware
Cray had spoken Of as being 'disftan-
ehised" BY the action of the board of can
vsssers. A majority of the committee on
privileges and elections held that those
men we're not legal voters. and therefore
a msjorty of the legal voters of Silver
Bo~ were in favor OF the five republican
representatives. 1t was not denied if the
result of the election in Silver Bow county
WAS changed at ali. it WAS changed by the
votes Of men not q 'alifed yo,ers.
Gray declared the only objection on
which Hoar justified the ehminauou of the
votes at precl ct ihrty-fo was an after
thought. no such objection being made be-
fore the county caavassing board of law
yers " no wanted these votes thr)wn out
The oi ctIons made there we're that the
votes ", re not sent in req, tered package by
mail to the clerk of the county canvAssers,
but delivered 10 him in seael package BY
one of the ju 'g-s, and the returns were
signed by the judges and attested by the
clerks instead of being signed bv the clerks
and attested by the judges. The senator
from Massachusetts did no consider either
Of these OF jections valid, but brought u2
an objrci,n not made in Montana. GRAY
asserted that precinct thirty-four WAS not
peculiar an alone in having votes of aliens
cast, the same thing having occurred all
owe. the territory in that days election and
in all elections for years previously. He
thought there was not f1uni In the hard, OF
the ive republican eprtsentatives from
Silver Bow county (situug i, Iron Hall
lesislsturs c.rtti ate Of any boar or
officer author zed by Law to make it, but en-
the contrary, he five democratic repres nts-
nves from that county (sitinx in Court
House legislstur-) SAT there in conformity
TO the return of The couaty board. m ,de as
directed BY law, and und,r the mandate Of
compel. NJ court of ju.tlce.
Teller regarded the question not from a
partisan polnt of vlsw. bat as a q te stiol of
law. IL Was a que stion whether Montana be
allowed 10 select her own representatives..
The plain logic of she arguments on the
Z SUE OF Tue CUhUDtF WAS tne
right % mske the selection reserved 70 the
Senate. From that he ci.sen ed Such a
doctrine would lead To chaos and confusion
good many Senators on his side OF the
ch ,mber Il ciudipg himself thought that
certain > ATT $ were not represented in the
Senate according to the will of their people
lie had not seen able 10 find anywhere un-
der the constitution, the authority for the
Senate to determine a question when the
State had determined il for itself. He held
that the only tbiog 10 be determined Was
whether Montana had spoken through its
Legislature. II il had, there was no aurborify
in the Senate to revise that finding. or set
it aside The controversy was whether the
tive men v no had sat in the Iron Hall
Leg stature we're entitled to seats In that
body. The Senate said in the Turpie case
he Legislature of Indiana had to decide
for itself ~ho were entitle to seats In that
body. Although it might have been the
gr 5ssest outrage committed in admitting
these men TO seats, the Senate held { In til at
case) they had no right of interference.
In rightiDg that wrong entrusted to the
people of Indiana.
Turpie made ttatement in CORE c,ion
Of me points mentioned by Teller in re-
gard to his rurpie's) election, and the
matter was discussed by both senators at
some length.
1, the Indiana case, according to Tu-.
pie. the legislature itself passed judici.lly
up,n the contested seat in at body.
VIII, reas the legislature Of Montana had not
passed judicially on the contested seats
from Silver Bow courty Ii they had done
Ia. a
case
Shermsn read three paragraph, from the
minority report. and said it was apparent
therefrom. as to the fve representative
from Silver Bow county, neither had a set
of certificates according to form The
Senate of Montana was tie; in the House,
25 repubican members, and ~ demo ratio
memb re-, about whose rights to seats there
is no question. There was therefore a
republican msj ,rity on j)int ballot, or, if
the contest over Silver Bow county / ad
come to be decided by the House Of Rep
resentatives there Was q maj lrity on the
republican side By which the republican
cobte.'ants could have been seated These
simple facts, he thought, contained all the
ele ements Of Just decision in the matter,
and showed the republican claimants for
seats in the Senate had msj 'rity on Joint
ballot. and had = majority in the House
without anv reference to the members from
s liver Bow county.
Eustis said he was = member Of the com
mittee on privileges and elections when the
Turpie cas- was before hat committee,
and vent on to argue that there was r O sim
tiarity between that case and the Msntar q
Gaze, He admitted that ,umerieallv 25
vas more than "a but he added that % lid
not mase quorum. and in a constitutional
meaning 25 ~ss not = larger number than
"a. A quorum VASES
A question was proposed by Kenna A. to
~h. ;her 10 Senators With unqnes,ioned
credentials (+2 being a quorum) could or
gsnizs and pass upon the credentials Of the
Other ~ whose title was questio led.
Hosr said he would like to think over it
before undertaking an answer.
Kpnna said that wss prec sely the ques-
zion that presented itself in the Montana
case.
Partial re.ponses to the question were
made bv Hoar. Dares. Blair ard u ,lph,
hi' Kenra sad none ef them came straigh:
to tn point.
AtG Is the Senate adj ,urned.