The Russellville Democrat., 1893-09-28
THE SITUATION.
THE DlLAT0RY TACTICS IN THE SEN ATE ARE ATTRACTING WIDE
 ATTENTION.
EXTREME MEASURES.
The Republicans Are Prepared to Take Advantage of the Absence of CIoture to Prsventthe Re-
 peal of the Federal
 Election Laws.

WASHINGTON, D. O., Sept. B. The confidence which the silver men feel in the power to control the situation in the senate, says a morn ing paper, is becoming more appar- ent day. They can hold the un- conditional repeal senators in check and the majority can hold the min ority up to the rack, so each side is about on even terms. It must be remembered in order to continue the session into late hours of the night the majority must keep a force on hand for any emergency, while the silver men simply have to make details for speech making purposes. Complicated as the situ- ation looks there is no prospect for any action before the bill for the repeal of the federal election law comes from the house, when 1t Is proposed to offer meas ure as substitute for unconditional repeal. One can imagine the consternation which will fellow when Southern Demo- cratic senators are faced with prop osition to vote on the repeal of the
 FEDERAL ELECTION LAWS
 against silver. There is a growing probability, continues the same pa per, that the tactics of delay which the silver senators are now employ ing will be used in the senate by Republicans to prevent the passage of the Wilson tariff bill in the form in which it will come from the house. There is no reason why so long as cloture does not exist in the senate the Republican mem- bers should not take advantage of its absence to limit debate to wrest from the Democratic majority as many concessions ill tariff schedules as they may demand. Mr. Bourke Cochran is quoted saying in reply to an inquiry from a friend, the Fifty third congress would repeal the Mckinley act, but the next thing to do would be to pass another tariff bill as like the Mckinley law possible. This shows the feeling of Eastern Demo- crats who have been awakened by the hearings before the ways and means committee to the growing feeling in favor of protection among their Southern brethren upon the tariff question.
 THE POWER OF THE VICE PRESIDENT to stop the dilatory tactics is rather implied by the rules than expressed. The rules provide for the recognition of senators aho rise and address the chair, and pro vide further that there shall be no appeal from recognition, so he has the power at any time to refuse to recognize any senator. It does not appear that any presiding officer of the senate has availed himself of this extreme power, though the programme of the Republicans adopted in the Fifty first congress for the passage of the force bill through the senate, contemplated its use. It was part of this pro- gramme that Vice President Morton call Mir. Hale, of Maine, to the chair temporarily, and that he should put the question on the passage of the bill, utterly ignoring appeals for recognition and pro. tests from the Democratic side. There is little doubt tut this would have been done but for the vote by which the force bill was displaced by another measure. Vice President Stevenson has given no public indication as to what course he will pursue when it shall become apparent that the duty of determining whether the senate shall act rests upon him. Some of the advocates of repeal assert with con fidence that Mir. Stevenson will not hesitate to bring the senate to a vote on this or any other measure when it is demonstrated that vote can be reached in no other way, and debate being carried on for delatory pur- poses alone. On the other hand the silver people assert that the vice president is in favor of free coinage, and would never do anything to facilitate the passage of the pending bill. Mir. Stevenson himself when asked about what course he would pursue, declined to commit himself in advance.
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