The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-03-02
FILIBUS'TED.
IgnOminious Failure Of the Minority
Plan of Obstruction.
DEMOCRATIC GENERALSHIP AS
POOR AS JOBS TURKEY.

| FiIibuster Bird Leads the Obstructionists--
But 1t Is Feeble Attaek-Tfe Ward
| Line Bill Passed by Big Majority.
Especial to the Press.l
| AUGUSTA, March 1.-Cemmander-in-
Chief Bird Of the little Army of Filibus-
| ters was very busy when the House met
this morning He first held a council of
war with Chief of Staff Parker and that
veteran of political campaigning, Hon. s.
| S. Brown. Then General Bird spent
some time in rallylng his forces, confer
ring first with one lieutenant and then
with another. General Shaw Of the op-
posing forces was calmly awaiting the
battle. The two generals held one or
two conferences under a flag of truce.
The plan of campaign of the supporters
of the rsdistricting bin was not to force
| the fighting until the House had trans
acted routine business. If the fihbusters
| attempted to make a fortress of this,
however, they were to be driven from
| that position by assault, the rules being
suspended in order to get the ward line
bill in position for the fray. That manHu-
we would deprive the filibusters of the
| shelter of the routine business and force
| them into position to meet the principal
! issue of the battle.
The filibusters, however, did not at
| tempt to take advantage Of other meas
ures today to fight off the ward line bill
| and the battle did not begin until after
| the transaction of the routine business.
Mr.. Shaw moved that the rules be sus-
pended and the redistricting bill be taken
| up.
| The fight was on at once snd was
| lively one, except during the tinae when
| many of the members fled for shelter
from the oratorical cannonading kept up
| for an hour and half by the flibusters'
chief of artillery, Mr.. Scott.
| Mr.. Scott, who said at the outset that
he had mace motions to adjourn yester-
| day not because he was a f1libuster, but
because. he was hungry and wanted to
| go to dinner, seemed to have no fear of
hunger today. He talked rapidly and told
| his story in one form and another sew
| eral times so that when finally he made
| remark that this had been going on,for
| these many days, his hearers were fain to
| believe that he meant his own remarks.
| At one time, the Maine House pro ably
resembled the National House Of Repre-
| sentatives more closely than it ever has
| before. About half the members had
| left the chamber, and many of the others
were reading the papers. The cannon
ade finally stopped, however, having
killed nothing apparently but stime. IT
| it was time on which the batteries were
trained the victory certainly rested with
| the artillerist.
Mr. Brown of Waterville made
speech which Mr.. Higgins of Limerick
completed. Mr.. Brown spoke of the
sentiment of fair play in general, and
Mr.. Higgins poured some hot shot into
| the argums mt by reading from the re-
port of Mr.. Browns speech in Portland
| to show how that gentleman applied his
sentiments to Portland in particular
Finally the battle of words was ended
and the battle of votes begun, resulting
| in victory for the bill 80 to A. The
detailed account of the battle follows:
In moving to take the bill from the
table, Mr.. Shaw said that the bill was as
signed for Monday afternoon at 4.30, but
| in Difference to the minority he had con-
sented to its reassignment for Tuesday.
As the House well knew the matter lost
its standing in the haste of yesterdays
business. He now asked that the rules
D6 SUSPENDED dul tIlS ludLl6f tdkcu up dU
this time.
Gen. Bird then began the battle for the
filibusters. He said that he had under
stood that this matter by agreement was
to be considered here and fairly and
freely discussed tomorrow. Later, much
to his surprise, he had been informed by
the representatives of the majority that
the agreement was withdrawn. The
minority was aware that the majority
party here was greatly in excess but they
still asked that they should be granted
their rights. If it was not proposed to
| minority might be put to the painful
necessity of resorting to dilatory
measures.
MI. Powers of Houlton, said that he
knew nothing of the merits of the meas
ure. But, if be was correctly informed,
the bill had lost it's assignment at the re-
quest of the minority as represented by
the gentleman from Portland Mr.. Bird
and yesterday members of the minority
had filibustered against the hospital bill,
not that they wanted to defeat that bill,
but because they had hoped to prevent
the consideration of the measure which
had been reassigned at their own request.
And now, the gentlemen of the minority
stood here and talked about their rights.
If this was the way legislation was to be
carried on in the Maine legislation it
was time the majority party knew it. He
hoped that he motion of the gentleman
from Portland would prevail.
Mr.. Sylvester of Lisbon, caused con-
siderable merriment by announcing that
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