The herald., 1894-01-08
THE WEEK IN CONGRESS.
1t Promises to Be Highly
Interesting.
Democrats Hopeful of Having
a Quorum.
They May Have to Resort to the Reed
Method of Counting.
Probability That the Wilson Bill Will
Have to Be Modified Before Be-
ing Taken Up-The Som
ate Programme.
By the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, Jan. THE tariff bill
will occupy the attention OF the house
during the coming week. After four
days fruitless effort to secure the pres
ence of voting Democratic quorum the
house adopted, just before adjournment,
the extreme expedient of ordering the
arrest of all members absent without
leave. Deputies were sent out in all
directions last night to serve warrants
on 40 members absent without leave-2l
Democrats. 10 Republicans. The Demo-
cratic leaders express the confident hope
that 179 voting Democrats will be In
their seats when the gavel drops at noon.
From Republican absentees no aid ia
expected. They can be brought here
under duress, but cannot be made to
vote. This applies to some Democrats
as we'll, and if the opposition within the
ranks OF the majority can be organized.
enough Democratic members might re-
frain from voting to prevent considera-
ton of the bill in it's present shape.
Privately some Democrats admit thai
the gravity of the situation is very great.
The possibility of defeating coneidera-
ton of the bill strikes terror into the
hearts of its advocates, and some OF
them, like Oates Of Alabama, openly
advocate resort to the parliamentary
expedient adopted by the tifty-frst con-
gress OF counting quorum. Speaker
Crisp asserts positively that he will not
be forced to this resort. lie thinks
voting quorum will be here certainly oD
Tuesday, at the fsrthest. If it cannot
be obtained, then another Democratic
oo n ot,g II ha ooll al Thiu ia xvh h thoaa
dissatisfied with the bill are aiming at.
They declare that as soon as they can
delnonstrate that not sufficient num-
ber of Democrats will vote to consider
the bill, the leaders will be obliged to
submit to material notifications which
the disgruntled members will propose.
Some eastern Democrats who are fight
ing the income tax proposition are will
ing to 60 to almost any length to elm
mate this feRture of the bill.
Altogether the prospects are good for
very interesting contest in the house
during the coming week. OF course. if
quorum ia secured tomorrow or Tues
day the special order will be passed,
Once debate is under way, it will pro-
ceed to the exclusion OF everything else.
Tareney, a member of the ways and
means committee, said tonight if a
voting quorum is not secured by Tues
day be would favor the adoption of
rule empowering the speaker to count
members present and not voting to make
a quorum. ''We must meet the revolu-
ton with revolution" said he. If the
Democratic members are driven to this
reeort, it 10 believed the Republicans
for standardization would be compelled
to support it.
The committee work of the house is
not fairly under way, as the opening
snarl over the tariff has required all the
attention OF the Democratic leaders who
constitute the chairmen of the leading
committees. Only two reports have
been presented since the session
opened-one from the judiciary commit
tee on Bailey's bankruptcy bll; the
other, from the committee on banking
currency. on the bill of Brawley to re
nit the 10 per cent tax collectible on
clearing house certificates and other
forms of private currency issued during
the money famine last fall. But, with
the prospect that the house will be en-
speeches, committeeman are expecting
to get their associates together and ac-
complish considerable work.
1t is probable that an important bill
repeating the 10 per cent tax on state
bank issues will be reported from the
committee on banking and currency at
an early day, perhaps during the COM
ing week. There is wide difference OF
opinion between the Democrats as to
the principles OF such measure, and as
these differences cannot well be recon
ciled, the general desire in the COM
mittee is to report bill simply repeal
ing the tax, and then let the house
decide all differences.