St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-17
BLAND is NOT BACKWARD.
He ATTEMPTED cOERciYE TACTICS
TO COMPEL A VOTE
ON THE Sci GN1oRAGE BILL
All the Republicans But Nine and
a Number of Democrats Refuse
to Assist in Making Quorum
Bland Expects to Get Enough
Recruits on Saturday or Mon.
day to Pass His Bill.


Bland Expects to Get Enough
Recruits on Saturday or Mon.
day to Pass His Bill.
WASHING TON, Feb. 16.-Mr. Bland
today began his coercive tactics to COM
pei vote on the silver seigniorage
bill. The bulk of the Republicans and
the Democratic opponents of the meas
ure inaugurated a filibuster with the in
tention of forcing him to produce a
quorum of the advocates of the bill to
pass it. and the entire day was con-
sumed in roll calls. The highest num-
Der of votes Mr.. Bland was able TO poll
was 163 in favor of his demand for the
previous question on the motion to close
debate. Of these 145 were Democrats,
Populists and Republicans. Mr..
Page, of Rhode Island, and Mr.. Ryan.
of New York, refused to join the fill
buster, but voted against the motion.
The Republicans who voted with Mr..
Bland were as follows: Bowers, Cali
fornia; Broderick. Doolittle. Funston,
Marshall, Hermann, Post and Sweet.
At 4 o'clock Mr.. Bland abandoned
any further attempt to secure a quorum
today, and, after passing a resolution
lnstructing the sergeant-at.arms to tele,
graph for abSenteeS, a recess was taken
until O'Clock, the evening session being
devoted to the consideration of private
pension bills.
MIR. BLAND EXPRESSES
the opinion that he will have a quorum
present tomorrow. but the general i'm
preston is that he will not able to se-
cure quorum until Monday.
Al the opening of the session this
morning Mr.. Cummings, chairman of
the naval committee, reported as a
privileged question the report OF his
committee OH MIR. Boutelle's resolution
calling upon the secretary of the navy
for information as to what authority
there was for placing the United States
naval forces and the use of its ensign
under the control of James II. Blount,
and also furnish the house all orders,
directions, instructions or official sug-
gestiOns issued by him since March 4,
1898, concerning the movements of the
naval forces at Hawaii.
He explained that the committee rec
commended the passage of the resolution
amended so as to call for all orders
from March 4. 1892, instead of 1898. He
yielded a moment to Mr.. BOutelle, who
urged the Importance of the resolution.
which he said had already been delayed
six weeks. The information called for
by it, he thought, should have been be-
fore the house when the Hawaiian reso-
lutions were being debated.
He did not suppose that the answer
would have any effect on that debate,
and the delay in procuring the informa-
tion requested by it. he presumed, SUBJ
served the same public policy which for
days and weeks had
KEPT CONGRESS WAITING
for Dole's reply, which had at last
reached the people this morning through
the public press. Mr.. Cummings then
demanded the previous question, which
was ordered, and the resolution, as
amended, was adopted without division.
Mr.. Bland was then recognized. All
suggestions for closing debate on the
seiguiorage bill by unanimous consent
having failed. he was driven to coercive
tactics. He moved to go into committee
Ol tue WnOl6, dtiu, pSQQlng LDdG motion.
moved that all general debate on the
measure close at 8 O'clock. On that
motion he demanded the previous uues-
ton. Mr.. Cannon, Mr.. Hopkins and
Mr.. Reed appealed to him for more
time for legitimate debate, but Mr..
Bland was obdurate. He was perfectly
willing, he said, to set any reasonable
limit to the debate, if the opponents of
the bill would agree to it, but they had
already filiDustered away two days, and
he was admonished that obstructive
tactics would De reSorted to at every
stage of parliamentary procedure here.
after. Mr.. Reed replied that there was
no reason why the opposition to the
bill should be bound over to keep the
peace in order to get an opportunity to
close debate. Thereupon Mr.. Bland
insisted upon his motion and the de-
mand for the previous question.
On the rising vote the Republicans
and the opposing Democrats declined
to vote, and when the result was an
nounced, SO to 0, Mr.. Tracey made the
POINT OF NO QUORUM.
The yeas and nays were demanded.
1t was very apparent from the outset
that Mr.. Bland would be unable to get
quorum today. The vote resulted
1915, 81 less than a quorum. Mr.. Bland
moved call Of the house.
This call developed the presence of