Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-17
REORGANIZATION
SENATE
Senator Proctor Thinks It a Necessary
Thing for the Republicans.
He Knows No Agreement to the Con-
trary-DemOcrats Cannot Secure
q Majority to Control.

Senator Proctor Of Vermont has returned
from an extended hunting trip, and will
soon take up his residence for the coming
session of Congress. Speaking of some of
the problems before the Senate, he said to-
day:
1T seems to me that to a very great de-
gree at least it will be necessary for the re-
publicans to reorganize the Senate But
there has been no arrangement, under
standing or correspondence upon that SUBJ
ject so far as I am aware. 1 do not under
stand, as has been suggested in some quar-
ters, that there was an agreement among
the republican Senators at the close of last
session that there should be no reorganiza-
ton of the Senate at this session except by
republican votes. If there was an agres-
1nent of that kind was not a party to it.
The republicans may not care to resume
the responsibility for the reorganization of
the Senate under existing conditions. but
as a matter of fact they cannot avoid the
consequences of their plurality. the plu-
rality of the Senate, for that matter, prac-
tically carries control of the Senate with it.
Control of the Senate, of course, would
give to the republicans the power to lni-
tiate legislation, which would be an adyan-
tage. 1 do not think that the question of
patronage is likely at all to enter into this
matter. There certainly has been no indi-
cation OF any contest upon the part OF the
republican Senators on that question.
have heard nothing of any Of the rival-Ees
of that kind which are spoken of in the
newspapers. There certainly is nothing in
the suggestian that there will be an at
tempt, if the republicans shall reorganiZe
the Senate. to depose Senator Morrill, from
the Craftsmanship of the committee on
finance. He Is the senior republican of that
committee, and If the republicans should
regain control of the Senate he would un-
doubtedly be given the chairmanship, which
he held at the time the republicans lost the
Senate.
Dem ocrats Cannot Secure n Majority.
II certainly do not see how the democrats
can desire or expect to control the Senate
SO long as they will not have a majority
which would make that control effective.
And there Is no probability that they will
secure such majority. The only way in
which the democrats could secure the con-
troll of the Senate would be by combining
with all of the populists. That seems to me
altogether impracticable. 1t does not ap-
pear to me to be possible that the populists
as a body Will cooperate with either party.
This is only an assumption on my part. I
have no Information as to the probable ac-
tion of the parties as whole or as to any
one of them. Nor do I know what attitude
Senators Jones and Stewart of Nevada will
take, both of whom claim to be populists.
There have been recent reports that Senator
Jones has abandoned his relations to the
pcpulists and is likely to return to the le-
publicans. l do not know how that may be
or how accurate these reports are. AS fer
Senator Stewart. do not imagine that he is
so embittered on account of the silver con-
troversies that he viii act, as rule with the
democrats rather than with the republicans.
He Is, of course, an intense silver man and
is the mainstay of the silver party. But on
all questions aside from those which relate
to silver Senator Stewart, / should say, is
an earnest republican. He is certainly op-
posed at heart and by his record to most of
the things for which the democrats stand,
except as regards silver"