Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-07
SENATOR RANSOM ELECTED
H. is Made Temporary Presiding Officer Of
the Upper House.
Both the Vice President and Senator
Harris, the President Pro Tenn
pore, Are Absent.

A peculiar contingency arose in the Sem
ate this morning, such as has not occurred
for five years at least. The hour of II
o'clock arrived without there being pre-
sizing officer for the Senate in the city.
Vice President Stevenson left the city last
week ia order to be with his sick daugh-
ter at Asheville, N. c., announcing that he
would not return until there was definite
prospects for her health. Senator Harris,
the president pro tempore of the Senate,
left the city before the holidays for Ten
ne ssee to engage in his campaign for re-
election to the Senate. He is not expected
to return until the end of this week or the
bt ginning OF the next. This left the SEN
ate without any definite head, and the
emergency was discovered yesterday.
There was hasty consultation ON the
part of the steering committee Of the Sem
ate. and it was agreed that temporary
p.esidIng officer should be elected.
The choice of the committee fell on Mr..
Ransom, one of the Oldest members of the
democratic side, and who, it was thought
was ehtitIed to the horo by reason OF thc
fact that he was the chief aspira"t for tine
position aside from Senator harris when
tie Senate was reOrganlZed in 1873.
1t usually occurs when president pro
tempore leaves the city that he designates,
whether openly before the Senate or by q
letter, some one take his place lclIpO.-
alily. But Mr. Harris, leaving before the
Wee President, did not anticipate that such
an emergency would arise and so made
no designa ton and could not be reached by
wire i'll time to get written designation
back tc Washington.
The complication was that if the Senate
should elect president pro tempore i'll the
absence Of both the Vice President and Mir.
Harris, the Senator so chosen would then
become the actual president pro .empore
of the Senate, completely divesting Mr..
Harris of that power. This effect would
rot be temporary, bat permanent until the
Senate should vote otherwise. Under these
circumstances Mr. Ransom heSitated and
only accepted upon the distinct under
standing that he should retire upon Mr.
Harris return, ard that the Senate should
re-eiect MIR. Earris as president pro tenn
pore.
With this understanding made Yesterday
afternoon, he consented to temporarily as
sGme the chair of the Vice President. One
or the standing rules of the Senate pro-
vifeS that in such an emergency, there be-
ing TO pr. siding officer We: desi ignated, the
secretary of the Senate, or in his absence
the chief clerk, shall call the Senate to
order. Consequently, this morning wnen
the clock noted the hour of noon Gen.
for order with the Vice Presidents gavel,
ard after the prayer called the attention
Of the Senate to the fact that there was
nc one qualified to preside. Mr. German
thereUpon introduced a resolution, which
was Immediately adopted without division.
declaring Mr.. Ransom to be the president
pro tempore. Mr.. German then asked
unanimous consent that the oath of Of
fi6e should be administered by Senator
Morrill,, who is now by many years the
senior member of the upper house. The
aged statesman ascendcd the rostrum at
the same time that Senator Ransom, es-
corted by MIR. Blackburn, as chairman of
the committee ON rules. walked up the
Senate aisle
Mr.. Morrill, administered the oath to Mr.
Ransom in very low tone of voice, and
moment later the senior Senator from North
Carolina, who will soon retire from public
life, was the presiding officer. He made
brief speech, thanking the Senate for the
trust repoSed in him and insisting in pub
lie upon the agreement reached in private
that Immediately upon the return of Sen
ator Harris the position should be again
conferred upon him.
Immediately, before any business had
been transacted, Senator Ransom turned
the gavel over to Mr. Henderson, who pre-
WAS a very graceful act, as Mr.. Manderson
is acknowledged to be one of the most
competent presiding officers in the Senate.
and one of the most thoroughly equipped
students in parliamentary law.
This contingency has not arisen In the
Senate since 1889, when Gen. McCooK, then
secretary of the Senate. called the BODY to
order in the absence of a presiding officer
and presided unit Senator Ingalls, was
elected President pro tempore. The same
thing occurred in 1882 when Secretary
Stober called the Senate to order and Sem
ator Bayard as chosen for a brief term
of three days.
Capt Bassett the veteran doorkeeper of
the Senate, says that this thing has happen
e6 very often in his time, but, as everybody
knows, Capt. Bassetts is tremendously
long time and constitutes a large part of
the his tory of the country.