El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-02-17

WAsHrNGTON, Feb. 3D. Special Sc
crct or executive sessions have been tho
rule in she senate this past week. The gem
cral arbitration treaty with Great Britain
has been under consideration much of the
time. and it has been the subject of great
number of interesting speeches. AS
write the news from the capitol Is that the
treaty will not be ratified or rejected dur
ing this congress. 1t Will have to go over
to the special session, which is to meet
about the middle of next month Sena'
tors complain that they have no time for
such an important and complicated mat
ter at this juncture. 1t is too serious Il
subject to be dealt with hastily. They
want to discuss it at leisure, thoroughly
and carefully. From this day forward all
the time of the senate will be needed for
the regular appropriation bills.
The Special Session.
After March the senate will be in ses-
sion all the time, with nothing, or prac-
tically nothing, to do. 1t Will be called
to meet March . in special session by
President Cleveland, according to the usu-
al custom, for the purpose of considering
the nominations to be made by his sue
CeSsor. A bout the middle of the month
both the house and senate will meet I'M
der call from President Mckinley. Tho
house will at once go to work upon the
new tlrlu DILL or at least as SOOll as lIldl
mea sure is reported from the ways and
means committee. But the senate will
have nothing to occupy its time. 1t cam
not originate revenue legislation. There
will he no appropriations to make. The
Republican policy will he not to undertake
general legislation at the special session,
but to frown upon all such matters and
keep them in the background. Then the
senate. say the leaders of that body, can
81. u,
it to its hearts content. There are several
amendments already pending.
What the fate of the treaty Will be no
one seems to know. l have talked with
some of the ablcst and most influential
senators on both sides of the chamber, and
they are divided in opinion as to whether
the treaty can be ratified or not. 1t is not
an easy matter to get Il two-thirds vote for
a measure to which there is serious opposi-
ton, and there is Il very strong opposition
to this convention. 1t is seen to involve
many things which apparently We're not
considered by President Cleveland and
Secretary Olney when they negotiated it.
Senators object to having the senate give
up its constitutional power to participate
in the treaty making function of the gov
ernment. They say the senate is as much
a part of the executive branch of the gov
ernment, SO far as settling foreign disputes
by treaty is concerned, as the executive
himself. One senator explained to me that
the secret sessions of the senate are called
executive sessions because it is then the
senate resolves itself into an adjunct of the
executive department of the government,
as directed by the constitution.
a Possible Contingency.
Some senators think ratification of this
treaty would give foreign governments and
their subjects the right to sue the United
States and the states of the Union. In this
respect they might enjoy an advantage
which is now denied to our own citizens.
The government of the United States can
not be sued without its consent. A court
of claims has been established to which
claims are referred, but no one can present
IL claim there and have it considered with
out first gaining the consent of congress
through q special law. If the arbitration
court were established as proposed in the
treaty, foreigners might be able to sue the
United States without asking the consent
of congress.
The debates in the executive sessions
We're published quite fully in the newspa
pers, greatly to the chagrin of those sena-
tors who are sticklcrS for privacy. The
morning after the first debate the enter
prising newspapers of the country presented
their readers with Il report of what had
been said and done which was more COM
p1ctc and quite as accurate as if the session
had been OPEN to the public. One senator
gives it as his opinion that the best way &c
induce tie newspapers TO report the debates
of congress is to have secret sessions, fo1
then the correspondents are put on then
mcttle TO see how full they can make then
account Of the proceedings.
How Secrets Are DivuIged.
There is, Ct course, 10 secret as to how
the information concerning the secret de
bates finds It's way 10 the newspapers. The
senators themselves arc responsible for the
leaks Sometimes they do not know they
are being pumped. Others consciously
and deliberately give their newspaper
friends information. l can remember one
occasion on which three senators were
primcd to report Il secret or so called Sc
Crct debate in tie executive session. They
sat with pencil and PAPER before them and
made full notes of what was said and
done and after the session was over turn
cd their notes over to their newspaper
friends. AS d rule, however, correspond
cnts depend upon the memory Of senators
Visits TO n few of he statesmen, a ShrCWd
putting of two and two together, and it is
not difficult to make up four. As rule
again, every bright CorrCST OEGCnt in town
knows the views of the leading senators
upon any such important question as this
arbitration treaty. He knows because he
has talked the whole matter over with the
statesman. Given the fact that such and
such senators made speeches in the secret
session, and it is not difficult to guess
what they said.
y vigorous but unsuccessful effort was
made to throw open the doors and hold the
debate on the treaty in public. l incline
to the opinion that The senate is wise in
ndhering to the old custom. 1t is cxccu-
tive business and, while the cntcrprising
correspondents dig out the facts and give
them to the public, now and then words
are used which, if made public, might en-
barrass in our foreign relations. If the
same words get to the ears of foreign off
Gals in the roundabout way Of Il ncwspa-
per report, it is set down as hcarSay, and
at least unofficial, and not much weight
is attached to it. One senator made to me
the very sensible observation that there
was Just as much reason why Secretary
Olncy and Sir Julian Paunccfote should
ask the newspaper men to be present ut
their negotiation of treaty as in expect
ing the senate to open its doors to the
press in considering such document.
WALTER WELLMAN