The Portland daily press., 1897-06-16
Less Than $4,000 Names on The
Big Cuban Petition.
INSTEAD OF SIX MILLION AS WAS
ALLEGED BY IT'S FRIENDS.
How Wind Was Taken Out of Big sensa-
ton Congressman suizer Expected to
Spring-spealzer Reed and Members of
the House Witness Some Scientific Kite
Flying.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.I

Washington, June 15.-Mr. Sulzer of
New York was disappointed congress
man on Monday. He had in hand a
lnonstrous petition from people who
wish to see Congress grant belligerent
rights to the Cubans, and he had planned
to bring it into the House with great
fanfare of trumpets. Under the rules of
the House all such petitions are intro
duced by bringing them to the clerk S
desk and putting them in into little
box there. The rule is the same whether
the petition is from one American or
100000 of them, as the Cuban petition
is alleged by Mr.. Sulzer to be signed by
that number. But some times members
who have petitions which they think of
unusual Importance, rise and ask unan-
imous consent that the important por-
tions be read. and that the petition be
referred in open house. There is no adj
vantage in this except that it gives the
matter, and incidentally the congress-
man some prominence. Mr.. Sulzer had
planned to ask unanimous consent in the
House Monday, and he would have done
SO had it not been for some perform
ances in his own party. The House
started in with the idea of doing some
business by unanimous consent and Mr..
Tracey of Iowa presented bill relating
to land matter in Oklahoma If that had
gone along all right it would have been
the precursor of considerable business
But two Democrats at once stopped it.
Henry of Texas objected right out, and
Mcmillan of Tennessee called for the
regular order. McMillan's object in
calling for the regular order was to force
the House to proceed to the next order
of business, which is the morning hour
call of committees for the presentation
of bills for action. AS the committees
are not yet appointed and therefore
there are none to call, Mr.. Mcmillan
sought to embarrass the Republicans.
But they simply moved to adjourn and
the motion was carried. Therefore in
the whirlpool of these events Mr.. Sulzer
slipped out and did not get the chance
he wished. The petition was introduced
all right and will do just as well as if it
had been sped by speech from Sulzer.
but Mr.. Sulzer is not so we'll pleased,
and the dramatic scene which he ex-
pected did not materialize. The petition
was wound on great wheel, made to
resemble the steering apparatus of a
steamboat.
Mr.. Sulzer had the petition endorsed
as containing 100000 names. There
seemed at once to be reason to believe it
contained at most about 100000 names.
L. II. Mckee, the Journal clerk of the
House, has had some experience estimat-
ing lists of names, and on one occasion
collected or was employed in collecting
100000 names. These were written on
ledger paper, and when it came to the
transportation of them by railroad it was
fonnd that the whole mass weighed two
tons. The petition presented by Mr..
Sulzer weighed, reel and all 70 pounds.
Making due allowances for differences in
character of paper, etc., it was not
thought that the Cuban petition con-
tanned over 300, 900 names. But an ac
tual count by the clerks showed that
there really were only 14,O56 names.
People do not realise how much a mil
lion is. Six million names would cover
% miles of paper.