The Portland daily press., 1898-02-26

OONACS
into signing the bill, which was needed
| for the support of the army; and if he
signed it he would also thereby have con-
sented to the repeal of the legislation re-
garding the elections. The attempt
failed, after a great parliamentary strug-
gle. 1t is plain that a Cuban rider on the
diplomatic bill would do two things. 1t
would bring the Whole question directly
| into the House of Representatives for dis.
cussion and determination, and If the
| House should defeat it, it would cause a
| deadlock of the two bodies over the bill.
| II the House should agree to it, then 1t
| would go to the President, and he would
have to choose between having no money
| to pay the consuls and foreign ministers
| for 1899, and granting belligerent rights
to the Cuban insurgents. 1t is plain then
that Cuban rider would have been q
| very improper method of legislating, in
| tended to coerce both the House and the
Executive if the bill should get SO far
as that.
Upon Vice President Hobart devolved
the responsibility of acting, and 1T is one
| of the few cases where the Vice President
has much real Importance in his chair.
! It is true that the rules of the Senate pro-
| hibit riders, but the administration OF
those rules is in ordinary cases very lax.
Very often when the point of order is
made the presiding officer will not decide
himself, but will submit the case to the
Senate. Thereupon those VINO Want tne
| rider to pass will vote that 1T is in order,
and thus, if there Is majority behind 1T,
it is put on the bill. The House is much
more rigid in regard to it's rules, and no
rider, big or little, gets on II the point
of order is made against 1t. The reason
of this is that the House, being large
and snwieldy body, must have rigid rules
of procedure; and SO In this respect as
| in all others, keeps closely to the rule.
The Senate, being much smaller body,
| does not need such strictness, and hence
| is more lax in ths matter of riders as in
other matters. But in the case of the
Cuban resolution the Vice President
rules it not in order, and as it plainly
was not few Senators voted to overrule
him. Those who did not care to sustain
| him, remained silent, thereby acknoWI-
edging that he was right.
1t is quite probable that some other
considerations also actuated some MEM
| bers of that body. While they were very
fierce while ago to grant delinquency,
and were calling for war If need be, the
situation is a little too risky just now.
There is too much probability now that
| their bowls for war might be productive
of the real article, and like all human be-
! ings Senators are often more cautious on
the brink of a precipice than they were
| hundred miles away from it.
| This should not be forgotten in regard
to belligerency resolution. The passage
of it would hurt the Cubans more than
it would help them, except in one contin-
genoy, and that contingency is that 1T
would cause war between this country
and Spain. A fiJibustering vessel sailing
with arms and men for Cuba, can be
| touched by O Spanish gun boat only with
| in three miles of the Cuban shore. 1t may
cruise all day with IMMUNITY three miles
off the shore, watching the favorable op-
portunity to make dash for the shore
| during the night. In this way the Span
ish have been able to capture very few ex-
petitions. But were belligerenoy recog-
nized, the Spaniard might board and
search the suspicious vessel anywhere on
the ocean, SO long as he did not come
within three miles Of the shore of the
United States.
resolution would hurt the Cubans more
than it would help them. But neverthe-
| less they want it. Why? A prominent
| Cuban explained to Mr.. Hit, chairman
of the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs. He said that the search of Amer
lean vessels, which would be allowable
would result in war between this country
and Spain, and that in war the Cubans
would win their cause.
The sensible course of the Senate in de-
clining to put the resolution on the diplo
matte bill leaves the delicate situation
arising over the disaster to the Maine IN
complicated. This is rs it should be, fol
in that lie many possibilities of trouble,
| The leading statesmen of the Republicar
party, who are not forgetting that at this
crisis they are trustees to manage the
| affairs of the American people for the
best interests of the American people, are
watching that incident with care ant
good Judgment It would not really bs
| wise to embarrass them now with lot Of
other vexations, and even the Democrats
of the Senate seem to have realized this.