The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-20
THE SENATE SHOULD ACT.

1t begins TO look as if the delay of the
Senate in acting on the peace treaty might
result injuriously to the country, as it has
in some instances before The Senate is
ENORMOUSLY slow and dilatory in its methods,
as the country has learned TO it's cost. IN
der the pretense of discussion, which in that
body means unlimited speechmaking with
out any parliamentary restriction, and forth
fled by senatorial traditions, the Senate has
come to regard one of its chief preroga-
tives the right to delay important measures
regardless of public interests. 1t has done
this in repeated instances with tariff, reve-
nue., currency and other important meas
ures. and it begins to look as if it might
make similar record with regard to the
peace treaty. The treaty was signed at
Paris on Dec. TO- delivered to the President
Dec. "a, and by him sent to the Senate on
jan 4, Immediately on its reassembling after
the holidays. More than two weeks have
passed and to all appearances the Senate is
no nearer action now than it was the day
after the treaty reached it. The contents of
the treaty were known to the country and
the Senate before it was sent to that body
and published officially, and every reader
of the newspapers had made up his mind
regarding it, a very large majority of the
people being of opinion that it should be
promptly ratified. Ratification of the treaty
does not necessarily commit the govern
ment to the policy of annexing or perma-
nently retaining the Philippines That ques-
ton will remain to be disposed of later
Ratification is necessary to make an official
ending of the war; to give legal sanction to
the cession of Porto Rico, to the re-estab-
lishment of diplomatic relations with Spain
and other important matters. Conceding
that the treaty is to be ratified finally, Of
which there is no reasonable doubt the
sooner it is done the better. The delay of
the Senate has already caused embarrass-
ment in the Philippines and introduced an
element of uncertainty in regard TO the
action of the Spanish government Recent
dispatches state that the Philippine insur-
gents have been encouraged by the inacton
of the Senate and made harder to deal with
dispatch from Madrid a few days ago
said: 1.-THE premier, Senior Sagasta, in an
interview this afternoon declared that he
only awaited the United States Senate's
ratification of the peace treaty to convoke
the Cortes." 1t was further stated that
while no date had been fixed for the meet
ing of the Cortes, it would probably come
together two days after the ratification of
the treaty by the Senate. The inference is
that Spain is ready to ratify the treaty in
its present form, with all its humiliation and
territorial losses to her, and is only await
ing the action of the Senate Meanwhile,
the speechmaking goes on with the usual
result of not changing a vote. Trde, some
of the speeches have been able and inter-
esting, but what is the use of able and in
teresting speeches that do not accomplish
anything except delay Of business? After
all the speeches in the Senate have been
made the vote on the treaty will be pre-
cisely the same as it would have been two
weeks ago, and in the interval important
progress might have been made in settling
the issues of the war The present atti-
tude of the Senate is neither businesslike
nor patriotic. Nero fiddling while Rome
burned was not much worse than the SEN
ate wasting time in speechmaking while
the Philippine insurgents are massing their
forces to make trouble for the United States,
and Porto Rico is drifting helplessly with
out legal government because the treaty
is not ratified. The Senate should vote upon
the treaty at once.