The San Francisco call., 1899-02-10
EXTRA SESSION
VERY PROBABLE
important Measures Are
Tied Up.
ALL MUST BE PUT THROUGH
NICARAGUA CANAL BILL AT A
STANDSTILL.
ALL MUST BE PUT THROUGH
The President Is Anxious to Have
the Army Reorganized at the
Earliest Moment
Possible.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, Feb. s.-Although
Senator Morgan Is willing to accent
Hepburn's Nicaragua canal bill re-
ported by the House Committee on
interstate and Foreign Commerce, he
realizes that the opposition of Speaker
Reed must be overcome by hook or
crook, and he proposes to do it by crook
rather than have no bill at all. But
neither Chairman Frye of the Com
merce Committee of the Senate, which
has jurisdiction over river and harbor
appropriations. nor Chairman Burton
OF the House Committee on Rivers and
HarDors take kindly to the proposed
scheme of attaching the Nicaragua
measure to the river and harbor bill.
1t begins to look as if there might be
an extra session after all. The regu-
lar appropriation bills are not only un
usually delayed, but important mea
sures, such as the Hanna Payne steam
ship subsidy bill, army reorganization
ana the anti-scalping bills have yet to
De acted upon. Senator Hanna is very
anxious about the Shipping subsidy
measure, and unless it passes at this
session he will doubtless endeayor to
persuade President Mckinley to con-
vene Congress in extra session soon
after March T.
Owing to the opposition to the arny
reorganization bill that has been de-
veloped in the Senate, the supporters
OF that measure have almost aban-
ooned all hope of securing it's passage
at this session. The failure of the
army bill will, it is said, Of itself be
considered by the President as suffi-
cient cause Tor calling an extra ses-'
sion.
Senator Hanna believes the inhabit-
ants of the Hawaiian Islands can man
age to get along under existing ar
rangementS without much trouble, but
ne thinks there Is an immediate neces-
slty for the passage of the Nicaragua
canal bill and his subsidy measure, and
as neither is likely to pass at the pres
ent session, it is safe to assume that
the influence Senator Hanna is sup
posed to have with the President will
be eXerted in favor of an extra session
next spring.
There was considerable talk at the
Capitol to-day to the effect that the
anti-expansionists in the Senate intend
10 prevent the appropriation of the
S20,0OO,O00 indemnity to Spain stipu-
lated for in the peace treaty The anti
expansionists, it Is understood believe
they can in this way accomplish what
they hoped to do if they had prevented
the ratification Of the treaty.
ne interesting information comes
from Madrid that the Spanish Cortes
will not ratify the treaty until our
Government appropriates the 500, 0,000,-
600 which Spain is TO receive. BY an
tagonizing this item in the sundry
civil appropriation bill the anti-expan-
sionists think that they can accomplish
their purpose, as the failure of the Cor
tes to ratify the treaty would render it
still imperative.
IF necessary" said an anti-expan-
sion Senator to-day, 1--WE will f1libuster
against the appropriation. We do not
intend that the money shall be appro-
priated this session. The time remain
ing of the present session is so short
that it will be comparatively an easy
matter to kill the s20,000000 item by re-
sorting to dilatory tactics.''