The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-02
From the Saturday Evening Post.

Ond DEBATE OF the extra SESSION. Oh the army
bill was in progress in the senate.
The democratic majority was strenuous
ly pressing the bill to its passage, with
clause prohibiting any expenditure of the
appropriation for the payment of troops as
police to keep peace at the polls.
The repubIicing minority, foreseeing de-
feat, had resorted to filibusterng, dilatory
proceedings and motions to adjourn. MI
Lamar took no part in the debate, although
voting uniformly with his party.
During the morning hour, before the army
bill was taken up for consideration, Lamar
called up the bill to create a Mississippi
river commission, in which he was much
interested, reported from the committee of
which he was chairman.
The consideration of this measure con-
sumed the morning hour and the time ap-
pointed for taking up the army bill as the
special order arrived. Mr. Lamar suggested
that the commission bill could be disposed
of in few minutes and asked unanimous
consent for that purpose.
Mr. Wthers, of Virginia, who had the
army bill in charge, had given notice that
he would ask for a final vote before adj
1ournment that day, and declined to con-
sent to Mr. Lamar's request unless 1t was
agreed that a vote on the commission bill
| should be taken without further discussion.
Mr. Allison suggested, I'm a few min
utes."
Mr. Withers insisted upon his rights UNI
der the rules Mr.. Conkling asked If, not
withstanding unanimous consent was given
to Mr.. Lamar's request, the senator from
Virginia would insist upon a vote that day
| on the army bill. Mr.. Withers replied that
| he would. Mr.. Conkling then suggested that
the senator from Mississippi have unani-
nous consent to conclude the consideration
of his bill, and If, when reasonable hour
of the adjournment had been reached there
We're senators who wanted to be heard on
the army bill, the vote should be postponed
until the following day.
Mr.. Withers insisted that it was impor-
tant that q vote should be had that day
Mr. Conkling did not think this fair. Sen
ator Gordon of Georgia, explained that the
commission bill would not take more than
ten or fifteen minutes. Mr.. Conkling then
stated that, for himself, he would consent
and trust to the other side of the chamber,
when the ordinary hour of adjournment was
reached, that if any senator desired to be
heard he should not be cut off or pushed
into the night.
Mr. Withers here interrupted and said:
THE senator must not trust to my cour-
tesy in the matter If he alludes to me-
Mr.. Conkling retorted with contempt
uous irony: II did not indicate the sena
tor from Virginia as one to whose courtesy
I would trust
Lamar limited his request to twenty min
utes, and at last unanimous consent was
given. The bill was quickly disposed of
and the army bill was Immediately taken
up.
The legislative session was prolonged un-
til noon of June 10. Late in the sitting-it
must have been about midnight-a wrangle
occurred between Senators Blaine and
Salisbury, in which the latter charged the
former and his party with obstructng leg
islation
AT this juncture Senator Conklng arose
and referred to Mr.. Lamars request of that
morning, and said that he had given his
consent, relying on the courtesy of the dem
ocratic sena tors that the final vote would
not be pressed on the army bill that day.
He continued: Looking to that side I
received nod, not from one, not from
two, not from three, but from five demo-
cratic senator's"
Upon these assurances he had offered
motion to adjourn, assuming that there
would be no objection.
He concluded by saying: 1.-THE senator
from Virginia rose with such a disclaimer
as he had right to make in order that he
might keep within the bounds of his in
structions from the committee; but when
heard every democratic senator vote to
commit such an outrage as that upon the
minority of this body and upon the senator
from Wisconsin I do not deny that I felt
my Iull snare OIL lHulSUdlOH, ana curing
this evening, Mr.. President l wish to as
sumo all my own responsibility, and so
much more as any republican senator feels
irksome to him, for what has taken place.
have endeavored to show this proud and
domineering majority-determined, appar-
emily, to ride roughshod over the rights of
the minority-that they can not and they
should not do it. But I am ready to be
deemed responsible in advance for the as
surance that while l remain a member of
this body, and, al all events, until we have
a previous question, no minority shall be
gagged down or throttled or insulted by
such q proceeding as this. | say, Mr.. Pres
ident and l measure my expression, that
1T was an act not only insulting, but an
act of bad faith. l mean that"
1t would be quite difficult to exaggerate
the air of elaborate and naughty insolence
with which this arraignment and threat
was delivered. The concentrated and sonor-
Gus contempt of his denunciation of the ma
jority, the bitter scorn of his contume-
lious epithets passed all bounds. 1t was I'M
parliamentary and beyond the limits of de-
bate, but he was not called to order.
1t gave Mr.. Lamar the opportunity for
which he had been waiting so long, He
rose to a personal statement and said:
II am not aware of anything that oc-
CURED which would produce such an i'm
preston. If I had, although I would not
have been instrumental consciously in pro-
uuCii6 SuCh an ihPicSSiOli, nave
felt myself bound by it, and would have
made the motion for an adjournment, in
order to give the senator from Wisconsin
an opportunity to discuss this bill.
with reference to the charge of bad
faith that the senator from New York has
intimated toward those of us who have
been engaged in opposing these motions to
adjourn, have only to say that If 1 am
not superior to such attacks, from such
source, have lived in vain. 1t is not my
habit to indulge in personalities; but de-
sire to say here to the senator's that in
intimating anything inconsistent, as he
has done, with perfect good faith, pro-
nounce his statement a falsehood, which I
repel with all the unmitigated contempt
that I feel for the author of it,
This was a solar-plexus blow. Mr..
Conkling had contributed much to the
transportation of the time. His attitude to-
ward the southern democracy had been
that of unrelenting severity. He was ag-
excessively radical He advocated drastic
measures for the protection of the negro
and the assertion of national authority.