The times., 1899-02-09
MILLIONS Saved BY
SLY FILIBUSTERING
Bills for Public Buildings and
Grounds Killed.
Shrewd Tactics of Minority to De-
feat Appropriations.
Deep ChnErin of Mr. Mercer at Get
ting But One of His Measures
Through the House.

BY shrewd fiHbustering during the last
| two hours of yesterdays session the mi
nority side of the House succeeded in put
| ting back into the Treasury the eight or
nine million dollars that had been voted
out for public buildings and grounds, and
| the result of it all is that two valuable
| days have been wasted in parliamentary
| intrigue. while other important business
waited. From the tangle of disorder and
greed the village of Blair, little spot on
the Nebraska map. wherein dwell less
| than five thousand busy souls, emerges
| with the distinction of having defeated
| wholesale designs on the United States
| Treasury with its little claim for si3, 900
postoftice. And thus ends one of the
| most remarkable flibustering stories re-
corded in the annals of Congress.
| To make things clear to those not ia
miliar with the crooked jungles of legis-
| lation some explanation will be necessary.
| The House Committee on Public Buildings
| and Grounds has busted itself for several
months in devsing ways and means for
| separating the Treasury from something
| like $4,000. 900. which amount it was pro-
| posed TO distribute over thirty-ei States
| for investment in postofiices and other
buildings for the transaction OF Govern
| ment business There were more than
eighty bills altogether. and ii was consid-
| cred advisable 10 report these separately
| rather than in big omnibus bill The
| Committee on Rules made n special order
| of two days for the consideration of these
bills. and Tuesday morning the House
| solved itself into Committee of the Whole
on the state of the Union to pass upon the
merits and dement's of the various claims
presented.
| unen considered in Committee OF the
|
| and If favorably recommended they are
almost certain of passage, since majority
| vote of the entire body is necessary to d
| favorable report. So when these bills ap
| propriating vast sums of money often for
very small towns on pretexts OF one sort
or another ran the gantlet of the commit.
| tee the Committee on Public Build
ings and Grounds thought it was doing fine
| business. and doubted not that all bills
| favorably reported were as good as passed,
and the minority kept on voting to recon-
mend, thinking all the while that there
| would presently be some rare fun, which
| there was.
The Fatal Blair Bill.
But to return to Blair. When the Com
mitteee OF the Whole House first took up
| these bills there was some discussion over
| the manner in which order of precedence
| had been determined. but Mr.. Mercer of
| Nebraska, Chairman OF the Public Build
| ings and Grounds Committee. assured his
| colleagues that the matter had been ar
| ranged as best suited the interests of the
| country at large. which statement was
| we'll enough received until 1t appeared that
the second bill on his schedule was one to
| appropriate $3.50 for postofice at Blair,
| which is in Nebraska Mr.. Mercer states
and he had himself introduced the bill.
The minority laughed at this and pro-
| tested. 1t could afford to laugh and the
| protest was merely to allay suspicion. Mr..
Mercer regarded, ,the opposition as serious
| and promised that If his bill were laid
| unanimous consent to substitute another
for it, having meanwhile fixed another
member OF his committee to object. and
thus interfere with the necessary unani-
| nous consent. And the Blair bill went
over with favorable recommendation for
passage as did some forty-five others of
| similar character before the days work
was done.
Before the House had gone into commit
tee yesterday morning to resume consider
alton OF the public building bills Mr.. Mer-
Ger thought IL would be a good scheme TO
force the passage of those bills favorahly
| reported the day before. and he therefore
| moved the previous question on House bill
lO369. The minority stood up to make par
order and to do other things likely to
thwart this manner of procedure which
| was held TO be 4 violation of the special
order under the provisions of which il was
| understood that final vote on the bill
would not be taken until al! had been re-
ported 10 the House, or until the Commit
tee OF the Whole finished its work.
His Scheme Uncovered.
The opposition waXed so strong that Mr.
| Mercer agreed to call for the special order
and to go into Committee OF the Whole as
soon as House bill Iea69 had been voted
upon. Then somebody thought to enquire
what This particular bill was that had
awakened the approximations OF the chair
man. and the clerk was ordered to read is
title II was the Blair bin. and Mr.. Aler-
Ger was tainted cut Of his purpose.
The House then Went into Committee Of
| the Whole
Consideration Of the remaining bills was
then resumed and the minority continued
TO vote to tayorably recommend each bill as
| il came along, regardless of its merits or
author. II his thing kept NJ until 3 o'clock
| Mr.. Mercer consulted the clock and found
there were seventeen more bills which he
had NOT yet presented. He concluded thar
IT would be better to sacrifice these seven
| teen bills than run the risk Of nor nattino
|
he therefore moved that the cotnnIi;tsc
rise and report back TO the House. after
which il would he the order to vote on Tho
committees recommendations.
The authors OF the seventeen ignored
bills became very angry, and then a sur
prising thing happened. The minority dis
played disposition L. delay things and
tlibuster. yea ana nay vote on Mr.
Merccr's motion was demanded Thence
forward rDli calls. and
calculated 10 delay action on the bills
occupied the attention of the House and
of all the bills, representing apnrnpria-
tions amounting TO over $4,000, zoe. but
one was passed. and the rest died with the
expiration OF the special order.
when by yea and nay vote the COM
mittcc decided to rise and report Speaker
Reed took tine gavel from Mr. Sherman Of
New Yori. and the minority felt safer Mr..
| Reed was not in sympathy with the busi-
ness in hand. He had threatened to Cd
pose the appropriations il they amounted
to over six or seven millions, and here rhe
committee had pushed the limits into mil
lions counted in two figures The first
bill presented for action vas one To ap-
pTopriate S75 coo for the erection of a pub
lie building at Newport News. Va and
after il had passed by q yea and nav vote
it must have felt as lonesome as suniish
on the saraha Desert, for it worked alone,
and was denied company.
i'iIiipuStrrinu.
Second on the schedule was the
Blair, Neb bill, ana in anticipation vi the
storm il would raise, Mr.. Mercer moved
10 Iay it aside. But the minority would
10, have II 50 Such good chance for
trouble vas not TO be overlooked Mr.