The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-13
LINES SHARPLY DIVIDED.
The Army Reorganization Bill in
the Senate.
1T is STUBBORN CONTEST
The Bill Will Be Pressed Regardless OF
All Other Measures-Little Chance
fer Public Building Bills
in the House.

Washington, Feb. 1.-THE promised
effort on the part of the committee on
military affairs to get Immediate con-
sideration of the army reorganization
Dill promises to be the most important
feature of the proceedings of the SEN
ate during the present week. Lines
are divided very sharply on this bill
and the contest over it's considera tfon
VIII unquestionably be both fierce and
stubborn. The republican members of
the committee manifest strong deter
mlnation to press the bill regardless of
all other measures, and their first eff
fort will be to secure consent from the
committee on appropriations to set the
appropriate bills aside until the army
reorganization bill can be disposed Of
They argue that it is useless to pro-
ceed with the appropriations, especially
those for the army, until they know
how large the army will be- They also
urge that there is far greater necessity
Tor legislation increasing the size of
the army than for the appropriation of
money to meet the governments ex-
penditure. Said Senator Warren of the
military committee, in discussing this
| matter:
THE present appropriations hold good
until the first of next July, while the
| volunteer army will necessarily be dis
| missed as soon as the peace treaty is
signed by the Spanish authorities. We
| Will then be in a ridiculous plight with
all our new possessions on our hands
and our resources reduced to such an
| extent that we will not be able to even
man our guns in this country, unless we
get an increase of the army 1t is alb
surd to say that any temporary expedi-
| ent would answer the purpose You can
not find men to enlist in the regular
army al S13 month, sunless they are
sure or steady employment
| The democrats, not only on the mill
tary committee, but throughout the
senate, will resist any effort to get the
army bill through. They say. however,
they will not try to prevent consider
alton of the bill In speaking on this
| point Senator Jones of Arkansas said:
II the republicans want to take the
responsibility of fiHbustering against
the appropriation bills and of throwing
them over to another session of con-
gress l. for one, am willing they should
| do So
Continuing, he said that he did not
believe that the army bill could be
| passed If 1t should receive the exclus-
| i've attention of the senate for the re-
mainder OF the session. .
AS l look at it, he said, ''if the pro-
gramme for taking up the army bill to
the exclusion of the appropriation bills
is pursued, both the army
and the appropriation bills will
have to fail. 1 do not believe the
sem senate will agree to the passage of
| the army bill this session. So far as
/ am informed, we on this side are will
| ing to grant the temporary increase of
| the army, but I do not believe many
democrats would consent to the perma-
nent increase of the standing army"
| 1t Is not absolutely decided that the
| committee on appropriations would vol
UNFAIRLY retire in the interest of the
| army bill They may however, step
| aside for few days in order to give
| the promoters of the military measure
| an opportunity to test the temper of it's
| opponents. There are at present only
| two appropriation bills before the SEN
| ate, so that the time for experiment
is not unpropitious. These are the ag-
ricultural and military academy bills.
| and both can be disposed of in very
| short order, unless there should be ex-
| traneous opposition to them This is
| not to be expected except as an exped-
lent to stand off the army bill Much
| of the proceedings of the last two days
| of last week were due to the expectation
on the part of some that there would
| be exceptional pressure to get up the
| army bill and proceedings were intend
| ed to indicate to the friends of that
| measure what they might expect in
case they should attempt to put their
| programme into execution. Other op-
| portunities will doubtless be seized in
the future for the same purpose as
| long as the army bill threatens The
| army bill has net yet been reported to
| the senate, but there will be an all-day
session of the committee on military af-
| fairs on Monday, with the hope of con-
Guiding the consideration of the bill in
| committee and of having it ready to
| report on Monday or Tuesday. The
| probability is, however. that it will not
| get into the senate before Wednesday.
The probability of an effort to force its
| consideration will, however, make it al
most as much basis of proceedings as
If 1t were in the senate itself, as every
thing will be done with reference to
this point, so long as the purpose of
pressing its consideration is manifest.
Another question which bids fair to
provoke considerable controversy is
that involved in Senator Hawley's no.
tice of a motion for the reconsideration
of the unanimous consent to Senator
Masons proposition to vote on the Nc
| Emery resolution at 2:30 o'clock Tues
day. Senator Hawley had objected to
| the consideration of this question when
| 1t came up Saturday and he was alb
sent when the agreement was reached
Several other senators who also oppose
| the McEnery resolution, including Sen
aitor Plat of Connecticut We're also
absent and Senator Hawey's motion for
| a reconsideration was made after con-
sultatfon with them. There are very
few instances on record in which effort
has been made to deviate from a unan-
imous agreement and there is little
doubt that Senator Mason will strenu-
| ously resist this attempt.
An effort will probably be made Mon !
day to dispose of the contested NOM
ination of Mr.. Ewart to be judge of the
western district of North Carolina. and
it is expected that the senate will go
into executive session early in the day
for that purpose. Beginning at 4 |
o'clock on next Saturday, eulogies will
be pronounced upon the late Represen-
tative Simpkins of Massachusetts,