Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-12-21
ADDITION TO CABINET.
New Department of Government
Proposed.
SENATOR FRYE FATHERS THE BILL

would Establish a Department of
Commerce and Industrics-To he
Composed OF Various Indepcndent
Burenus-Sennte Debntes.
WASHINGTON, Dec. ID Special. l.
There Is more favorable talk about the
creation of a new department of the
government with another cabinet Off
Ger than | have heard at any former
session of congress. Senator Frye Of
Maine Is the author of a bill which
meets with great deal of favor and
which proposes to have the department
of commerce and industries establish
ed. Under this department it is pro.
posed TO place n number of bureaus
now out Of place in the present depart.
ments or which are independent Of all
departments. The different bureaus TO
be made part Of this new department.
and taken from the treasury depart
| mcnt are the life saving service, the
marine hospital service. the bureau Of
steamboat inspection. the bureau of
navigation and the United States ship
/ ping commissioners, the bureau of i'm
/ migration and he United States coast
and g"odctic survey and the bureau Of
| statistics. The bureau of statistics in
| the state department is transferred.
| and the bureau Of labor. which is now
separate. is also to become part of
the new departments but the two sta
tistical bureaus and the labor bureau
L., al 1
should he Moved.
Nearly all the bureaus which are
mentioned really have no place in the
departments where they are now To-
Gated and could really be advan-
tagcously placed under one general de-
partmcnt, as provided in the bill. There
Is no reason why the secretary of the
treasury should have control of light
houses, marine hospital service, steam
boat inspection, the navigation bureau
or immigration. 1t is simply that when
laws were passed providing for these
various bureaus there was no place to
put them, and it seemed desirable to
have them under the supervision of n
cabinet officer and the secretary of
the treasury was chosen. Now. this
department has grown so large that it
SEEMS feasible to relieve this office of
much of the business and at the same
time make it the duty of cabinet off
Ger to make n speciality of commercial
and industrial affairs Of the country.
Antioption Bill.
The antioption bill, which one time
figured prominently enough in con-
IN In no nj ait
stockholders all over the country, made
its appearance this s, ssiOn, as 1t has
regularly every congress, but it does
not now reach the dignity of possible
legislation. That it ever passed the
senate was due to the indomitable will
and perseverance of Senator Wash
burn. who represented MINI nSota from
1889 to 1890. No more persistent SEN
ator ever occupied a seat on the floor
than this the only member OF the IA
nous Washburn family who ever
reached the senate. BY pressure Of
this bill alone he gained considerable
distinction.
Two members of the house Of repre-
sentatives will not take the usual oath
prescribed for swearing in new MEM
bers. They are Thomas S. Butler II
West Chester and Marriott Brosius Of
Lancaster, Pa. They are Quakers and
make affirmation TO support the con-
stitution of the United States. When
Mr.. Butler first came to congress and
the oath was to be administered. he
told Speaker Reed that he must make
affirmation, as also did Mr.. BrosiuS.
said the speaker. land | guess you
had better stand up and take the oath
with the others" Indeed I can't"
said Mr.. Butler. "I'll return to my
home before I'll take an oath. That
4 is one Quaker tenet that I won't SUR
render" He had his way.
AS long as the senate rules allow W.
limited debate the only method of oh
tanning vote is by what is known as
Unanimous consent" This is an agree
ment obtained by those in charge OF
bills from opponents on the other side.
Il has been demonstrated on more than
one occasion that a determined minor
ity can defeat legislation in the senate.
but it requires determination of a kind
that cannot be overcome. In order to
allow this rule of unlimited debate "a
remain unC hanged the minorties of all
parties agree with the majority upon
a date for final vote. and these agree.
ments are never broken. This is es-
pecially true of all matters of party
legislation, such as the tariff bills in
former congresses and the currency bill
in the present session When ii ap-
pears beyond all question that n ma
jority favors a bill and is determined
to keep it before the senate TO the eX-
cluson Of all other business, then the
minority surreuders, and an agreement
is rcachDI. | remember one instance
where the minority surrendered with
out fixing time for Il vote. 1t was in
the Fifty-third congress. after the bill
TO repeal the law for the purchase If
silver had been debated for more than
two months There was a general I'M
Outstanding that the minority had
weakened bur ardent silver SupDOrters