Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-03
A FRUITLEss NIGHT SESSION
Failure to Obtain a Quorum nto.L .t
Pension Bills

Inc Rouse OF Representatives tl,.l oted liz
"'tehuon yesterday afternoon to thu. Indian
appropriation bill. but got no farther than
'iie appropriations for Indian schools where
an effort was inaugurated by Mr. Tr;tzeer-
aid OF New York 10 permit the Secretnrv
OF the Interior to contract with sclooIs ,o,.
'he education of Indian children whore Tho
government lacks facilities The system of
contract schools, which has been the cans.
Oh a big row each year, has been gradually
apahd"hed until no appropriation is made
Tor them in this bill. 1t is claimed that mo-
uuate.
Representative Talbert of South Carolina
VINO gave notice during the consideration of
me pension appropriation bill last week
tnat ne proposed to block all special men,
sion legislation at Friday nights sessions
| unless a quorum of members was present
carried out his threat at last nights ses-
sion. AS soon as the House was called to
order he sent to the clerks desk and had
read several editorials from different pa
pers warning Congress of a scheme to put
through bill TO place any soldier who Ind
served sixty days in the civil war on The
rolls, thereby increasing pension expendi-
lures seventy million a year. There was 10
be return, one of the editorials said To
The halcyon days when pension attorneys
made 81 900 day.
Now and henceforth, Mr. Speaker" an
nounced Mr.. Talbert. II shall insist upon a
are under consideration at the special FRI
day evening sessions. So long as | may be
able to drag myself to the Capitol, no pen
sion bill (and there is no qualification to
this ultimatum) shall pass tine House with
cut quorum of its members present. The
abuse must stop Innocent people will be
hurt, possibly, but that will only accent
uate the responsibility. / demand a quorum.
| If the House is without a quorum | shall
ask an immediate adjournment. If that Is
refused, shall insist that the House eX-
haust its powers to secure quorum.
Il believe the pension laws are sufficiently
liberal TO pension every deserving soldier
and widow, and i am opposed to sitting
here every Friday night as a court Of APP
peals to pass special cases which have been
refused by the pension bureau.
When Mr.. Sulloway of New Hampshire.
chairman of the committee on invalid pen-
sions, moved to go into committee Of the
whole to consider pension Legislation, only
eighty-nine members were present, and Mr..
Talbert made the point of no quorum
Thereupon call Of the House was ordered.
but only 1t6 members responded There
vas a general desire to adjourn. as il WAS
manifestly impossible to secure a quorum.
but some of the members contended that
ahse should be arrested and brought
to the bar of the House.
Mr.. Niers Und.) said he could not quarrel
with Mr.. Talbert for the stand he had
taken, as 1t was the duty of members TO he
present. But he insisted, as member ol
the pension committee, that the bills il re-
ported Were meritorious, and gave several
pathetic examples of cases for the relief If
which special bills had been reported. He
said there was no possibility of the pas
sage of the Cullom bill against which the
editorials read by Mr.. Talbert had been
directed.
Finally Mr.. Sulloway moved TO adjourn.
Vote 1t down. Vote il down. cried Mr..
Norton (Ohio) and other members The
motion was defeated, 2J-SS. The sergeant
alarms, on motion of Mr.. Norton, WIS
ordered to arrest absentees. On arising TO
vote the ayes each time had an overwhelm-
ing majority, but on roll calls, where meni-
bers went on record, the nays always had
an equally large majority. AT 1880, with
out breaking the deadlock, the House Was
adjourned under the rule.