The National tribune., 1900-03-15

The Speaker. The gentleman from
South Carolina tMr. Talbertl is out of
order.
Mr.. Mahon 1t would give me great
pleasure in the 57th Congress to assist in
throwing him out OF his seat, because he
never was elected.
While Mr. Mahon proceeded, Mr.. Talbert
continued to speak.
Pennsylvania will suspend The gentle
man from South Carolina is out of order.
When any member desires to interrupt
| another who is occupying the floor he must
under the rules. address the Chair. and
through him secure the consent of the
gentleman on the floor.
Mr. Talbert continued TO speak, amid
I'll The ' Speaker. speak. The gentleman from
South Carolina is out of order; and the
Sergeant-at-Arms will take charge of him
| II he does not obey the Chair.
Mr.. Mahon. Mr.. Speaker, day in and
day out the gentleman has sat here ana
seen great bills, involving important gem
eI1 legislation Of all kinds, pass through
| snis House when there was no quorum
here, and he knows it. Nevertheless, al
Friday night sessions, when pension legis-
| lation was before the House, he has made it
his business to bring about this result by
demanding that quorum shall be present
Now, Mr.. Speaker. l wish to acqult the
Democrats on the other side OF the House,
with the exception Of himself, from any
| such imputation. They are opposed to
him in this regard, and should be heartily
| glad if in the 57th Congress might be able
| in contest to help to throw him out OF the
House.
Now, as said before, represent a Dis
trict which is largely interested in claims
pending before this House. OF course all
| tho members here know that when the
House has been in session for long day,
and the committees have been working, 1t
| Is not practicable, and often Impossible, TO
find members. who are able to come back
| here for the night session.
But represent District here that has
been clamoring at the doors of Congress for
| 35 years to get through the House just
claims, which are due to the people OF my
State; and my people can not understand
| why ongress-Congress after Congress
| makes no provision for their payment.
These are people-and God knows the fact
that have suffered just as much as many
| OF the men and women who are on the
Private Pension Calendars of this House.
l hope the Committee on Rules, before
vote is taken, therefore, will give consent
| to an amendment that one Friday i'll the
month shall be devoted to the consideration
| OF private pensions, one to the Private
| Calendar, and one to the war claims, which
are already pending upon the Calendars
| If this is done, shall have no objection to
the proposition. If not, l feel like voting
against it. | think this is only a proper
| request to make and one that must meet the
| approval of the House.
Mr.. Talbert. Why have these rules been
| brought in here? Not on account of anything
| that "the gentleman from South Carolina"
has done or said. Well, then, why? Because
the majority party in this House, in their
hypocritical cant, are unwilling to spend a
| few hours once week at night in order to
give the old soldier justice You are un-
| willing to leave your pink teas and polka
parties to come here to do the old soldier
justice. Applause and laughter on. the
Democratic side.l Only last Friday night,
1 am told, a number of you were absent
attending farewell tea party. Ah, ye
hypocrites, We pretenders, ye scribes and
Pharisees! Ye whited sepulchres. full of
dead mems bones within. though white
outside. Laughter.l 1t will be more toler-
able for Tyre and Sidon than it will be for
you in the day Of judgment. Laughter ]
I want to say, Mr.. Speaker, while you
abruptly and unjustly threatened to put the
Sergeant-at-Arms upon me, member who
was in order, think the Sergeant-at-Arms
ought to have taken the gentleman from
Pennsylvania Mr.. Mahonl by the nape of
the neck and dragged him out Of this hall
for making this personal assault upon
member who was only exercising his con-
stitutional rights and privileges.
Iwant to say here and now that intend
to stand by my original proposition, that if
you wish to come here and appropriate
money for your deserters, your coffee
coolers, your bounty jumpers, you have
got to bring a quorum here to do it.
You can bring in here as many rules as
you please. l do not care if you take every
day in the week You are responsible.
And / want to say that was one of my two
objects. One was to force you hypocrites-
/ will not say liars, because that is too I'M
,t,,- 10
because you are set of hypocrites laugh
ter on the Democratic side, to either bring
out quorum on Friday nights or abandon
them entirely and take the day time. 4
Iwant to say again: Bring in your rules
and pass them, as many of them as you
please, Take the responsibility; and if /
am able to drag myself here on those days.
| will meet you here and demand that YOU
bring a quorum to pass these bills in the
daytime, as did in the night Applause
on the Democratic side And in doing
this l want TO say again that it is not my
purpose to oppose. the passage of a single
meritorious claim for the pension of a single
brave, patriotic old soldier
Mr.. Grosvenor. Mr.. Speaker, the gentle
man from South Carolina is always CON
sistent and always stands by the Con-
stitution. | do not deny that he feels q
great moral, personal. and political obliga-
ton laid upon him to see to it that pension
bills are not passed without a quorum.
OF course he differs in that respect from
160-odd other gentlemen on his side of the
House, but we are bound to presume that
he is the temporary custodian of the CON
science of his party.
Mr.. Talbert. Will the gentleman repeat
that remark? / did not catch it.
Mr.. Grosvenor. l said did not know
but that anybody by a careful eXamina-
ton OF the records of the Fifty fifth Con-
gress might find some reasons why your
conscience had not got up to the sticking
place about the Constitution that it has
now. Now. why is it? But l must turn
aside. | have only suggested it. | do
not know that the conditions in the Fifty
fifth Congress have anything to do with
his course in that matter. | want to show
how mean people-mean men like the
gentleman from Pennsylyania-might turn
around and suspect that the gentleman
was holding his conscientious scrupIes
about the Constitution in allegiance during
the tendency of certain matters in the last
Congress.
Now. Mr. Speaker, I want to say to nv
friend from Tennessee something | believe
| am better capable of stating with knowI
edge of the facts than he. The old soldiers
of this country-I speak of the great BODY
of the Grand Army Of the Republic, both
the members upon the roll of that splendid
organization and the men who are not ON
those rolls-are not worried about these
private pension bills. There is an under