The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-02
Circulation Statement.
The ptscourtc.y of the Senate.

Whether the meaning is that hereafter
Senators are TO be elected by direct vote
of the people. or that certain present mem
bers of the body are to be put TO work IN
the chain gang We do not pretend TO say;
but it is certain that the proceedings IN
the chamber yesterday indicate revolu-
ton. 1t is an alarming thing when the
owner of the Senate majority and the
general receiver for all the trusts in mat
tiers of legislation can be held up by rep
resentatives of the miserable common
people and told just what they think oil
him. Yet that is what happened TO Mar
Gus Alonzo Hanna yesterday, and he must
have had an uncomfortable hour of it.
The text of the discussion was the armor
plate question, and very unhappy one 1t
is: because. on one hand the trust which
Mr. Hanna was lauding and defending has
its claInmy claws on the neck of the Gov
eminent. and on the other half a dozen
splendid war vessels which We badly need
are going in pieces on the stocks. We do
not altogether coincide with the declara-
lions of Senator Teller that he would
have the Government held by the throat
by trust" For our part We should
rather favor submitting to the steal. for
immediate purposes, with the proyiso that
the thieves should be hanged TO the yard
arms of the vessels as fast as completed.
A Government armor plant should be con-
structed as rapidly as possible, even in
view of the certainty that il would become
q sink hole of corruption and robbery If
: operated under the control ola Repub-
lican Administration. But that is beside
the question. The great interest is in the
amazing departure from the principles and
rules of Senatorial courtesy which was
witnessed yesterday. 1t was indeed a
staggererI Most people in the correspond
ents' gallery became faint and had to go
down stairs to the anti-capteen for re-
suscitation. One Senator actually stood
up on his legs and told Hanna that the
Bethlehem concern had paid four hundred
thousand dollars into the Mckinley cam
paign fund of 1896 and must now be COM
pensated with contract for armor plate
at robber prices, Another statesman de-
clared that the trusts would make Repub-
Iican armor plate all right and that 1t
would be full of blow holes, as usual. The
portly figure created by the cartoonist
Davenport stood UP fairly well, for him,
against these assaults, which. however,
were evidently grievous to bestride, like
rail.
We are not SO much interested in the
intrinsic merits OF the ruction as we are
IN the alarming departure from ancient
practices In the Senate developed In the
course Of the debate. Indeed, we feel II
incumbent upon us to warn the grave and
reverend seigniors that if they allow their
angry passions to rise to mansions In the
skies and accuse each other of things
which, while within the common knowl-
edge of the people, are unknown In the
Capitol, they will bring opprobrium upon
their order. We regret to see assaults
made upon pure and ingenious statesmen
whose characters outside of the chamber
are below reproach. The danger is that
the negligible outside people will get mad
at the trust members of the Senate one
of these days and do unto them things
which neither party in interest would re-
gard as genial or humane