Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-16
SENATORS WHO ARE
SOON TO RETIRE.

- ny SNSi overturned Dy the dignity of
the office. Ancient precedents and Gus
toms never divert him from the object
sought. When he wants thing he
takes the most direct way to secure it.
despite Senatorial courtesy and imagi-
nory legislative boundaries. Fortu-
nately FOR England. MIR. Pettigrew is
NOT member of Parliament. An un-
written constitution would be 10 him
q mere fiament. He abides by the
written letter of the law, and by moth
ing else. Intense in his convictions
ne apates not a jot or little of them
iioMeNer great the emergency. He has
announced his undying enmity to the
snip subsidy. the army and other bills
said to be of vital Importance TO the
interests OF the nation, and AYERS that
ne snail take advantage of every op-
portunity to defeat them. They may
9e talked 10 death and delayed in n hun
dred almost uncomfortable ways. With
William V. Allen, of Nebraska. and
Marion Butler. of North Carolina. be-
hind him, Pettigrew's threat is by no
means idle.
Already the party leaders are alarm
ed. They are threatening cloture. The
Populists in the Senate hold the same
position as the Parnellites held in the
Enshsh Parliament twenty years ago,
When cIoture was applied there IT was
easy enough to snap the legislative
nandcuifs upon their wrists at that
time, but 1t will not be so easy to re-
peat the operation in an American leg
islatlve BODY. The presiding officer of
me SENATE has to throw Senatorial
dignity to the winds and violate all
precedents before even start can be
maze. 1T VIII not do to accomplish IL
by Trick. The necessity would not
Justify the means. The Senator from
oouth Dakota may drive the leaders
to attempt cloture. but whether IT
would be acceptable or not is n grave
question. 1t works to the satisfaction
OF the majority of the members of the
present House of Representatives un-
der the rules of the Fifty fourth Con
GresS, yet 1t is well 10 remember that
what is sauce for the goose is
not always sauce for the gan
der. Under cloture, with Tom
keed In the chair, scenes in the
senate might be far more exciting than
eXhilarating. Although a Gen. DeWet
In legislation, MIR. Pettigrew is hardly
an expert in parliamentary warfare.
But II should not be forgotten that the
Iopuiists in the Senate are as few
conlparat jvely as the Beers in tho
Iransvaai. Like DeWet. however. the
general from South Dakota Is nervcd
ny ne desperation of defeat. and there
IS no knowing what he NAV accompiish
backed. as he is. by Gen. Bo,ha in thn
personality of William V. Allen. and bv
president Steyn alias Marion Butler.
by a singular coincidence both But
ief ana Allen are In the list OF killed
ana wounded Indeed. the Popu.ists in
.he senate have dwindied peroeptibly
IN numbers since the days of hlrsutn
Peher Allen. Butler and Pettigrew
are the retiring rear guard. Allen Is
me most conspicuous of the three He
mas the physique and endurance of n
Hercules and the voice of his notable
prototype from Ohio. Fog Horn WI
nam. He can talk longer. but not
quite so fast. as the late Henry U.
Johnson. of Indiana. He Is credited
with speaking thirteen hours in sue
cession without eating. 1t was during
me light over the repeal of the silver
purchasing clause. Whenever the SEN
atorinl veterans evinced n retiring as
position he raised the point of no
Quorum and they were routed out Of
'he cioakrooms to answer roll can.
Willie Allen had a breathing spen. They
Na"ned and stretched all night long.
utterly imperviouS to his melting clio
quence. and finally were about TO
abandon themselves to despair whom
Allen closed his argument. A more
picturesque figure than the Senator
from Nebraska is rarely seen. He has
SuonS american face. n heart like
an on ana the vim and energy of an
oid oorlss engine. You can almost
iancY ttat he spends his winters in
LOGGING camps. There is q steadincss
ana n breeziness about him in discus
sion that reminds you of pinc forests
and roaring creeks. And he handles
himself like wood chopper. The chips
ly right and left, and the grave and
reverend seisniors are kept busy dodg-
ing them. If the people had champion
ed his cause as earnestly as hc has
tried To champion theirs Allen might
have remained In the Senate for life.
Marion Butler Is n horse of an entire
~ different color. He is of slender
construction, and smooth and wiry in
manner. He moves around the cham
Der so stealthily as to induce the suspi-
clon mat he wears moccasins A study
or his face enhances the suspicion. 1t
Is a copy of the features of Charley
Curtis, of Topeka. n we'll known mem
Der of the House, recognized as a chief
by the Indians on the Kaw reservation.
The North Carolina Senator has all The
peculiaritieS of TuScarora chief
With thick, black hair and glitterng
eyes, he recalls the Butler who accom-
panied Brandt in his Revolutionary
raids. Yet he is an entirely different
Butler. He can never be the tool OF
tyranny, and is persistent advocate
of the doctrines enunciated by the Dec
laration of independence. He came in
TO the Senate with his colleague Jeter
c. Pritchard. nearly six years ago, not
long after the Eruption of the Goths
and Nandals from the new States Gre
ated in the Northwest. Under a com
bination engineered by Butler, then the
editor of the Clinton Caucasian, q we'll
known weekly, the Republicans and
Populists carried North Carolina But
Ter took the long term and Pritchard
contented himself with the vacancy
caused by the death of Zebulon e.
Vance. They came into the Senate
arm-a nd-arm, like true friends but
political differences soon tore them
apnrt. and Butler made leSneratn at