Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-07
HELEkA NEW s.

observation-disclosures ssessssssssssssssSsss
Special Correspondence Inter Mountain.
Helena. March 7.-President Frank G.
Higgins Of the senate tapped softly
upon the desk with his mallet and soft
ly hummed a tune to himself. He was
in reverie. and his thoughts We're
about the Persian monarch who had
the waters Of the Hellespont dashed
with chains because they obeyed not
his orders. and Of that early king OF
Britain, who went down to the seashore
and sat there in chair, with the ex-
pectation that the incoming tide would
respect him sufficiently not to spray his
sunday 60 to meetins.''
This touching little scene occurred
late in the afternoon: earlier in the ses-
sion Mr.. Higgins soliloquy was not on
the divine right of kings and presiding
officers of senates. They had remained
unQuestioned In his mind UP TO that
time. but IL anybody should ask him
now. the answer one would probably
receive at this time would he that Il
haze me doots."
From the standpoin of he gallery
god. 1t was a rafting good session.
MIR. Higgins was sure he would not
sign senate bill No. 81. and various of
the members We're as sure that he
would. He did. and the why's and the
wherefores Of proceedings We're III this
| wise:
| When the senate assembled in the
| morning. Senator Clark sent a resou
| ton forward to be read by the secre-
tary. asserting that the appointment Of
IAN alleged joint enrolment committee"
| by the president had been irregular, and
| directing him to sign senate bill No. 81.
President Higgins refused to put the
| resolution to vote. and also declared
| Stanton's appeal out of order. Then
| came a little debate between Stanton
| and the presiding officer. which was al
| times intensely dramatic and always
! spicy.
| Mr.. Stanton rose to question of
| personal privilege and excorciated the
president for his course Of action in
| the strongest terms. He declared that
| it was without precedent and was taken
to thwart the desire Of the majority.
, Higgins defined his position at length.
declaring that the position he had taken
was fair and just, in pertec. accord with
the rules.
This senate IS bigger than its pre-
siding officer" passionately declared
the senator from Cascade. land he
should no be permitted to stop the
wheels of legislation. We will wait
| here. and will refuse to adjourn this
| body until the president signs that
| bill"
| What do you mean by 'we?" que
| ried Higgins, with a delicious disregard
| of the elementary rules of grammar.
/ II mean the majority of this senate.
sir" was the angry reply.
| The president then said that If the
| speaker Of the house did not appoint
| members to act on the joint enrolling
| committee with those he had appointed,
| or waited an unreasonable length of
| time that he would authorize those
whom he had appointed to go ahead
| examine the bill and hand in a report
] He asserted his belief that the word
alleged as written in the resolution
of Clark. was an insult to the members
of the committee, the presiding officer
of the senate and the senate itself It
is word used by lawyers, and there
fore. in his opinion. is not a proper
word for use in a resolution of the kind
drafted by Clark.
Stanton sarcas,icaNy inquired If the
| PRESIDENT himself did not make some
pretensions to being an attorney at law.
but there was no response to this
thrust.
II have simply been explaining way
out of his troubles to the gentleman"
was all he said.
II wish it understood. sir" said STAN
ton in answer. that I have no trou-
| bles."
He then used the Insulting" word "al-
legged" again by inquiring what the
president would do if the speaker Of the
act on the alleged joint enrolment com.
mittee.
Connolly and Stanton made few ir-
relevant remarks at this stage of the
game and the president then appealed
personally to each of the committee
Kennedy. Conrow and Warncr-a skiing
them if they did stand ready to examine
+ the bill and make a report as soon a:
the bill was laid before them. Each an
swered in the affirmative. OF cours
they We're: each of them was an enem,
of the bill. and nothing would have suit
ed him better than to bring in an un
favorable report. provided report coul'
not he held off until the Legislature
should take final adjournment.
The president then made a slip of tn
tongue by which he agreed that if tn
speaker took an unreasonable length o
time to make a report he would permi
the committee he had appointed to g.
ahead and report as joint enrOllin,
, committee.
, Senator Myers Of Ravalli took advan
!. tage of this lapsus lingual to move tina
recess be taken and the committee b
, instructed to report in Is minutes, o.
account of the fact that the speaker O
| the house had taken "A hours in whic
I to state whether he would appoint sue
committee or not. Kennedy prompt
> protested that in case Is minutes did no
prove long enough in which to examin
the bill he would not make a report a
e