The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-11
HENDERSON IS FOR PEACE
Says Agitation will Result
 Only in Creating Strife.
On Test Vote, However, Majority is For Crumpackerism-Payne, Cannon and Dalzell Are
 Conservative.

washington, Feb 1o-The second caucus | of the House Republicans to consider the | question of action looking to reducing the Congressiopai representation of the Southern States which abridged the suf- | frage, was held in the hall of Represenr l tatives tonight. but a quorum was not present, and after two and half hours : | discussion the caucus adjourned until next Monday without action Speaker Henderson was present for short time, but took no part in tho pro ceedings. and left early. His lieutenants, Mr. Payne of New York, Mir. Cannon and Mir. Dalzell, were present, however. and threw the weight of their influence in favor of a conservative course. Mfr. Cannon was openly opposed to action on the ground that 1t could only result in agitation. In the only test of strength the friends of action had a majority of 20 votes. MT. Clumpacker of Indiana at the outset offered the following modifica- ton of his resolution of last week:
 Resolved, That it is the sense of this caucus that the following modification of this resolution as substitute for those now pending in said committee, providing in substance that a select committees be appointed by the committee consisting of eleven members, whose duty 1t shall be, and who shall have fuii and coul- pIete power to investigate and inquire | into the yaIidity of elect.on laws and the manner Of their enforcement in the sev- eral States, and whethsr the right to vote of male inhabitants of any of the States q years of age and being citizens of the United States is denied or in aIfy | manner abridged except for crime, and | such committee shall report the results | of It's investigation at as early a date as
 Is practicable. and it shall be authorized l to report at any time. by 'hil or oIhsr- 1 wise, such measures as the facts so found may justify.
 Resolved, That measures so reported by said committee shall be advisory only.
 unless otherwise ordered by future action | of the caucus.'
 Mir. Taylor of Ohio, in the course of an
 argument in support of the Crumpacker | resolution, made the interesting state | ment that when the Southern Staes were
 admitted to repl es~ ntation after the war 1 1t was on the express condl tion that none | of them would iater d. p-ive any citizen | or class of citizens of the fight to vote.
 He contended that In subsequently abridg-
 ing the right to vote soms of the South I IT
 the act of January 25. 1868. | Mir. Shattuc of Ohio called attention | to the fact that in the former caucus the | opposition did not show it's hand until after all the advocates of aetion had ex- | pended their ammunition, and he sug- | gested that the friends and enemies speak | alternately. His remarks were directed at MT. Cannon. who was chairman of t-.e caucus.
 Mir. Cannon thereupon relinquished tho gavel and took the floor with an earnest plea for conservatism.
 He took the position that no Iegisla- tion could result from action by the House; that the Senate would not pass bill and that the net effect would be agitation which would injure and not benefit the negro in the South. He con- tended that the attempt to pass the force bill in the Fifty-first Congress had re- suited in the defeat of the Republicans in the Congressional elections.
 Mir. Dick .(Ohio) strongly controyerted this latter statement and moreover urged that no matter what the political effect might be the Republicans of Congress men should do their duty.
 Mir. Grow (Penn.) the venerable ex- Speaker of the House, supported the Crumpacker resolution. but took issue with Mir. Taylor as to the act of June 25, 1S68 which he contended was not bind ing upon the Southern States. While it was law 1t was, he declared. inopera- tive.
 Mir Cushman CWash.) Mir. MorreIl (Penn.) ) MT. Thompson (Ohio), Mir. Doug lass (N. Y.) and Mir. Reeves Qlls.) also earnestly favored the resolution.
 Mir. Morrell (Penn.) offered the follow ing substitute for the Crumpacker resolu- tion:
 Resolved, That a committee compos- ed of six members of this caucus be ap- pointed by the chairman to work in con junction with the above committee, which committee of six shall report to a caucus such information and finding of facts as may be secured by said inves- tigatiOn."
 MT. Capron (R. I.) opposed action and the proceedings finally were brought to close by Mir. Payne, the floor leader of the majority, who offered the following resolution to refer all the pending resolu- tions to the Committee on Census which he claimed has jurisdiction:
 Resolved, that all resolutions pending before the Republican caucus be refer red to the Republican members of the select committee on census. House of Rp- resentatlves, which committee has, under the rules of the House, jurisdiction of the subject matter before the caucus and that leave to said Republican members to the Republican caucus of the House at any time"
 He forced a show of the hands on thls resolution and the vote resulted 95 aves arf 56 nays The vote developed the fact that a quorum was not present and after some slight wrangling the caucus adjourned until next Monday.