Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-30
POSING IN BoRRoWED PLUMEs.

~
Representative Mercer Of Nebraska rushed
a bill through congress In record time dur
ing the last hours of the session. The
measure. which appropriated S75. 900 for a
quartermaster's warehouse at Omaha, was
introduced in the house at 2 p. m. and signed
by the president at 4 D. m.-Gretna Breeze.
Mr.. MERGERS spectacular performance
during the last hours of congress has
furnished his admirers with a good { sal
Of borrowed capital. The true inward
ness of the rapid transit of the quarter
masters warehouse bill from the speak
er's desk to the presidents table has not
been disclosed in the accounts printed
for home consumption.
As q matter of fact, the bill was re-
ported from the military committee in
May and could have beer passed in the
house without being held back until the
last moment for dramatic effect. When
1t did pass the house, however, Mr.. Mer-
| Ger had no desire or intention to have
1t put through the senate during that
session, and the credit for its prompt
passage through the senate is due ex-
clusively to Senator Dietrich. Mercer is
posing in borrowed plumes. Senator
Dietrich's version of the incident to a
representative Of The Bee is as follows:
81 knew nothing Of the bill until the
vice president sent a page to tell me that
a bill carrying an appropriation for Ne
braska had passed the house and had
reached his desk. 1 looked the bill UP
and found that 1t had been introduced
by MI. Mercer, and Immediately sent for
him. He came over and 1 told him that
1 thought 1 could pass the bill If 1 could
get the committee to report on it, and
that 1 could get the committee to report
IL I knew something about it.
"He replied that there was no use try
ing to pass 1t at all. That he had talked
the matter over withs Senator Millard,
and that they had agreed that there was
no chance for it to go through the senate
at this session. Senator Willard had left
Washington for home, convinced that
there was nothing of Importance to Ne
braska coming up that need detain him.
Notwithstanding MERGERS protest that
the thing could not be done and there
was no use trying, / sent for a copy of
the house report on the bill, polled the
senate military committee in executive
session, and prevailed on the chairman
of the committee to make a verbal re
port in favor of the bill as soon as the
senate reconvened in open session. By
unanimous consent 1 got the bill up and
had it passed.
"Only a short time remained, however,
before adjournment, and 1 knew that
the bill had to be engrossed and en-
rolled and signed by the speaker and
president of the senate, so that it could
reach the president for his signature,
BY this time Mr.. Mercer was awake to
the necessities of the situation. He took
the bill to the speaker and got it signed.
l had it signed by the president of the
senate and then turned 1t over to Mr..
Mercer, who took it to the president, in
the presidents room, where the latter
affixed his signature"
Three questions naturally present
themselves:
1. Why did Mercer hold the bill up in
the house until the last day of the SEES
sion, although 1t had been reported by
the committee on military affairs more
than six weeks ~previouslyf
2. Why did Mercer agree and arrange
that the bill should lay over in the sen.
ate until next December?
3. Did Mercer want the blu hung VI
as a plum to assist him in his campaign
for a sixth term nomination.