Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1903-03-04
Proceedings of Last Sitting
of Dying Congress.
a Vote of Thanks in the House for Retiring
Speaker Henderson.

Washington. March 4.-The senate
was called to order at 10 o'clock today
for the last sitting of the Fifty-seventh
congress, but business did not begin
until some time later.
The delay was due to the absence OF
a quorum and to the fact that Mr..
Cockrell insisted upon the presence
of the necessary number before taking
up the work of the day.
The president pro TEN, Frye, was as
usual on the minute in ascending to
the seat of the presiding officer, but
only about dozen senators faced him.
The countenance of most of them bore
the evidence of the two prolonged ses-
sions of Monday and Tuesday, but the
indications of fatigue soon vanished
and business proceeded as smoothly
as it would have done if the senate
had adjourned at o'clock yesterday
instead of 2 o'clock this morning. It
was noticeable to the senators who
have been most busily and most con-
tinuously occupied in the closing days
of the session were among the first to
respond to their names.
The attendance in the galleries was
also comparatively small. The crowd
increased gradually, however, so that
by the time a quorum was secured on
the floor the audience was respectable
in dimensions and apparently suffic-
iently wide awake to give due atten-
tion to the proceedings.
Mr.. Bailey. of Texas. called up the
bill amending the rivers and harbors
act so as to provide that the $125,0 900
heretofore appropriated for certain
rivers and harbors in Texas shall be
used for the construction of a channel
i'll Sabine Lake, Texas.
On yea and nay vote, demanded by
Mr.. Mason, the senate agreed to take
the bill up by a vote of Al to 8. The
effect of the vote was to displace the
Philippine tariff bill. 1t was then tenn
porarily laid aside and Mr.. Hoar spoke
on the Philippine bill. The bill had
been talked to death. he said. This
was not in criticism of senators who
think that in the closing hours of the
session this remedy shall not be dealt
with in an hour. The point he made,
he said, was that the senate. the exec
utive, the house of representatives and
the public are not fit to govern the
destinies of a people 5000 miles away
who have no voice in the government.
Acting upon a resolution President
pro TEN Frye appointed Messrs. ALI
son and Jones, of Nevada, a commit
tee to meet similar committee from
the house and notify the president that
congress was ready to adjourn.
Mr.. Mason, of Illinois, took the floor
and discussed the statehood bill and
the Panama canal treaty.
Mr.. Bailey, of Texas, interrupted and
said it was apparent that Masons OBJ
to death and he would relieve him of
the necessity of making this kind of a
valedictory.
This Mr. Mason denied. He said
that he had neither enlisted under the
banner of filibustering and he resent
ed the charge that even in the last mo-
ment was it an endeavOr to delay legs-
lation.
He injected some humor into the
proceedings by saying that the state
hood bill has gone floating out on
the Isthmian canal, The Aldrich bill
stands like the first mOurner in the
procession; the Philippine tariff bill
also marches along in the funeral pro
cession and the pure food and pure
drink bill is also marching with the
rest.
With only a minute or two remain
ing in the senate before adjournment,
Mr., Cockrell, Of Missouri, rose and
said it afforded him sincere pleasure
to present TO the senate a resolution
expressing the appreciation of the sen
ate of "the uniform courtesy, impair
tiality, ability and dignity with which
our president pro TEN has presided
over the proceedings of this senate.
Promptly at noon the senate ad-
journed.
Big Appropriations.
Mr., Allison, chairman of the com