The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-14

ing a South Carolina claim, through his threat to talk to death the naval and previous Congress talked the river and harbor bill into its little grave.
 Some Republican Senators say this sort of thing has become intolerable. Ours is a system of government by party, they maintain, and when a political party has a majority in one or both houses of Con- gress it must assume responsibility for whatever IS done and for what is not have the power to carry out its policies. As matters now stand 1t has no power, but is at the mercy of the minority or of one or two men in the minority.
 Where the shoe pinches hardest is with the small coteries of Republican Sem ators who have been in the habit of man. aging the affairs of the Senate pretty much as they like. The present rulers are constant invitation to less conspicuous and influential Republicans to join hands with the Democrats and strike down the leadership. Last winter Senators Quay, Foraker and Elkins led such a revolt against the leadership of Aldrich. Ali son, Hanna, Hale, Spooner and Platt and broke the Republican majority into small pieces.
 Quite a number of Republican Senators say they favor cloture because they are convinced the public opinion of the coun- try is opposed to a continuance of the present system. They are finding many indications that the country was a good deal disgusted with the collapse of the Senate last session and with the hold up of the big responsible majority by three or four rapid-fire takers from the mil nority side. In fact, the Senate has nar- fSsy Ss Ssns @S Wa SHs rauoTs hs by game is worked, and even the ancient and hitherto sacred traditions of "Sena- torial courtesy" and the rights of the minority may go down before ridicule al a apA ryfh tpor all 1,tt can't stand that.
 If the Republicans as a whole are in earnest-which is very much doubted ator German, the new leader of the mil nority Is opposed to cloture. He has a record on that question. A dozen years ago the Republieans talked of cloture to enable them to pass the force bill. but MT. German won his spurs as a iesisla- tive leader in fighting that movement. If the Republicans had actually attempted to change the rules so as to provide method of closing debate. the Democrats had planned no less sensational means of resistance than the actual. physical pulling of the presiding officer from his chair. Fortunately the Republicans did not press their project to the fighting were spared that disgraceful scene. It Is safe to say that Mir. German will again lead the opposition to cloture if need therefor arise. and that the opposition will be no less strenuous than 1t was years ago.
 The trouble about changing the rules of the Senate Is that 1t can be done only by first bringing on revolution, and that revolution will have to be effected by means tantamount to the use of force Suppose Mir. Aflison's resolution today is adopted. The Committee reports in fa- vor of cloture in some form. The Re- publicans decide that they are going to oh he r,,1aa to do 1t? They can't get cloture without cloture to stop debate on the motion to adopt cloture. The cloture resolution, like any. other measure. is open to un- limited debate. Which means that under the present rules 1t can be voted on only by unanimous consent and unanimous | consent can never be had.
 Then what are the Republicans to do? way is to put in the chair a Senator with nerve enough to refuse to recognize a Senator who wishes to speak and to or | der the clerk to call the roll. Under the | rules Senator cannot speak until he is recognized by the chair, and the chair must recognize the Senator first rising But If the chair fails to see any Senator l who has risen or to hear his demand for l recognition and orders the roll called the | deed is done. because under the rules Senators are not permitted to interrupt a | roll call. All that is needed, 1t is claimed, Is courage enough in the presiding officer, | 70 close his eyes and ears and say: "Tho Clerk will call the roll"
 If this moment ever comes-and in all 1 probability 1t Is far distant-the session | of the Senate that day will be well worth | attending for there can be no doubt that the scenes then to be witnessed will be highly sensational. Physical force may l be employed and the floor of the Senate will be converted into a bearpit. If the Republicans ever get their cloture cour- age up to the striking point, and find a | " oVNA there will be trouble and plenty of it. | Like most revolutions, this one cannot | be effected without violence. When Theo- | dore Roosevelt was chosen Vice-Presi- dent, the understanding was that if the Republican majority wanted the chair to | go blind and deaf and order the clerk to | call the roll he was quite ready to take his chances in the ensuing scrimmage. | But there are not many Theodore Roose- velts in the Senate.
 Interesting as all this speculation is, 1t | Is not very important. for the reason that the probabilities are the Senate will make Senator Hanna did predict the other day that cloture was coming. Senator Platt | of Connecticut has prepared a plan for limiting debate by vote of three-fifths of l all the Senators present, and men who fla vor any sort of cloture say this is fair enough and amply preserves the right | of the minority. But there are plenty of men in the Senate who would not have | ciOLuTe TOT dnyLHlHS. lHo present TuloS give them power which they could not at tain under any other system. Such skill full and adroit leaders as Aldrich on the Republican side and German on the Dem ocratic side simply thrive on the absence of cloture. Other Senators not so prom inent feel that the existing rules give them an individual power which they could not acquire under cloture.
 The common saying that the Senate Is | a body in which business Is done only by | unanimous consent is more truthful than poetic. One-man power in the Senate is used in thousands of instances which the public never hears of. Frequently Sem l ator takes a stubborn stand in regard to some measure and expresses himself in such a way that his assistants know what he mean. He must be placated, or | the fat goes into the fire. Hence the Sem ate chamber becomes a lot in which log rolling Is practiced on huge scale and where individuality and individual rights count for more than ia any other legis- | lative body on earth.