The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-01-30
SENATOR QUAY'S FIGHT.

hood bill IS one of the cleverest and most inter
- esting that has been made in the Senate for a
long time. He has had formidable opposition to
meet, and among his opponents are some OF the
ablest parliamentarians OF the Senate Ii was for
time believed that he could never get majority to
support the bill, but he has managed to do it and to
demonstrate it by test vote His opponents have
declared intention TO talk the bill to DEATH and he
is seeking OF forcing them TO a vote, de
spite the lack of anyNsuch thing as closure rule to
resort 70.
In his fight for the bill the Senator has the sympa-
thies of the great mass OF the American people
Each OF the three Territories is well fitted for state
hood, for each possesses the requisite population
wealth and resources Each has served long period
OF apprenticeship under Territorial government and
is deserving OF the rights OF self-governing
State There is indeed no single good reason to be
given for excluding them any longer from the sister
hood OF States, and It not for Eastern preju-
dice against the West there would be no opposition
at all The issue in the was well expressed by
an Arizona authority lately in the statement, "Ar-
IONA is too far from Washington to be governed like
the District OF Columbia, and too near to be gov
erned like Luzon.7
When the question was before the House il was
treated in a statesmanIiIe manner. The House is
strongly Republican, and the Committee on Terri
tories OF that body is also Republican Nevertheless
there trace nor suggestion OF partisanshp in
the proceedings of the House the subject The
bill for the admission of the Territories was prepared
in committee and promptly passed From first to last
there not single suggestion OF sectionalisn
partisan policy or scandal associated with the meas
before the House In the Senate there have been
all of those things, and the contest has reached
point where the opponents of the measure frankly
derIa an fufe0 10 - =.
down, but by preventing the majority from bringing
it to vote at all.
The opposition has been. conducted with great
adroitness, and it required display of remarkable
parliamentary generalshp the part OF Quay to get
even a test vote on the issue For weeks he waited
for opportunity but day after day the speakers
the opposition would drool along for hours at time
in speeches that no one listened to- and the Senator
from Pennsylvania could not get chance for hear
ing. At last, however, his watchfulness was repaid
by the commission OF blunder on the part Of the
opposition Burnham of New Hampshire had the
floor and was counted talk for two days but his
voice gave out and he asked for continuance until
next morning. Quay objected to adjournment Then
Culom suggested an executive session for consider
alton of the Cuban reciprocity treaty Quay again
objected, and thereupon Cullom made motion to
go into executive session The Pennsylvania
told there a broad grin on the Senate as Sena-
tor Quay demanded the yeas and nays" The vote
on the motion stood IS nays to II yeas, and it is
agreed that represents the strength OF the two par
ties in the fight over the omnibus bill
Since that first victory in the conflict QUAY has
been trying by every in his power to bring the
question to issue. His opponents, however have
stuck TO their tactics of unlimited talking They rise
TO speak with stacks OF typewriter material before
them. They quote long extracts from official docu-
neuts and from scientific works whose writers were
bent on proving that the Great West can never be
cultivated nor inhabited by civilized men, When
one gets tired smother begins, and the drve goes on
increasingly.
For the purpose OF forcing vote in spite OF the
iak Quay has moved tack the statehood bill on one
Of the general appropriation bills but whether he can
get his following to sustain him in that move re-
mains to be He has thus far managed his fight
with skill that none OF his opponents have been
able to defeat and is quite probable he may vet win
oat despite the evident determination OF the opposi-
ton to deadlock the Senate and refuse to vote
Another Hawaiian public official has gone wrong.
and the scandal OF If is food for the gossps When