Arizona republican., 1903-02-18
REPUBLICAN CAUCUS.

The republican senators held q caU- GUS today and decided to have the sen ate continue the consideration of the Panama canal treaty tomorrow and in future until the treaty shall be disposed of This result was reached after an hour and a half's discussion of the legislative situation in the senate. The conclusion reached was unanimous. The understanding is that the state hood bill does not lose its position IT the order of business when the senate is not in executive session.
 The republican supporters of the statehood bill agreed not to antagonize the motion for an executive session 60 consider the canal treaty, nor to make any objection to the prolongation Of such session to any extent necessary ;o secure ratification.
 The caucus was opened by q state ment by Senator Allison chairman of the steering committee giving it as the conclusion of the committee that the Panama treaty should be ratified be-
 fore the adjournment of the session. lie added that the steering committee be- ing responsible for the order of busi- ness, should be followed when it makes suggestion as to the order in which
 
 ate.
 MT. Cullom. chairman Of the com
 mittee on foreign relations, presented . motion declaring it to be the sense of the caucus that the senate should
 go into executive session tomorrow, i February IS, immediately after the conclusion of the morning business to
 ratify the Panama canal treaty. In a
 brief speech he dwelt on the fact that
 the option of the United States on rights and franchises of the Panama canal expires on the fourth Of next 1! March. He said that other interests
 and ether nations might desire to con 1 trol so important an enterprise so that 1t was altogether possible we will be
 not able to renew the option at so low | a figure as S40,000. GOO the price which | this country had agreed to pay in case | the bargain is consummated As only | two weeks of the session remain and there was a determined though limited opposition tG the treaty it was abSo- lutely necessary that no further time should be lost in getting down to seri-
 ous work on it.
 Several friends of rhe statehood bill in speeches expressed an opinion that the chief purpose of the motion was lD SluSltdth Itle SldlGnOOI Dlll. Speeches based on this apprehension were made by Messrs. Quay, Elkins.
 Gallinger and Forak-r. They express cd adherence to the treaty and said they agreed fully with all that had been said as to the necessity for it's
 early ratification but thought that tEa
 proper way to reach a vote was first
 to take a vote on the statehood bill By pursuing that course.'' said Mir. Quay. you can get the only obstacle to it's consideration out of the way.
 and get it out of the way by legiti- mate means" He called attention to
 the prolongation of the debate which he said all knew was far beyond
 the necessities. and he urged that a day should be named for vote on the
 statehood proposition. All supporters
 Of statehood spoke in the same strain
 charging a determined opposition to an
 expression of the will of the ma ajority
 and dissenting from the opinion ex-
 pressed by MT. Allison that the steer ing committee should determine the order of business.
 They also united in opposition to
 considering Cullom's proposition as d motion. Republican caucuses in the
 senate. Mir. Quay said, are always Fl ! the nature of conferences, and are noI | necessarily binding except as repuO- hcan senators may consider themselves under obligations to follow the majority o1 their party. They were empha tic a on this point, some of them going to 5 the extent of declaring that they wouli 3 not be bound should the motion be 7 pressed to vote
 2 speeches were made by Messrs Hoar S Hanna, Lodge, Aldrich and others. and much stress was laid on the necessity { of securing the ratification of the 5 treaty and on the fact that there was no intention to displace the statehood bill as the unfinished business fIoa, i made an agreement to prove that the $ executive business of the senate occu. pies different plane from lecIs1attv. 2 business, and that courtesy towart q other nations demands that treatie. < should be given preferential consider. 2 alton at the hands of the senate. E Other senators made reference [, S Europe's interest in the canal. an, a Senator Foraker stated that an em. nent engineer officer had assured hin !. that no fewer than four great Europeai q powers are looking with jealous eye O, S our movements on the isthmus an J would be glad to displace us there. After a further exchange of view 5 duri- g which some quite sharp re marks as to the desirability an,