Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-30
STRIKES OUT MILEAGE
Unanimous Vote in the House
This Afternoon.
REPLY TO LlTTLEFIELD
FULLER OF ILLINOIS AGAINST
CONTINUOUS SESSION.
Point Of Order Against Appropriation
overruled in the Committee
on the Whole.
REPLY TO LITTLEFIELD

House nave witnessed unusual atteHddHco
of members. Today many seats which dur
ing consideration Ct important bills have
been empty were graced with the presence
of their regular occupants. 1t was OBJ
served also that members gave grave at
tention to the proceedings. Remarks by
everyone, however well known or famous
as orators. were listened to with profound
est attention. Indeed the grave. respectful
and deep attention which the House gave
to the proceedings must have been highly
fiattering to the speakers. Their colleagues
| hung upon their words as bees upon the
| honey of Hymettus
A casual visitor dropping into the gal
leries would have thought that weighty
matters of state were up; surely nothing
less than an impeachment for high crimes
and misdemeanors must be on trial.
Money for Journeys Not Taken.
But it wasn't. 1t was only the House
trying to persuade itself that it had legal
right to take a perquisite of 40 cents a
mile for journeys which no one took.
The great. burning question which was
occupying the attention of the statesmen
was mileage consequent upon the recent
extra session of Congress. The luncheon
half hour of the department clerks had
been taken away; inquiry was in progress
as to where the line was to be drawn be-
tween official and non-official use of gov
eminent vehicles, and a rigid spirit of
economy and reform was prevailing until
along came the appropriations committee
with bunch of the long green" amount
ing to $145OO which was to be distributed
for mileage. Some of the representatives
had scruples about taking the money and
all of the talk was upon the legal right to
the Derquisite.
The Law on the Subject.
The law provides that senators and rep
| resentatives shall get 20 cents a mile each
way for their journeys to and from the
sessions of Congress. The law does not ask
whether the congressman pay fare ride on
pass or walk; they get the 20 cents mile
coming and going
This year the extra session ended Satur-
day, and the regular session began Mon
day. At least that's the point at issue.
Did it? No one has raised the question
whether the congressman went home and
back again between the sessions. because
that does not make any difference: the law
gives the money. The only point is
whether there have been two sessions and
whether two bites at the cherry are per-
missibfe The question was important, pc
cuniarfly. to congressman residing at a
distance from Washington. 1t meant some
thing like 81 200 or 81 500 to scores of con-
gressmen, and from $500 to 5000 for a great
many.
The chairman of the committee of the
whole, Mr.. Tawney, today ruled that there
were two sessions of Congress- and that the
appropriation for mileage was In order.
Combating Littlefield's Arguments.
The House went Immediately into commit
tee of the whole upon converting today, with
Mr.. Tawney (Minn.) in the chair, and re-
sumed consideration of the urgent deficiency
bill.
Mr.. Fuller Gid proceeded to combat the
of
point of order raised by Mr.. Maddox (Ga-)
on the paragraph providing a second pay
ment of mileage to senator's and members,
discussion on which was pending when the
house adjourned yesterday.
Mr.. Fuller said the question to be de-
termined was whether this was the second
session of the Fifty eighth Congress or a
continuation of the session begun in No
vember. He differed from Mr. Littlefield in
the contention that this is continuation.
He held that the November session ended at
noon on the day fixed by the Constitution
for converting the December session. The
latter he said. Is provided for by the Con-
stitution.
All the business now is being transacted
as in the second session of the Fifty-eighth
Congress.
A Continuous Session.
Mr.. Parker On. j. followed Mr.. Fuller
taking the opposite view. The House, he
argued, went on in the November session
until noon the Tth day of December, when
1t again convened under new authority
But the fact that there was new sanction
for meeting December did not interrupt
the continuous session. Mr. Parker insisted
that there was nothing to warrant the
drawing of mileage for travelling 5000 miles
during the period that the clock was strik-
ing II He said the House had talked of
horses and carriages used by the several
government departments and made the point
that it would be inconsistent to allow a
fictitious construction on the mileage item
Mr.. Livingston (Ga) called attention to
the fact that the House on meeting De-
cember 7. had notified the President and
Senate of its assemblage. Why was that
done, he inquired, II this was a continuous
session.
Mr.. Parker replied that 1t was desired to
take every precaution. reafirming his con-
tention. however, that the House could not
adjourn the November session without con-
current resolution.
Indicated by the Journal
Mr. Payne On " called attention to the
fact that the president of the Senate had
announced the expiration of the November
session, and that when the House met De-
cember the roll was called, and that the
journal shows this to be the second session.
Mr.. Parker replied that the journal does