The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-09
.KEARNS' DISCLAIMER
SAYS CLERK MISUNDERSTOOD HIS
 VOTE ON STATEHOOD.
Claims Not to Have Favored PrOvisioa for Separation, and Members
 Divide as to Ills Action
 on Yesterday.


 Washington. Feb. s.-The Senate to- day received from MT. Kearns diss claimer of the vote in favor of separats statehood for New Mexico. which the records for yesterday credited him with. He said that he had been misa understood by the clerks and that he had voted against the provision. Sew eral Senators corroborated his stafct ment, but 8 number asserted that thes' had understood him to vote for tha amendment. The Senate spent aimost an hour in connection with the Housa of Representatives in canvassing tfle Presidential vote and the remaindez of the session was devoted to execu. tive business.
 After the Senate returned to It's 0wk chamber, Mir. Bacon took the floor pT point of order concerning the stak3H of Mr. Kerns' amendment to the State hood bill for the annexation of Arizon to Utah. He said that the bill as pre- pared for transmission to the Hot includes that amendment while Ae e tended &hsta that Yg1s4sisiom t Ats h.yl0 out with the other provisions relating to Arizona and New Mexico under his motion.
 Mir. Lodge said that In order to cor rect the mistake. if 1t Is such. 1t would be necessary to recall the bill. Without determining the point the Senate went into executive session and shortly after adjourned till tomorrow.
 Yesterdays contest found an early echo in the proceedings of the Senate today in the shape of a personal ex- planation by MT. Kearns of his vote on the admission of New Mexico as a separate State.
 lt.k nPk l.ac hIr. Kerns took the floor and said: T rise to a question of personal privilege. In the first vote on the amendment of the Senator from California, Mir. Bard, last evening I voted nay in distinct manner. It appears the clerks misun- derstood me and I was numbered among those favoring the amendment My colleague calling my attention to the error and was on the point of correct ing 1t when it was suggested I could do so on the vote to concur in the amendment before the final passage of the bill in case the amendment should be adopted. This course I pursued.
 The seriousness of this matter did not impress itself upon me until this morning when I read in the public press the statement that I had voted for the amendment in order that I might force the managers of the bill to accept my amendment ceding the Arizona strip to Utah. This deny in the most positiveemanner. Such a pro- eeeding I would not countenance nor be a party to. My word had been given the managers of the bill that I would support their measure and l would not have played them false for the whole territory of Arizona.
 If this be the proper time. Mir. President, desire to have the record corrected as far as 1t relates to my vote upon the amendment of the Sena- tor from California in accordance with the statement"
 The statement had the effect of bringing a number of Senators to their feet and to call out from them a num- ber of statements as to their under standing of the Utah Senator's vote. The first of these was made by Mir. Nelson. who sits near Mir. Kearns in the Senate, who said:
 q was sitting near the Senator from Utah when he voted and heard him vote No No distinctly" he added the conviction that all the other Sena- tors sitting near had heard as he did
 On the other hand, Mir. Foraker, sit ting somewhat farther away, received an opposite impression. He said that he had been keeping tally and had distinctly heard Mir. Kearns vote in the affirmative.
 Tt was a clear aye he said. and I found that other Senators sitting near me received the same impress sion."
 Other Senators sustaining MT. Nell sons views were Messrs. QuarIes, CIapp. Kittredge, McComas, Scott and Dubois, while Messrs. Galllnger, Hans hrouah Clay and German stated that they had heard the vote in the affirm alive and all expressed the conviction that the record of the clerks was justi- fled.
 Mir. German made the point that bdr. Kearns had allowed the opportunity afforded him yesterday to correct his vote to lapse and said that all the Senators sitting about him had under stood MT. Kearns vote as recorded
 MT. Hale also took the view that Mir Kearns should have made his correc- tion yesterday. He said after the roll call the vote had been read aloud and that 1t was "inconceivabie that every Senator did not watch the reading of the vote on a close ballot like that of yesterday to see that he was correctly recorded" -S.
 With MT. Hale's statement, the inci- dent was allowed to drop
 Mir. Warren presented the credentials Of his colleague, Mir. Clark. for the terra beginning March 4th next