The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-20
CRAFT BILL
 MET DEFEAT Was Directed at Ds2art-
 1nent LeaN  ATTACKED BY 2R. MCCALL
 @ Declared Tn, <sne Bill Was Siam
 Members. Said Provision for Persecution of Rem resentatives Was Advertising to World That America's Law
 Makers are Crooked

Washington. May 19.-By a vote of 1o7 to SO. the House today refused to pass the nti-graft bill, so-called. deal ing with cotton leaks and other mat ters of a confidential character which should they become publicly known | might have a tendency to affect mar Kits because the conferees had recom mended that members of Congress be included within the scope of tho bill. The opposition was led by Mir. Mccall or Massachusetts assisted by MT. Crum- packer of Indiana. MT. Grosvenor of Ohio. and Gardner of Massachusetts. while the friends of the measure were represented by MrI Burleson and MT. Jenkins. Early in the day the Democrats made | their last stand against the Lee bill and being outvoted desisted from fur | ther filibustering, the consideration of | the anti-leak bill taking up the rest l of the day.
 | The conference reported on the so- called "antf-1eak" and anti graft" bill l making 1t a misdemeanor for advance | information to be given out by any ofn- cer or employe of the government that would tend to exert an influence. or affect the market value of any pro- duct grown within the United States or affect the value of stocks and bonds. came up in the House today. The conference of both Senate and House recommended that the penalty l prescribed for officers of the govern 1 ment who violate the code created by | the act should apply to members of | Congress.
 This recommendation led to one of | the most interesting debates of the ses- sion, MT. Mccall, (Mass.) leading the opposition against making members of Congress amenable to the penalties of the measure. He said the clause of the bill sought to be incorporated was an advertisement to the world that the members were crooked. He said mem bers of Congress were neither scollec- tors nor the guardians of secret govern mental statistics, They are representa- tives and can have no secrets from the constituents.
 l If you are to enter upon this field" MT Mccall said. why not make a | complete code. Why not provide that members shall be taken into the po- lice. court and be fined when they fail l to vote. imprisoned when they do not attend the sessions of the House and that the speaker. when he plays the czar shall be flogged at the carts tall in the public square"
 If you want to encourage filling the chambers of two houses with patriots of the "gumshoe' breed, mere ciphers whose footballs you never hear, men who will want always to stand behind some body. some body who perhaps at the moment Is playing all the roles of government, then pass such bills as this. Laws like this will make Con- gross still less attractive to honest men"
 During the course of his speech which was punctuated with applause Mr Secretary Paul Morton, of whom he said
 T am very far from regarding MT. Morton as an enormity of wickedness. He Is an able man and I believe an honest man. but he should. I think. have been permitted to go to the courts Certainly two very eminent doctors, se- lected by the administration prescribed the courts and yet we saw MT. Morton regenerated and made whole again by the course of treatment which he took at the immunity baths. Quite natur- ally too, the executive would regard more leniently the officers of his own department with whom he was more closely in contact and who enjoyes his confidence. There Is shown by the case of MT. Garfield an excellent off, cer who needed no vindication. but who was declared free from all blem- ish by that same remarkable message
 
 department who at the same time was acting under all the sanctions sur rounding the judiciary, a great co-or- dinate branch of the government"
 The minority leader of tho House. John Sharp Williams of Mississippi made his last stand today in opposition to the bill paying the heirs of Samuel Lee $1O,E10 as allowances for the con test he made for a seat fin the forty seventh Congress.
 When e House adjourned last night, after an all days filibuster against the measure nthe part of the Democrats the motion to reconsider the vote pass ing the bill was not made. the mem- bers of the House becoming restive and desirious of getting away to dinner and evening engagements
 Immediately after the approval of the Journal MT. Miller. (Kan) having the bill in charge, made the parlia- mentary motion to reconsider the vote and lay that motion on the table.
 williams On Bridge.
 Mr. Williams, still holding the bridge but recognizing his growing weakness, made the point of no quorom when the division showed in the affirmative, ninety-nine, in the negative fifty-five. The speaker imm mediately ordered the doors closed and directed the sergeant at arms to bring in absentees, the vote tn table the motion to reconsider be- ing taken by yeas and nays. Al l2:45 p. m, quorum appeared. The motion to lay on the table was adopted. yeas 129. nays 5S. present 32.
 MT. Williams, realizing that he had heen run over" desired to know wheth- CT he could move to reconsider the vote bv which the title of the bill was amended.
 MT, Miller made the point that the motion was dilatory and the speaker sustained the point. Then quizzically turning to MT. Williams he asked: And does the gentleman from Missis- sippi himself think that the motion was dilatory?" which was greeted with applause
 IaughingIy MT. Williams replied that he could see no difference between his motion to reconsider and the motion of the gentleman from Kansas.
 The speaker replied that 1t was matter of Heather and prunella" and he would therefore have to decide the motion out of order, the several votes on all features of the bill disclosing the fact that a majority of the House desired the passage of the measure and