The San Francisco call., 1907-03-04
SENATORS F|LIBusTER To
KILL SHIP SUBSIDY BILL
Session Lasts All Day and
Is Kept Going Until
Near Midnight
SPEND TIME TESTING
Democrats Pursue Dilatory
Tactics and Rout the
Republican Solons
SPEND TIME TESTING

WASHINGTON, March 3.-Beginning
at IL o'clock today by far the larger
part of the session of the Senate was
devoted to a flibuster by the Demo-
cratic Senators against the ship sub
shy bill, as it passed the House, and
when the Senate adjourned a few min
utes before midnight the bill was still
pending.
Speeches intended for no other pur-
pose than to kill time were made by
Senators Carmack, Dubois. Overman,
Newlapds and others, who frankly con-
fessed their intention of defeating con-
sideration Of the amendment to the OBJ
jectionable measure.
When the recess was taken at 11:40
o'clock the friends of the bill had given
up all hope of securing any shipping
Legislation during the present session.
Following the opening of the ses-
sion Senator'S Dubois and Carmack
made an appeal to Senator Gallinger to
withdraw the bill. but he did not COM
ply. The debate was interrupted by
the passage of a resolution for the
printing of a document on horses.
which brought out from Senator Carter
the remark That's a horse on the
Democratic side" This sally aroused
the venerable Senator Pettus of Ala
bama, who remarked:
I'VE accept the TebulSe from the
Senator from Montana. because OF his
wisdom and long experience, and DO
no fail to recall that he has the record
for speaking for more than twenty
hours to Kill river and harbor BILL
Never before has the Senate ap-
pear to relish so much an attempt
to kill legislation by ilibustering
methods Carmack. director of the
minority movement against the bill, at
no time tried to hide the fact that his
pn,t flihnctaf n nd cfr
He came into the open by addressing
himself principally to the term "hli
busters" which Gallinger only yeSter-
day applied to the Democratic Sena-
tors who have undertaken to defeat the
measure
Carmack first devoted himself to an
Endorsement of Webster's Dictionary
as an authority on photography and
definition. and said that if the Senate
had any doubt that this work was an
authority he would bring it in and
ask that passages from it be read.
A colloquy occurred between Gal
linger and Carmack over the definition
of the word "hlibuster" .as given by
dictionaries, the latter charging that
Gallinger had simply been trying to
''hlibuster according 20 his own defini-
ton OF the word.
Charging that the pending measure
was for the purpose of 'looting the
treasury" Carmack referred to the bill
as voting a "subvention,' and Nc
Laurin asked the difference between
subsidy" and "subvention." Carmack
answered:
Subsidy by any other name smells
as bad
After Senator Tillman had asked how
much steal" there was in the ship sub
sidy, Senator Frye of Maine rebuked
the whole proceeding as undignified.
For the Senate to hold session on
the Sabbath, he remarked, for the
whole purpose of frivolous debate and
amusement of the galleries." was about
the most unseemly proceeding he had
ever witnessed. While he spoke Frye
turned so as TO face Senator Carmack.
who was seated. Carmack at once
arose and replied:
IF the Senator refers to me, L will
say that I am not responsible to him
for my conduct and I shall conduct
myself according to my own notions
of propriety. If the Senator from
Maine does not like my behavior. he
has my permission to leave the Senate
and go where he would-to attend
church. If he would prefer"
Shortly after this the incident was
closed by the restoration of amity be-
tween the two Senators.