The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-01-23
THE FIRST REAL
LEGISLATIVE
FIGHT
Came When Rep. Sorley Intro
duced His Resolution on
Ship Subsidy.
ATTEMPT TO HAVE It
PASSED WAS A FAILURE
Stevens, Streeter, Buttz, Shirley, Free.
man and Others Led Fight Against
Resolution-valley City Muckraker.
Packard, Given Much Deserved
Turn Down.
lBy George DaxIs1

(By George Davis.)
Bismarck, Jan. 23.-The first bat
tie of the legislature came when an
attempt was made by the majority
leader, Mr.. Sorley of Grand Forks. 10
have passed without consideration, the
resolution introduced by him directing
the members of congress to vote and
work against the passage OF the
ship subsidy law which according
to, Mr. Sorley's political bible
sometimes called the AIinneapo-
lis Journal, had been fayorably
reported by the committee. The
article from the Journal was attached
to the resolution and was read in full
The article was a bitter attack up
on a number of the leading members
OF congress among whom were Speak,
er Cannon and in a drastic manner
impugned their motives in position
they hold with reference to the ship
subsidy. In fact it was an attack up-
on the republican party made by only
such demo-populistic sheets as the
Minneapolis Journal would print.
Mr.. Sorley moved the adoption of the
resolution and the battle was on. Led
by such veterans as Buttz, Stevens,
Freeman, Shirley and Streeter, the un-
tenable position of the majority lead
er was assaulted at every point and
the dwi4dling ranks of his adherents
soon left merely corporal's guard
rallying around the standard of Sor-
ley and Casey the democratic leader,
was supporting him. Sorley made a
bitter attack on Speaker Cannon and
on Representative Watson of Indiana
because of their attempting to give
away $3,75O,O00 of the public money
as he claimed. He based his argu-
ments upon the statements of news
paper articles.
Major Buttz secured recognition and
for a few minutes poured fusilade Of
shot into the arguments of Mr. Sorley
that considerably shattered it. He call
ed attention to the fact that the
wisest men of the nation mad been
studying the matter of ship subsidies
=
differed concerning the matter when
they had all the opportunity in the
world to inform themselves. If they
were not able to reach conclusions
after years of study. how could the
house which had given the matter no
consideration whatever intelligently
instruct the members in congress to
vote on the measure?
Mr.. Stevens made an impassioned
plea against the resolution and stat
ed that he permitted no man, not even
the gentleman from Grand Forks, TO
take precedence of him in his loyalty
and fidelity to the republican party
and it's principles. He was willing
to cOncede to men who had risen from
humble positions to be recognized as
the greatest speaker the national
house of representatives had ever had,
and whose honesty and integrity his
most bitter enemies gladly admitted,
as lofty patriotism and as much hon
esty of purpose as a man who was
mere spec filled on newspaper, and
that was the position the house was
in. 1t was required to decide between
the great leaders of the party who ha
grown gray in the continuous service
of the country and whose constituents
so honored and trusted them that they
returned term after term without op-
position, and an unknown newspaper
correspondent whose job probably de-
pended upon the sensations he was
able to furnish his paper. At the close
of his speech. Mr.. Stevens moved that
al that part taken from the Minneapo-
lis Journal and all quotations from the
same be stricken out. This raised the
crucial test in the matter, for if the
resolution was thus emasculatei, it
would be not only harmless but some
what ridiculous.
Representative Shirley made one Of
the best arguments against the adop-
ton of the resolution, saying that men
in congress who had given attention 10
these great questions were better quail
flied to discuss and intelligently vote
on them than were men who had
given no attention. He too was re-
publican and he was opposed to going
on record as criticising and impugn-
ing the motives of men who were the
leaders of the party in the nation and
whose honesty was above reproach.
Mr.. Shirley wanted to kill the resolu-
tion completely and therefore moved to
lay the same on the table indefinitely.
Representative Casey, the brilliant
democrat from Walsh county, came to
the rescue of Mr. Sorley and the re-
solution and impassionately pleaded
for the adoption Of the resolution. One
thing can be said for Mr.. Casey, that
he was sincere, for the position taken