The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-01
Senator BuTkeH of Nebraska Sums Up Results of Recent
 FiIibuster
BURKETT COMPARES NEW
 RULES WITH TOM REEDS
Nebraskan Senator Is of the Opinion That Filibustering Under Present Interpretation of Rules Is
 Dead Issue.

Washington, May 31.-To those who events in the Senate during the flibuster which marked the closing days of the re- cent session, the change in the interpre- tation of the Senate rules was considered of far greater import than the flibuster itself
 Senator Burkett of Nebraska, who gave close attention to the parliamentary tac- tics employed by the majority to bring the obstruction to an end, thus summar- ized today the changes which were ac- complished between 12 o'clock midnight and daylight yesterday morning:
 First the vice president announced that it was in the province of the chair to count quorum, and that he would not order roll call if quorum was act ually present.
 Second, the Senate, by vote upon a point of order, submitted to it by the vice president, determined that the ques- ton of mo quorum" could not be raised until after intervening business if the previous roll call had disclosed a quorum present, and that debate was not such intervening business.
 Third rule of the Senate. which in practice has always laid dormant, was invoked. prohibiting a senator from ad- dressing the Senate upon any question more than twice in any one day.
 "The result of these three interpreta- tiops aSytelle rules makes it absolutely im- possible to prolong debate indefinitely and thus makes a flibuster impossible where the end of the session is ii4determinate, for they give no opportunity for inter- mission by a speaker except by yielding the floor, and after two such yieldings of the floor. under the rule, he will not be permitted to speak further on that day By refusing to adjourn and thus continu- Ing the same day until the legislation shall be enacted, it Is only a matter of time until any filibusterng contingent can be successfully worn out"
 Commenting upon the effect of these changes MT. Burkett said:
 ""rhe present Senate flibuster has been productive of the greatest evolution in facilitating legislation since the days of the Fifty-first Congress, when Speaker Thomas B. Reed announced in the House of Representatives that gentlemen in their seats could be seen as well as heard That announcement was the re- suit of filibuster and until Reeds de- cision 1t was possible for the minority to compel the majority party to have enough of their members present all the time to equal a quorum of the House. But Reed decided that if man was present he was present. whether he was willing to or not, thereupon he directed the clerk to count the members present that he saw, as well as those that he heard
 ''When the conference report on the currency bill came up for consideration some senators undertook to filibuster against it by securing the floor and thus preventing it coming to a vote. Senator Lafollette led off and of course used every technicality of rule to consume time. He raised the question of no quorum 36 times within few hours, which necessitated the calling of the roll each time. If permitted to go on unhin- dered 1t might have been continued in- definitely"