Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-17
SITUATION ALL MIXED UP
Salary of $4,000 Provided After
July l in Appropriation Bill.
NO COMPENSATION TILL THEN
Measure Had Been Approved in Con-
> ference and Discrepancy
Not Noticed.

| tangIe that has bothered the House or
| Representatives in many a long day re-
| suited this morning Immediately fol-
| lowing the taking up of the conference
| report on the legislative, executive and
| judicial appropriation bill.
Discussion had progressed without
| particular interest until Representative
| keifer of Ohio called attention to the
| fact that. although Congress has Just
| passed law reducing. after March 4.
| the salary of the Secretary of State TO
$4,000, the legislative bill before the
House contained a provision, agreed TO
| by both bodies and by the conferees,
that the salary of the Secretary Of State
should be $4,000 after July 1.
| Immediately the House was in up
| roar Even the conferees the part
Of the House were taken by surprise
Forget to Change It.
| Representative Gillett of Massachusetts,
one of them. after thinking things over
for awhile concluded that as the reducing
bill hadn't been agreed to when the
| Secretary of States salary in the legis-
| lative bill was under discussiO therefore
| the conferees hadn't thought of cutting
| the figures from $4,000 to $1,000.
Representative Sherley of Kentucky.
one of the ablest lawyers of the House,
| added to the existing confusion at this
| moment by announcing that in its eX-
| treme haste to pass the Knox eligibility
| bill the House had cut off all salary from
the office of Secretary of State, and that
| if Mr. Knox entered into Office March
he could not draw dollar of salary ul-
| til July l. and then. under the bill, would
be ineligible because the salary pro-
vided after that date was $l2poo
Parliamentarians Guessing.
Apparently the situation had guessing
the best parliamentarians of the body
There were hurried conferences OF few
minutes duration all over the chamber
Then. as a substitute for motion oy
Mr.. Gillett that the bill be sent back to
conference so that the salary of the Sec
retary of State might be corrected KEEP
resentative Bingham of Pennsylvania. IN
charge of the conference report, moved 10
POSTPONE consideration of the whole prop
osition until tomorrow morning IN oroe.
that the House might find out "heTe IL
stood and what il had done
There was objection to this from all
over the democratic side. Mr. Sheriey
again added to the tansie at TINS pom.
! bv making statement to. the erect that
he believed himself mistaken in SAYING the
| House had eliminated all salary attaching
to the office of Secretary OF state
But Immediately Representative CLAYTON
of Alabama, an active member of the ju-
dietary committee. jumped up and de-
clared he had investigated. and that Mr.
Sherley's first view OF the case mad beeh
correct.
Under the bill passed by the House
for the purpose of making Mr.. Knox
eligible to the cabinet. he said, that
/ official could not draw one dollar OF
compensation from March to July l.
And then unless the House did somt
| think quick Senator Knox, after serving
for a couple of months. would again be
Ineligible for the position. owing to
the salary increase proposition III The
legislative bill.
Postponement Voted On.
! MI DalZell, who was III the chair, with
Asher Kinds, the parlamentarlan, at ms
elbow had so many motions thrown at
him ali al once with the House in such
an uproar that he had to suspend busi-
ness and call for order. Finally against
the protests of half the democratic side,
which under leadership of Champ Clark,
wanted to take advantage of the miN-up
and settle the matter out of hand. to the
J further discontinue of the republicans,
Mr. Dalzell ruled that the motion of the
previous question on the proposition 40
I postpone took precedence. On this MI.
/ Clark. minority leader demanded ron
call.
\ dozen leading members of tie House
during the time the roll was being called
! expressed almost many different views
/ eral held that the House had indeed
passed d bill which. while reducing the
salary of the Secretary of state. had
made no provision at all for the payment
| to that official for services OF any com
! penSation whatever.
| Others held that this bill was all rig lit.
! but that the legislative bill would have
| TO be taken out of conference and sent
back to the Senate, with all of Its pro-
visions wide open and subject to amend
ment before the mistake of $1,000 in the
salary of the Secretary of State could be
corrected.
Mismanagement Is Criticism.
| - think nv discovery of the Sl2Op"
| provision for the salary of the Secretary
| of state" said Gen. 'Keifer TO several
/ newspaper men. lis just as important as
! the original discovery of Senator knoX's
| ineligibili:y.
The general feeling among conservative
members Of the House seems 10 be that
! the whole business in connection with the
Z Knox affair has been rather remdrkab biN
: mismanaSed.
/ Representative PAYNE OF New York.
/ republican floor leader. admitted on the
/ floor that the question came as an alb
solutc surprise Ia the entire body. No
/ one mad seemed TO know or to realize
/ the Significance of the $1,000 appropra-
! tion for the salary OF the Secretary of
/ State. He. therefore. thought the matter
! should go over. In Oruef mat tlat Situa-
( tion. both with respect to this item and
/ the passage of the bill reducing the sal
AIRY of the Secretary of State, might be
an3tlyzed and understood.
Time to Think Allowed.
! While the roll being called. Repre-
sentative Sherley of Kentucky declared to
several newspaper men that he had no
idea. just at this time, to how the mat
ter would finally be adjusted. He did not
recall any precedent for the peculiar stu
alton but supposed that between now and
tomorrow morning. when the conference
report Will come up again. that some way
would be found out of the difficulty.
| Representative keifer of Ohio, who DIS
covered and exploded the bombshell In
the Legislative bill. thought the matter
could be adjusted all right.
But" he said I'VE will undoubtedly
have TO par tho whole bin wide open
again. 1t as unfortunate that this condi-
tion was not foreseen.
After the previous question had been
ordered by a vote OF the House rel t:l
MAS then had on the motion by Repre-