Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-18
LONG NIGHT VIGIL WEARING
ON HALF-AWAKE STATESMEN
Old Wheel Horses Bear Fatigue Which Burdens
Their Younger Colleagues Speaker Cannon
Never Turns Hair-Galery Oh
servers Get Snatches of Sleep

Many long and weary day mas IL
been since any such scenes as those OF
the continuous session of last night were
enacted in the House of Representatives
AS the night wore on, with the repubii-
can organization, its back to the wall,
fighting for life. for existence. and de-
feated at every turn, the crowds in the
galleries showed no signs of diminution.
Until long after midnight the galleries
were packed with observers. Long lines
of the patient and perspiring populace
stood outside in the narrow and stuffy
upper corridors OF the Capitol, waiting
for chance to glimpse the unusual pro
ccedings within the chamber.
Adjournment Motions.
Every now and then, throughout the
night, at 2. and half-past 3, and so
FORTH a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Olmsted
of Pennsylvania, sometimes Tawney of
Minnesota, sometimes somebody else
would rise in his place and move that
the House adjourn. Each and every time
the motion was overwhelmingly defeated.
For instance, at $50 o'clock Olmsted
hoping against hope that the utter weari-
ness that seemed to have settled, men
tally and physically, on everybody-mem-
bers and employees on the floor. and re-
porters and correspondents in the press
gallery-would result in the adoption of
the proposition. But there were only six
republicans in the chamber to vote "aye,"
while forty democrats, some of them
reused from maps on the big comfortable
leather touches of the convenient cloak
rooms. hurried into the chamber to OPP
pose the motion.
Deputies Go After Representatives.
In the meantime II Uas understood tho
deputies, under the direction of Col. Cas-
son, sergeant-at-arms Of the House. were
hurrying here and there around the city,
rounding up the members of the body.
The deputies were all provided with
blank warrants for the arrest of all MEM
berS of the House found to be absent
from the Capitol.
The regular republicans. between / and
2 o'clock, after they had been trimmed
for the fifth time, had made q successful
effort to break the quorum. That is
to say, they were instructed by Repre-
sentative Dwight of New York, repub-
lican whip of the House. to go home so
that, q quorum being lacking, no business
could be transa cted.
1t was confidently believed that there
would be no trouble at all in procuring
the adoption of a motion either to re-
cess or adjourn, as soon as the democrats
discovered the exodus and realized 1t
the tedious process of taking members
into custody had been gone through with
But they reckoned falsely. No sooner
did the democrats discover what was up
than the word was passed to oppose any
proposition to quit. and to stick on the
Job, sleep or no sleep, until the Speaker
had ruled and the question at issue was
finally disposed Of.
Confidence in Sergeant-at-Arms.
Even when this disposition on the part
of the minority was made manifest, fol-
lowing the discovery that there was no
quorum, by an immediate demand for a
call of the House." the republicans were
not alarmed. Was not Col. Casson, the
sergeant-at-arms Of the body, repub-
lican, and could he not be depended upon
to take his own sweet time about sending
for members. arresting them and bring
ing them back to the House?
Perhaps that was what was expected to
be the course of events. But 1t wasn't.
The call of the House had been in prog
ross only few minutes when Represent
atiye Ollie James of Kentucky interrupt
ed the proceedings by stating that the
minority realized the tactics that. had
beef adopted by the majority. He de-
ma 1ded that democratic deputies be sent
out after republican members.
He declared that the republican depu-
ties would make no attempt to get MEM
but would wait until the morning before