The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1911-03-02
Its Members Do Not Desire to Be
Held Responsible for an
Extra Session.
OLD MEN ON DUTY AT NIGHT
Gen. Keller and Other Veterans Stick
r. Posts--Navy Department Seeks
Hulk Of French Warshp-
Famous Names in the
Military Academy.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

ties In the house of representatives
made up their minds after the pro
longed filibuster on the omnibus
claims bill that 1t would not be wise
politically for either party to have
the house charged up with delaying
matters so that an extra session would
be necessary, even If reciprocity did
not cause the president to call 1t.
The result of this feeling has been
that the house has been pushing
things through at rapid gait under
what amounts to suspension OF the
ordinary rules of procedure.
The scenes at a recent night session
of the house were duplicates virtually
of scenes which occurred when the
members, or some of them, sat up all
night during the attempt Of the Re
publican insurgents and most of the
Democrats to affect a change In the
rules. Night sessions are hard on the
members, especially the older ones,
but 1t Is a curious thing to note that
the old men, who suffer most, are the
ones who stick closest to their desks
and the fight while the trouble is on.
Perhaps 1t is the desire of the older
members to avoid q charge that age
has weakened them that keeps them
at the post of duty through the long
night sessions while some OF the
younger members are home and in
bed or, at best, sleeping on the
lounges or In the chairs of the cloak
rooms. Two old Civil war veterans
of the house, one a Republican and
one a Democrat-General Keller and
General Sherwood-always have been
on the night picket line when the two
parties in the house were engaged in
midnight warfare.
General kcifer's Achievement.
A year ago when Speaker Cannon
was delaying ruling on point OF
order which affected change In the
rules, parliamentary strategy made 1t
necessary to keep the house In ses-
sion all night Member after mem
Der rose to speak in order that the
debate might continue so as to pre-
vent the forcing of the speakers hand.
1t was one o'clock In the morning and
the supply of ready and willing speak
ers on the Republican side seemed to
have been pretty nearly exhausted.
Then up rose General Keifer and for
an hour and a half he addressed the
house, his voice being heard In every
corner OF the galleries. He spoke as
though 1t were ten o'clock In the
morning and he had risen refreshed
from n long nights slumber. On
March 4 General Keller will leave the
house for private life. Once on a
time he was speaker of the house of
representatives and. az probably every
body in the United States knows from
his pictures, he always appears in
public in full dress" evening attire.
Seek Hulk Of Warshlp
The navy department has ordered
two vessels, charged with the duty Of
finding and destroying derelicts. to
search for the hulk of the old French
warship Richelieu which waterlogged
and abandoned, has been reported to
be in the track of trans Atlantic liners
coast and Queenstown.
If the Richelieu Is found she will be
destroyed In case she IL not found
near enough to some port to be towed
In. Even II the latter proves to be
the case. immediate destruction may
follow provided the boat is found not
to be worth the saving.
Derelicts are a danger to commerce.
IT is believed that many and many n
ship which never has been heard from
has gone down as the result of a col
lision with some waif Of the sea.
There are some scores Of derelicts
known to be afloat and the search for
them by specially commissioned YES.
sells Of every government is constant
ly In progress. A list IS kept Of every
derelict which is reported and when
one is found and destroyed or towed
into port, It Is checked from the rec
ord Strive as hard as the govern
ments OF the world can. the derelict
list remains about the same year in
and year out. When one is found and
destroyed another one usually Is re
ported to take its place, and II the
average Of those anoat can be kept
about the same from year to year 1t
seems to be about all that the naviga-
tion interests can expect
Tested Her Ram on a DereIct.
Some years ago the ram Katahdin,
which Is now out of commission
found waterlogged lumber ship