The Washington herald., 1911-03-05
President Makes His Position
Clear, and Quickly Decides
on April 4 as the Date.

To many leaders at the Capitol the
positive announcement of the calling OF
the extra session came as something of a
shock. 1t is freely admitted that several
of them had struggled with the Presi-
dent. and, by invoking the specter OF
business depression, had tried to call him
on in his determination, even in the face
of the fact that he had positively asserted
that the failure of reciprocity meant the
reassembling OF Congress.
When they found him imperturbable
they spared for time. hoping that they
could dissuade the President entirely from
his attitude if given more opportunity.
Perhaps the President scented the COM
ing effort to argue the question; perhaps
he thought that Congress should be in
formed at the earliest possible moment
of the coming session, and perhaps he
was Just mad clear through at the
inability exhibited. even by some OF his
best friends to understand that all along
he had meant business.
He conferred copiously with several OF
the leaders, even after he went to the
Capitol, but the burden of his queries
was the time of calling the session, ana
rot the session itself
He talked the matter over with his
Cabinet; he called in Representative Un-
derwood, who is to be the leader OF the
majority and next chairman OF the
House Ways and Means Committee
Senators Bailey, Overman, Bacon, and
Money all Democrats, dropped into the
Marble Room and talked about the extra
session. Senators Crane, Warren, Smoot,
Root, Lodge, and others on the Repuo-
lican side came in, too.
With all of them. the President talked
about the date of the extra session.
After they had departed, and the bills
were all signed, the President walked
over to the Office of the Secretary OF the
Senate There he met Speaker-that-Was
Cannon. and Representatives Payne, Dal-
zell, Weeks. and Gillett. They were In
conference only a few minutes. Speaker
Cannon objected strenuously to April 4,
or any other date, for that matter, out
the President in no uncertain tashlon'
made his position clear
When he came out it was decided. AS
he motored up from the Capitol to the
White House he declaed Ihat II We ~
more than fair that the call should De
issued Immediately, and few minutes
after he was back in his office Secre-
tary Norton announced the date Ihe
proclamation itself came few minutes
later. 1t had been prepared before the
President left for the Capitol, ana ohiy
the date had to be inserted.
Depend on Newspapers
Very few people realize that the MEM
bers of the sixty-second Congress must
depend entirely upon the publication Of
President Taft's extra session proclama-
tion in the newspapers for their knowl-
edge of the fact that there is to be any
extra session at all, and that 1t is to
meet on April 4.
There is absolutely no provision in the
and no reference in the
statutes which requires the sending OF
formal notice to the men elected to the
new Congress. Consequently the only
notice these members will receive is from
the newspapers.
The Presidents extra session proclama-
lion win be read when the Senate and
House assemble, but it was said last
Fight that if the usual custom IS fol-
lowed, the presiding officers of the two
branches of the national legislature will
find It necessary to clip the newspapers
70 obtain copies of the proclamation
which viii be read to the members.