Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-03-11
SENATE js ONLY BRANCH or
CONGRESS WHERE olLAToRY
TACTICS svccEEp.
EVERY SESSION MARKED
~ ONE or MORE CONTESTS
LaFoIIstts Holds Long Distance Talk
ins Record to Dats-Had Only One
Assistant in Memorable Contest
Great Literary Fiiibustsr Against
Ship Subsidy Bill.
Especial correspondence.l

Washington, March 10.-The senate
Is the only branch Of congress that
has filibusters that really are filibusters.
The reason for this Is that the senate
has no rule limiting debate. The house
occasionally has what 1t calls ALL
buster. But because Of the methods OF
shutting OF debate there It is impos-
sible to get started In the house the
obstructive campaigns which are fire.
quent In the senate.
Every session the senate has NIL
buster Some Of them become serious.
some do not. In the annals OF senate
fltbustering there has never been any
thing equal to the one carried on by
Senator Bob" LaFollette several years
ago.
That was against the enactment Of
the Aldrich-vreeland emergency cur
rency bill. Senator LaFollette fought
against 1t with the assistance Of one
valiant nlibuster. Gumshoe Bilr' Stone
of Missouri For nineteen hours.
Fighting Bob" held the floor and wor-
ried his adversaries. It seemed . per-
Torrance beyond the endurance OF any
one man. But LaFollette, who was not
In particularly good health at the time.
came thru 1t At as fiddle. He was
able to keep up by drinking milk and
eggs and like nutritive preparations
which hts secretary Col. John Hannah
brought to his desk.
Fighting ssnators Shut on.
Senator Stone held the hoor for some
hours. The whole machinery Of the
senate republican organization was
set to work to shut the two fighters
of and ultimately 1t succeeded. Threats
OF q closure rule were freely made but
II was % abhorrent to senate traditions
that Il was not tried.
In tho LAFollette-Stone filibuster.
everything In tho way OF literature
from tho bible to the Koran and thence
70 the revised statutes was read Mat
ter relevant to nothing in particular
was put into the record. In order 20
tire tho two men out. the opposition
worked against them in relays and
some stayed on hand while others slept
In tho c1oakrooms or In edjoining Of
Aces.
Closure Nsvsr Adopted.
Every time there Is . dhb,lster In the
senate It 10 made the occasion for q
deal Of talk about adopting closure TO
prevent st. But closure 10 never adopt
ed One Of the famous Instances Of this
kind was whom Senator Carter talked
a river and harbor bin to death, during
the Mckinley administration
Mckinley didn't want to sign the bill.
and didn't want the government to
M thA 60 hA TAVfAR
to talk IL to death. Tho story always
has been that he promised Carter an
appointment on tho st. Louis EXPOSE
ton commiasion-at $4,000 q ysaf-if
he svould do 1t.
Like Owen IN the latest case, Carter
kept his own counsel. AMI quietly took
the LOOT when he saw that the time
was ripe for him. He talked hour az
ter hour; always easy. entertaining.
witty. epigrammatic. He told stories
about creeks and rivers that were to
receive huge appropriations to make
them navigable; streams. he declared
in some cases. that were dried UP In
summer and frozen fast In winter.
He talked about twelve hours. catch
ing the session at tho point where
everything else was out OF the way ex-
cept this one bill. That 10 circum-
stance that would seldom happen.
Owen. for instance. had q pressure OF
other business to interfere with him.
and his task was vastly moro difficult.
= Literary FiIibustsr.
The great literary flibustsr was that
Of the Late Senator Edward Ward Car
mack against a ship subsidy bill q few
years ago Sunday was the next to tho
last day Of the session. The bin had
passed the house, and there was great
pressure to rush II thru the senate
Carnack got the ooor and proceed
ed to talk. He spent half an hour on
the dictionary definition Of Subsidy"
and was giving his audience q laugh
every thirty seconds. Then he took UP
the story Of the origin Of sailing ships.
brought it down to tho invention Of the
steamship. and whiled away an hour
more. Crowded galleries laughed and
applauded by turns.
The democrats were nearly all with
Carmack. and spelled him noble.
MAY I interrupt briefly to answer
the last observation Of the senator?"
demanded "Gum-ahoe Bis" Stone.
II will permit q brie6 interruption"
replied Carnnack. Whereupon Stone
read an article from q magaxine and
asked:
II would like to ask tho senator II
he has fully considered the forcible
statement presented in the matter l
have read?"
Before the sessions end. the bill was
withdrawn, It being assured Of failure.
The Boys Reason.
An old man. upon seetng . small
bare zoot0d lad playing In the stroot