Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-03-08
CONGRESS ADJOURNS
SiXty-first Congress of United States
Expired by Limitation on
Saturday.
EXTRA SESSION Is CALLED.
Exciting Scenes Mark Closing Hours
of National Assembly, and Tariff
Board Measure is Sacrificed
After Long Fight.

! Amid scenes of wild confusion,
with Senator Owen refusing to meet
the President, Senator Bailey resign
ing, and Representative Johnson of
Kentucky refraining from throwing
bricks at Speaker Cannon only be-
cause of the latter's age, the Sixty
first Congress accomplished it's
Constitutional expiration at noon
Saturday.
Not in the memory of the "oldest
inhabitant" have such exciting times
been seen at the Capitol. At one
time it was necessary to threaten
the whole Democratic minority with
arrest under the mace" but not
even the prospect of that great paci-
ficator entering the lists availed to
restore peace and quiet to the over
wrought members, who showed no
more respect for the supposedly
sacred symbol of authority than
they had previously displayed to-
ward the Speakers shattered gavel.
DOorkeepers who from long SER
vice ought to have been Injured to
such scenes stood spellbound by the
legislative bedlam and permitted
hundreds of spectators to crowd
past them and boldly take the
privilege of the floor Men and
wohen jostled one another and
fought for places in the rear and
around the sides of the hall, while
members who under less strenuous
circumstances would have protested
vigorously against the unwonted in
trusion stood in trance-like amaze
ment at the turbulent scene before
them
When at last it became evident
that the democratic filibuster
against the tariff board bill had
reached point where the post Of
F flee appropriation bill was about to
be sacrificed and an extra session
rendered necessary, whether the
reciprocity bill was reached or not,
the republican leaders gave up and
the administration pet measure
went by the board.
After the passage of the post Of
flee bill and Speaker Cannon had
banged his gavel for the last time,
the scene shifted to one of peace and
good will, with unanimous thanks
to the Speaker and a kindly speech
by neXt-Speaker Clark.
The time-honored custom of turn
ing" back the hands of the clock was
observed in both houses, and while
for official purposes adjournment
was had at noon the time in the
House was actually 12:41 and in
the Senate 1918.
While the trouble in the House,
precipitated by democratic filibus-
ter against the permanent tariff
board passed beyond reason and
parliamentary decorum, the scenes
in the Senate were hardly less dra-
matte. Beginning with the all-night
filibuster on the Lorimer case and
ending with the single-handed fill
buster of Senator Owen and the
resignation of Senator Bailey, the
Senate ended its labors in a series
Of shocks and jolts that gave prom
Use at times of disarranging the
dignity of that stately body.
Not until the last moment was il
certain that the sundry civil bill
delayed by Senator Owens filibuster
against statehood for New Mexico
would be gotten through; and the
sigh Of relief that went out when
that measure passed was stifled by
the gasp of astonishment at Senator
Bailey's resignation because demo
cratic Senators voted in favor of the
Arizona constitution.
Senator Owen began his fight or
the statehood bill at one o'clock or
Saturday morning and continued II
until almost adjournment time, in
spite of remonstrances and plead
ings on the part of his colleague:
the Vice-President, and the Presi
dent, even going so far as to refuse
a conference with the Chief Execu
tive. Senator Owen antagonizeC
statehood for New Mexico on the
ground that it should wait on Ari
zona, so that the new republican
senator's from New Mexico might bt
Offset by the two democrats from
Arizona.
Finally at 1925 he agreed to re
lease his blockade of the appropria
tion bills IL the Senate would vote