The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-14
D0n0van--HObs0n
Debate In Congress;
Underwood Joins In
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Continued from Page -
Mr.. Donovan. r.. Speaker, before
say anything on the question / would
like to have three or four minutes IN
addition to my ten for fear l may not
finish in ten minutes.
Mr.. Thomas. Make it five minutes.
Mr.. Donovan. I will ask for five
minutes more
The Speaker. The gentleman from
Connecticut asks unanimous consent
that his time may be increased five
minutes. Is there objection?
There was no objection
The Speaker. The gentleman from
Connecticut is recognized for fifteen
minutes.
Mr. Donovan. Mr.. Speaker, with
just a quotation from the New York
World shall conf1ne what I have to
say to matters that took place or that
have failed to take place in this body.
What brought about this my part
was the fact that we had been here
day after day with a very small at
tendance. This great money bill came
along, which, in my opinion, was a,
greater measure than the tariff meas
ure.
The conference report came in about
the same time. AS everyone knows,
this money bill took two or three
weeks to settle, and all these men
that had taken in caucus a prominent
part in the conference report took a
very passive part in the passing of
the money bill. 1 said one day, What
has become of all these great men?
Some one called attention to the fact
that the gentleman from Alabama ONT.
Hobson), who addressed u.s. was hard
~ ever here. 1t occurred to me that
that was true. To me it appeared
strange, Mr.. Speaker, that a man gift
ed as he is, so capable of illustrating
his ideas, should absent himself.
Il n haf fho T.1TIo no
we all have to agree to when the Mem
Der says to the occupant of the Speak
er's rostrum, 81 take this obligation
freely, without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion, and will faith
fully discharge the duties of the Of
(reading from oath administered to
Members of the House upon taking
their seats).
Did some enemy of that great gen
tleEnan from Alabama (Mr. Hobson)
put that oath in the books in order to
get him in trouble at some later day?
(Laughter.) Just the other day on the
floor of this House I heard our great
Speaker say that it did not meet the
question to have the pot call the ket-
tie black, but it seems to be ethical
with the gentleman from Alabama
(Mr. Hobson) that in getting out a hole
he shall pull somebody else into it.
That would be a fine way to repair a
wagon on the highway. If you have
one wagon in a mud hole, pull another
one in it.
Mr.. Speaker, there is no one present
in this body as a Member of it, -or
in any other Legislative body of which
I have been a member, who would say
that I hesitate to speak the truth. 1t
would make no difference to me wheth-
er the man of whom I spoke is a.
member of my party or of some other
D9TfV US FRY RI Il he
truth. I have no stock in trade but
the truth and if I have made a state
ment about the gentleman that is not
true am sorry. I made it honestly,
and made it as I say
Mr.. Hobson rose.
Mr.. Donovan. Oh, I refuse to be in
terrupted. My time is limited. OF
course, Mr.. Speaker, if I had any
idea that this was to be turned to an
artful purpose, used to parade the
gent1eman's hold upon the public, or
used to take advantage of the public.
then I apologize to the other Members
of the body for having been the cause
of such thing.
Mr.. Speaker, will supplement my
statement of absenteeisrn more fully
and clearly. I take the gentleman as
he appears from the amateur stage,
W hen he graduated, and leave out
his first term. Let US take now the
Sixty-first Congress. In the first SEES
sion of the Sixty-hrst Congress there
were 81 roll caIls-61 yea nd-nay;
votes. This most delightful character
was absent II times, voting 26. He
voted once to make a quorum and
once on the question of a quorum he
failed to vote Let me repeat that.
The gentleman was absent 12 times in
the session of the Sixty-first Congress-
He voted with our friends upon the
other side, the Republicans, 6 times as
against II. He voted once to make
a quorum and on the question of a
quorum, once he failed to vote. Tween
ty-six times he voted.
Underwood stated that in framing
the tariff law he had started in by
putting everything produced in his
own district on the free list in order
that no man could say that he was
actuated by selfish motives. He chal-
lenged Captain Hobson to find one in
stance in his record of 1S years in the
House where his vote had been
against the masses or inconsistent with
the platform of his party. On the
other hand he recited instances where
Captain Hobson had voted with the
Republicans. including a. vote against
free lumber. The floor leader was
loudly applauded as was Mr.. Dono-
van who had asked for ten minutes in
order to reply to Captain Hobson.
Mr.. Donovan spoke as follows:
In the second session of the Sixty
first Congress the books show that he
was absent So times, and according to.
the books in that second session of
the Sixty-frst Congress he voted 60
times-2 times more than he was abb
sent. In that same second session of
the Sixty-hrst Congress. he voted with
the stand-pat Republicans, which was
a delightful pleasure, as the books will
show, times, and in that Congress he
voted 10 times to make a quorum, and
that was the extent of dhis vote He
voted present times, and he failed to
vote on the question of making a quo
rum IL times. In the third session of
the Sixty-first Congress he did not
vote 43 times. He voted SO times. He
did 2 little better. that time. He voted