The Washington herald., 1913-11-27
CAUCUS RUSHES
CURRENCY BILL
Senate to Hold Morning and
Night Sessions to Pass
Measure.
LAW BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Endeavor Will Be Made to Enact Leg.
islation Before Holidays-Hiteh-
. cock Not at Meeting.

Democratic Senators in party confer
ence yesterday decided to resort to ex-
treme measures to expedite the currency
legislation. They voted to impose night
sessions, commencing Monday, and forgo
the usual holiday recess of Congress, I'M
less the currency bill has been passed
in the meantime.
The Democratic caucus will continue
throughout this week. 1t was in session
last night and while the Senate will ad-
journ today on account of Thanksgiving
Day, Democratic Senators will continue
their party caucus on Capitol Hill. The
Senate adjourned over until Saturday.
The resolution imposing night sessions
and providing for daily sessions of the
Senate to begin at 10 O'Clock in the morn
ing and eliminating the holiday recess,
was offered by Senator OGorman of
New York. 1t is as follows:
Resolved, That it is the sense of this
conference that beginning on the first day
Of December, 1913, the Senate should
meet at 10 O'clock m. and should sit
until p. m; recess until p. m. and sit
until IL p. m. each day until the currency
bill be voted upon; and that no Christmas
recess be taken except for Christmas Day.
unless the currency bill be passed prior
thereto, the adjournment being from the
24th until the 18th of December"
Second Resolution Passed.
Following the adoption of this resolu-
ton, another was passed continuing the
conference or party caucus, as follows:
Resolved, That the conference recon-
vene Immediately after the adjournment
of the Senate, and continue during the
rest of this week, unless the consideration
of the banking and currency bill sooner is
terminated"
The action taken was wholly uneX-
pected to the Republicans, and it was
not seriously considered by the Demo-
cratic Senators until after they were as
sembled in caucus.
THE bill will certainly be passed be.
fore the Christmas holidays and 1 believe
We will be able to pass it before De-
cember b. said Senator OGorman, after
the party caucus had adjourned. The
Senator explained that his prediction was
not based on his own judgment alone.
but that some OF the Republican Senators
had predicted the passage of the bill be-
fore the date he had named.
Republican Senators were considerably
disconnected when they learned of the
action taken by the Democrats. All of
them denounced it as unprecedented and
likely TO fail of the results sought to b.
obtained by thus putting on the screws.
1t was evident, after the Democratic
caucus got under way, that a general
feeling of alarm, bordering on a panic,
had seized the leaders.
Practically every Democratic Senator
voted for the O'Gorman resolution and
announced his willingness to take up the
currency bill as a party measure.
Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska, who
Joined the Republican members of the
Banking and Currency Committee in a
report on a bill, did not go into the
Republicans generally regard the action
taken by the caucus as an effort to COM
pei the Senate to acquiesce in the Demo-
cratic program for currency legislation.
in order to enjoy a holiday recess for
In view of the fact that Con-
gress has been held in continuous session
since last April, and is now confronted
with a prospect of prolonging that ses-
sion until midsummer, Republican Sem
ators declared that the action taken was
extraordinary"