The Washington herald., 1914-03-27

convention campaign, declared that by
his antagonism to the President on the
tolls question the Speaker was digging
his own political grave"
From private expressions Of Democrats.
lit II apparent that the leaders feel the
future Of the party and hope OF power
for generation rests entirely upon the
outcome of the tolls fight and the serious
ness Of the breach which many feel now
Ia unavoidable.
After an unexpected flibuster brought
about by Chairman Fitzgerald. of the
Appropriations Committee, through the
medium OF conference report on the
urgent deficiency bill. the House finally
got down to consideration Of the special
rule on the tolls question late yester-
day afternoon. At q morning meeting
of the Rules Committee the rule was
amended TO permit of twenty, instead of
fifteen, hours debate. a wise tactical
move on the part of the pro-repeal Demo-
Gratis. After some discussion IL was
agreed debate on the rule itself should
be permitted to run on for three hours
As most of the debate allowed on the
rule turned altogether on the merits Of
the tolls controversy, the House will
listen to something more than twenty
four hours debate on the question alto
gether.
Arguments Are Outlined.
Aside from the attacks on the rule.
arguments on which the opposing
sides will depend largely. The line
up will be: The National Honor"
on one side. and the charge that We are
trucking to Great Britain" on the
other.
Chairman Henry. OF the Rules Conn
mittee, for the repeal: Minority Leader
Mann against the rule and the repeal;
Progressive Leader Murdock, against
rule and repeal; Representative Camp
bell, or Kansas, against rule and repeal;
Representative Lenroot, OF Wisconsin,
against the rule and for the repeal; Rep
resentative Pou, of North Carolina, for
the rule and the repeal; Representative
swager Sherley. Of Kentucky. for the
rule and the repeal. and Chairman Flood,
Of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for
the rule and the repeal, were among the
speakers yesterday.
When the House adjourned unexpected
ly little after o'clock. fifty minutes
yet remained for debate on the rule. The
fight will be resumed when the House
meets at noon today. 1t probably will
be after o'clock before the House
resolves itself into Committee of the
Whole for general debate on the Sims
repeal bill
Throngs in Galleries.
An Indication Of the interest that
Washington and the country is showing
in the repeal fight was found in the
crowded galleries yesterday. Long be-
fore the House met at noon, not a seat
was vacant except in the diplomatic ard
executive galleries Spectators were glad
to find seats on the steps, or to crane
their necks from the doorways- And
when the House adjourned more than
six hours later. there were not fifty
vacant seats among the thousand-odd
seats in the galleries.
Representative Swager Sherley, of Ken
lucky, made the strongest speech Of the
afternoon in ten minutes. Sherley is sup
porting the President and the rule.
Representative Sherley said in part:
THE gentleman from Kansas was right
when he said that in a little while men
and parties pass away and are OF no
Importance and / had hoped that, like
Saul OF Tarsus. he had seen a sudden
light that would have enabled him to
conclude that opening sentence right:
Men will pass away. parties will pass
away, but the honor OF a nation cannot
be trampled to the ground and its effect
pass away
I'VE come here with no apology. The
people of the country are not so much
interested in what platforms say as they
are in whether or not what we do here
is right or wrong. Much has been said
\ that II Is an American canal. i also
believe that II Is an American canal.
| i believe in our fight to control II in
all ways necessary to our political well
| fare.
when many men now silent were vo-
ciferous in their protests, l raised my
voice in favor of fortifying the canal.
| because I believed 1t an American canal.
But there is a difference between our
rights as a sovereign touching matters
| that affect US in a political sense and our
| obligations to the world touching the
commercial use of the canal For seven
ty-five years We have held out to the
world the promise that we would build
the canal for no narrow commercial ad
vantage. 1t was in that spirit that We
entered into our negotiations. More than
that during the time that we were a
weak nation. from the time of Jefferson,
we declared that the ocean belongs to
all men and that the rivers to the in
habitants thereof We have denied the
right to close the seas.
Now We have built a great canal, and
men here today would have US sacrifice
the nations honor for the sake of a
monopoly in America"
Cowards Fear MisunderstandinE.
Now we would undertake. to dim
the luster of that great undertaking
by aiding a special privilege and ex-
emption for American ships. This Is
why the President of the United States.
big enough to look beyond the pass
ing events, seeing the nations honor
as IL is viewed not only here but by
the civilized world, comes and asks
you to repeal.
.Men get excited over what they
claim. a base surrender. Let me say
now that 1 never yet knew q strong
man who feared to do what was right
because his motives might be misun-
derstood. 1t In the coward who fears
to take q position lest some one call
his craven"
Mann Attacks Rule.
Minority Leader Mann was one Of the
few speakers who vigorously attacked the
rule. Representative Lenroot. who favors
the repeal, was another, and Progressive
Leader Victor Murdock also paid his re-
spects to gag rule"
Mr.. Mann told the House that II had
rass>d m, n characterization of the