The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1914-01-10
CURRENCY BILL DELAY IN THE
i SENATE PRovokEs LEADERS
OF THE MAJORITY.
MAY ADOPT THE HOUSE PLAN
Shutting on Of Unlimited Debate,
However, Would Be strenuously
Opposed by Many Senators,
Of Both Parties.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

v
sons currency bill may be the cause
or forcing an issue on the senate Of
the United States, that of the wisdom
Oh the adoption Of cloture rule SINH
lar to the one which has been In oper-
alton in the house of representatives
for years out OF mind.
Is the Glass-Owen currency law, for
as such 1t will be known although 1t
might have Wilson imprinted on It,
TO bring about a change In the pro-
cedure of the senate of the United
States? Is the senate to lose its
name as the most 'deliberative body
in the world. or is 1t to be allowed to
go on In Its old way, way of talk
at times seemingly unending, talk
that on more than one occasion has
caused the death of bills which the
people would have preferred to be
endowed with life?
Leading Democrats in Washington
are advocating the adoption of SEN
ate rules which will give the majority
the power to fix the day on which q
bill must be voted upon, to limit de-
bate to any measure and to make GER
tain that March and March 4 in the
years of short sessions, and the last
two days Of the years of long sessions,
shall not witness senators spelling
one another" In speech In order to
compass the failure Of some piece of
legislation to which three or four of
them object.
Once Threatened by Republicans.
Republican leaders are criticising
sharply the plan Of the Democrats to
limit senate debate. Republican lead
ers are saying that never did they
threaten or even suggest that the
right OF free and unlimited speech
should be denied to any senator of the
United States. The old party men
have short memories.
BY coincidence 1t was the last cur
rency bill which was passed by the
United States congress which brought
from the Republicans threat that I'M
less opposing senators should forego
their intention to talk the bill to death
It might be necessary for the Republic
an majority to adopt the cloture rule
of the house and to prevent such
talking to death" occurrence In the
future.
1t was during the Roosevelt admin
istration that the Aldrich currency bill
was passed Senators La Toilette, Re-
publican, and Stone and Gore, Demo
Gratis, were opposed to the bill and
they entered into a compact to relay
one another In speech until the close
OF the session. SO that the bill could
not be put to a vote. This compact
conspiracy. the Republicans called 1t
failed only because Senator Gore
was blind. He thought Stone OF Mis-
souri, was in his seat ready to take up
the talk at the point where the Okla
homan should drop It. Stone was not
there. There was lapse, and the
vice-president put the bill to a vote
and it was passed, only few hours
before the close OF the session would
have brought It's death.
The Republicans on this currency
bill have been doing just exactly what
they condemned In La Toilette, Stone
and Gore on another occasion. Now
the Democrats are doing the con-
demning and It is the give and take
of the party systems. q
Would Arouse Opposition. \
There are Republicans and Demo
Gratis both, who maintain that cloture
for the senate would be good thing
provided 1t could be limited in its
scope, but this admittedly Is impossi-
BILE. No party majority in the senate
would dare to rule that certain bills
should be voted on at a certain date
and that debate should be restricted.
while giving sanction to as much talk
as any one chose to engage In on
other measures. Such an elastic rule
would bring trouble in minute, not
only from the minority, but from men,
bers Of the majority, perhaps few in
number, who either wish for for full
expression on a clotured bill or else
wanted cloture on some bill to which
the rule was not applied.
There is some Democratic opposi-
ton to the application In the senate
of the house rule for closing debate
and forcing a vote, but In the main
the leaders seem to be In favor of a
change which will enable the present
majority to get all of Mr.. Wilson's
legislation through in due season.
Most of the Republicans will oppose
such change in the rules. The ques-
ton is whether the Democrats will
attempt to make q party measure of
their plan and TO force 1t through by
a party majority. II they do this, Mr..
Wilson's legislation will be expedited
in its passage. but II they refuse to do
II the country can expect Just as long
. senate on the antitrust bill as they
had on the tariff and longer debate
than they had on the currency.
suffrapIsts Must Wait.
While many leaders OF the suffrage
are camped in Washington
and have announced their intention
to stay here until congress shall act
on the subject of suffrage amend
ment to the constitution, there seems
to be no likelihood that the house
on rules will give any con-
for at least a month. to
~ xloc - A. rxt.k g.