Evening star., 1915-12-04
Leads Clarke Opposition.

Also Senator Stone, who made a most
hitter attack upon the "boltsrs' during
the last Congress, was a leader in the
effort to have Senator Clarke defeated.
In his speech before the caucus yester-
day afternoon Senator Stone said that
he admitted that Senator Clarke had a
right to vote as he pleased on any
measure. He said, however, that the
office of President pro tempore had been
given to Senator Clarke two years ago
in order to aid the Arkansan in his
fight for reelection to the Senate, ana
for the same reason, Senator Stone
said, the office ought now to be given
to Senator Pomerene, who is having a
hard fight for reelection.
But before he gave his support to
either candidate Senator Stone said
that he would like to have two ques-
tions answered. These questions, he
said, were as follows:
DO you favor the shipping bill that
Is to be presented for consideration at
the coming session OF Congress?
DO you favor cloture and Will you
support the democrats in their effort
to obtain it?'
Neither of the candidates replied to
these questions, and Senator Gore OF
Oklahoma, a supporter of Senator
Clarke, in sarcastic vein suggested
that if candidates for President pro
tempore were to be pledged, as Sen
ator Stone suggested, it might be as
well to go further. He added:
The venerable senator from Missouri
has done only half his duty in pro-
pounding his questions He should
have asked each of these senators II
they would guarantee to rule always
in favor of democrats, regardless of
the rules of the Senate or of the Con
stitution of the United States. He
should have made these gentlemen
pledge themselves never to vote to con-
firm any man nominated to be a federal
Judge unless that nominee, in advance,
agreed that in all cases before him
where there were democratic and re-
publican lawyers and litigants he
would render his decisions in favor OF
the democrats as against the repub-
licans. II We are to have guarantees
let us by all means extend their scope.
Only Seeks Democratic Support.
To this Senator Stone replied that
every one knew that the administration
was going to urge the enactment of a
ship purchase bill, and that only by
the adoption of cloture rule would 1t
be possible for the democrats to curb
the republican minority and legislate.
All he wanted, he said, was the as
surance that democratic measures
would have democratic support. Every
had done much to defeat the ship pur-
chase bill last session. and senators In
voting for President pro tempore
should look into the future
Senator Newlands of Nevada came y
the defense of Senator Clarke, assert
ing that no democrat should be pun :
ished for holding fast to ancient demo-
cratic traditions He contended that
the government ownership of merchant
ships was an advance in state social
ism and that the democratic party had
never committed itself to such a doc
trine.
When the roll was called Senator
Stone at first said that he would vote
for Senator Walsh of Montana, since
neither of the candidates had answered
his questions But later he changed his
vote to Senator Pomerene. Senator
Clarke and Senator Pomerene paid each
other the courtesy of voting each for
his opponent.
There were five absent democratic
senators-Shively of Indiana, Lea Of