The Ocala evening star., 1915-02-13
SENATOR BRYAN's POSITION

In a letter to a personal friend,
Senator Bryan definitely states as
follows his position toward the ship
purchase bill:
l received your telegram yesterday
afternoon and sent you a telegram in
reply. / find that the telegram / sent
states that / voted against the motion
to recommit. Of course that motion
has not been voted upon. ] intended
to say that it was my intention to
vote against it as offered by Senator
Clarke
| had heard before receiving your
telegram that Senator Smith and |
had been represented by the Associat-
ed Press as being included with the
seven senator's who had joined with
the republicans to defeat the shipping
bill The headlines in the Times
Union state this as fact, but the
dispatch itself does not bear out the
headlines, and of course it is contrary
to the fact, for the very simple reason
upon. The only vote that has been
taken has been upon the parliament
! ary status of the bill. The constitu-
tion provides, as you know, that one
fifth of the members present can re-
quire the yeas and nays to be entered
upon the record. This demand had
been made according to the usual Gus
tom of the Senate by holding up
hands. Senator Clarke subsequently
moved to Fecommit the bill. Senator
Fletcher raised the point of order that
the motion could not be entertained,
because the yeas and nays had been
ordered on the substitute. The vice
president sustained the point of
order. Senator Clarke appealed from
the decision of the chair. The ques-
ton then was should the decision of
the chair stand as the decision of the
Senate. Senator Smith and voted
mo" That is to say. we did not be-
lieve the point of order was well TAX
en-; and we only had to wait eighteen
hours for our position to be justified
by events, because, within that time,
the democratic caucus decided that
the only way to save the bill was to
move to recommit with instructions
to put on amendments, in order to Sc
. cure the votes of Norris and Kenyon.
So the pending question now is the
= Clarke motion to recommit with
amendments insisted upon by Norris
and Kenyon, as the price of their sup
port of the bill. Now, if the vice pres
ident was right, vote would have
) been taken upon the substitute, and
j admittedly, it would have been de,
|. feated.
4 This but illustrates again the alb
surdity and felly of constituting the
< rules in order to accomplish tenn
: porary purpose. If the position taker
e by the vice president and sustained By
b all but nine of the democrats present
e was correct, consider what It wouiC
r mean. Let US take a House bill
S which has been referred to a com
y mittee, the committee reports it witt
r numerous amendments, very much i'm
d proving the bill. When it is reachet
on the calendar, one-ffth of thos'
It present demand the yeas and nays
?, and the House bill then, under tn
n vice presidents ruling, must be votes
d upon unamended. One-fifth of tn
e senator's then could keep four-ffth
d from amending the bill. The PROPOSE
e ton need only be stated to show it
n, absurdity. Now, turn TO the rules
.e Rule 18 provides for amendments an
d substitutes, and throughout the rule
Ie the principle of the widest latitude i
le amendments is recognized and author
n lied. Rule % provides that when
II question is pending, no motion sha
D. be received but to adjourn, to take
1t recess, lay on the table, postpone II
er definitely, to commit and to amend
A. Rule Is provides that it shall be
se order, at any time, before the passag
y of bill, even when it has been OF
in dered to third reading, to move il
commitment.
r. Now, as to the bill itself, the pres
Id dent, in his message, asked for tn
is bill to build up trade with South An
a erica and, as introduced, it was limit
h, ed to South America, although it ha