The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-07
NEAR FIGHT ON z SENATE FLOOR;
 LIE IS PASSED
Senator AShurSt ReSentS Criti- ciSm of Use of Postal
 Frank.

WdslliuSIoll, oepl. i-lH thO SOui So of one of the bitterest partisan de- bates in the Senate in recent years, Senator Ashurst of Arizona, passed the lie to Senator Penrose of Pennsylvania yesteray and rushed across the cham Der and shook his finger in the face of Senator Curtis of Kapsas.
 It all grew out of charge, made during the debate on the Corrupt Practices bill, that Senator .Ashurst, a Democrat, had made an illegal use of the mails through franking to his con- stituents a letter telling of what he had accomplished in the Senate.
 S>2ator Curtis, who is a Republi- can, made the charge. In answering it Senator Ashurst said that before franking the letter he had been assur- ed by Postmaster-Genera Burleson and A. M. Dockery, Third Assistant PostmasterG General, that it was en- tirely proper to do so. To back up his statement. MT. Ashurst produced a communication from MT. Cookery, saying that the letter was permissible under Senator Ashurst's frank. About 50,O00 letters were sent out, according to statements made in the Senate. Senator Owen of Oklahoma had succeeded, after several failures, in having the Senate take up the Corrupt Practices bill. A roll call was neces- sary to do this. Thirty-two Senator's '23 Democrats and g Republicans had voted for MT. Owens motion, and IA Senators-seven Democrats and z Re- publcans-had voted against it. The Republicans who voted to consider the bill were Brady, Clapp, Cummins, Gronna, Jones, Kenyon, La Toilette. Norris and Sterling. The Democrats who voted against the majority of their party-that, against taking up the bill-were Bankhead, Bryan, Fletcher, Hughes, Martin, Simmons aid Thomas.
 Calls Curtis a Pharisee.
 Not long after the discussion began Senator Curtis said that Senator Ashurst had used his mailing frank in an improper manner. Thereupon MT. Ashurst rushed to where the Kansas Senator sat and shaking his finger in Senator Curtis face, called him the "Pharisee from Kansas" The Senate, feeling that there was to be no blood W minutes later the lie passed between the Arkansas Senator and Senator Penrose, who insinuated that the cop per lobby had influenced Senator Ashurst in the action taken to relieve copper from all taxation in the reve- nue bill which was passed by the Sem ate.
 The Corrupt, Practices bill was taken 'lp as a stop-gap until the conferences on the Revenue bill could bring in their report and the session of Con- gress adjourned. There is opposition to the bill on both sides of the cham Der, and a filibuster against it is ex- pected if serious effort is made to pass it at this session. Senator Sim mons told his colleagues that if the bill, could not be voted on without a long fight an effort would be made to set 1t aside for some other measures to fill up the time until the conference report on the Revenue bill was ready for the action of the Senate.
 The Corrupt Practices bill has pass- ed the House and was. reported fa- vorably to the Senate. For nearly two months, Senator Owen, believing the Democratic leaders and the \ma- 1or1ty members of the committee would let the bill go over to next session. has been trying to force consideration of the measure so that it might be ap- piled to the approaching election The Senate today, however, forestalled such an outcome by adopting an amendment proposed by Senator Brady of Idaho making it go into ef- feet on Jan 1, 1917 Under the terms of the bill expenditures for the election of President of the United States shall not exceed s4O0,OO0 and the expenses of the campaigns for the nomination of a President must be kept down to s5o,OOO and of a vice-president to s25,OOO A candi- date for nomination or election for the United States Senate is not al- lowed to spend over s5,O00, and a candidate for the HSuse of Repre-. sentatives must keep Mlthin the sum of s2-5O0. Candidates who violate the law are disqualified and become guilty of a felony as are all classes of per sons who violate any part of the act. A fine not exceeding s1O,000 or inn prisonment for not less than one year or more than two years are imposed.
 A photographic rehearsal of the remarks that followed Senator Cur tis's charge that Senator Ashurst had used the mails improperly would give a violent shock to the old-fashioned idea of senatorial courtesy The first observation by Mir. Ashurst when the Kansas Senator delivered his accusa- ton notified the Senate that trouble was coming.
 
 '"The Senator has sweetbreads for brains" shouted the Arizona Senator. "when he makes such a charge as that this letter should not be franked 'out."
 MT. Ashurst went on to say that he al and Assistant Postmaster Cookery and had shown them the text of the letter, and MT. ,Dockery said that in every particular the4etter was admis- sable under the Senator's frank.
 Senator Curtis handed back the comment that Senator Ashurst, never theless, should have paid the postage one his letter and that every member of the Cabinet was at this time strain ing the law at every point to bring about the reelection of President Wilson.
 Penrose Gets Into It.
 \Senator Penrose here came into the colIoquy with the remark that a very large campaign fund had been /em- pIoyed to elect President Wilson in 1912 and that he had heard reports of