Evening star., 1916-12-08
RIVERS CONGRESS
ENDS WITH scene
w. J. Kehoe Tries to Force
Resolution for District
Suffrage. II
SEEKING PUBLIC ATTENTION

The final sessions of the Rational
Rivers and Harbors Congress at the New
Willard Hotel today were enlivened
made by W. J. Kehoe, a Washingtonian.
to have the congress approve efforts
which have been made by some citizens
of the District of Columbia to gain
suffrage, the convention refusing such
approval amid disorder which took the
repeated efforts of the presiding officer
and the sergeant-at-a to halt.
When the report of the committee on
resolutions was presented 1t. developed
that Mr.. Kehoe had offered the COM
mittee a resolution. which it had
refused to bring in. on the subject
of suffrage for the District, and Mr..
Kehoe demanded that the convention
hear him. although Emil p. Albrecht
of Philadelphia. the presiding officer.
had ruled his resolution out of order
as not connected with the subject of
river and harbor improvements. to
which the national congress devotes
itself
Is Held in His Seat.
tFles OF Ut nIHi out, call Ino
sergeant-at-arms," etc. rang through
the ballroom of the willard as Mr..
kehoe endeavored TO force his voice
above a banging gavel, and Mr.. kehoe
was held in his seat, with Sergeant-at-
Arms Martin beside him. as the con-
vention, under Mr.. Albrecht's direction.
proceeded with its regular work. Mr..
kehoe's name a vice president OF the
congress, for the District of Columbia.
had been brought in by the committee
on nominations and approved. but
when he finally was heard by the
convention, he declared that he intend
ed to defeat every rivers and harbors
bill before Congress in future. and the
! convention then reconsidered the APP
proval of the nominating committees
| report, striking out Mr. kehoes name
| as an officer of the congress. and also
expunging from the record the speech
| he had made.
! The resolution Mr.. kehoe tried TO
have considered was as follows:
This Congress heartily approves the
| efforts of the citizens of the District OF
| Columbia to have said District lncor-
porated (by constitutional iamendmeneD
/ into the Union a state undef tne
| provisions of the census act of the year
| 1910"
! Was Seeking Public Attention.
| After the convention was at an end.
| Mr.. Kehoe stated informally in the lob
| by that his sole object in forcing his
/ resolution upon the attention of the
congress was to gain public attention
! for the cause of suffrage in the Dis
trict.
IT was not angry" he said. land the
gentlemen opposing me were not an
gry.'
The convention adopted lengthy
resolutions in favor of a public policy
of waterways improvements and the
enactment of annual rivers and har-
bors bills. The Congress urged "A COM
plete coordination of service between
railways and waterways. The Con-
| gress Of the United States was urged
| in the resolutions to amend the law
so as to empower the interstate COM
merce commission to fix minimum as
well as maximum rateA Water termi-
/ nails were declared to be essential to
the development of waterborne traffic
One important paragraph in the resolu-
tions was that mo waterway project
| is authorized by the federal Congress
which has not been eXhaustively ex-
amined by the Corps of United States
| Engineers under provision of law, and
| with all deliberation this congress sub
mits to the public its mistaken con-
! fdence in the Corps of United States
Army Engineers.