Evening star., 1916-07-29
SENATE RESUMES
D. c. BILL DEBATE
Discussion Is on Works Plan
for Abolition of HALF
and-HaIf.
PR0HIBITlONISTS INSIST
ON THEIR AMENDMENT
Senator Clark of Arkansas Balks Re-
quest for Unanimous Consent to
Appeal From Ruling.


considered general legislation. but was
special legislation when attached to the
District appropriation bill, Senators Jones,
Sheppard and other prohibition supporters
planned to offer the District prohibition
bill as an amendment to the pending bill.
They reasoned that If the Works
amendment, dealing with the District
government, could be considered special
legislation and not general. then the pro-
hibition measure should be put in the
same category.
Little Prospect for Amendment.
The prospect for placing a prohibi-
tion amendment in the bill did not
appear bright, according to Senator
Sheppard Of Texas. leader Of the pro-
hibition forces in the Senate.
Senator Sheppard said it was doubt
ful that such an amendment would be
bill, Notwithstanding the ruling of the
Vice President holding in order the
Works amendment changing the form
of government in the District. He
pointed out also that that ruling might
be upset today.
The District prohibition bill occupies
a place on the Senate calendar, and
we expect to be able to get it up at the
next session of Congress, even If not
before adjournment this session." said
will attempt to attach it to the Dis
trict appropriation bill. Such an at
tempt failed last Congress. OF course,
if some unforeseen development in the
day we may seek to attach the pro-
hibition bill to the District bill"
When other senators had ascertained
the far-reaching effect of the ruling
of the Vice President. an attempt was
made to appeal from the decision of
the chair. But Senator Jones pointed
out that other business had intervened
between the announcement of the chair
and the attempted appeal and that,
therefore, the appeal came too late.
Vice President Expected an Appeal.
After a discussion of the parliament
tary situation, the Vice President made
request of the Senate that the appeal
be permitted, saying that his ruling on
a point of order made by Senator Smith
of Maryland, against the Works
amendment had been made in the be-
lief that an appeal would be taken
itself Senator Lee of Maryland, Sem
ator Stone of Missouri and Senator
Hardwick of Georgia and others
strongly uged that an appeal be
taken, pointing out that If the ruling
was allowed to stand any general leg
islation could be attached to the Dis
trict appropriation bill in the future.
The request for unanimous consent
that the appeal be taken was objected
to by Senator Clark of Arkansas, who
insisted that the whole matter go over
until today so that the senators could
have the printed record of the pno-
ceedings and the Vice Presidents rul-
ing before them when called upon to
act
The Senate yesterday failed to con-
clude it's consideration of the Works
amendment. though the debate con-
tinued throughout the day. Strong op-
position to the Works amendment. and
also to the House plan for doing away
with the half and half system, de-
veloped during the discussion SEN
ators Chamberlain, Curtis, Salisbury,
ment against the abolition of the half
and half plan until some adequate sub
stitute had been devised.
They pointed out in striking down the
half-and-half plan the House had given
evidence of what the District might ex-
pect from Congress if there was no fixed
proportion of the District expenses to
be paid by the United States. They
showed how the House had proposed
to take some seven or eight millions of
dollars from the people Of the District
and add to it only about three millions
from the federal Treasury to pay the
expenses Of the National Capital.
Senator Gallinger pointed out that
while the Senate committee and the
Senate itself had added some three mil
lions of dollars to the House bill. there
was little reason to believe that when
the bill went to conference more than
half Of this increase could be retained
no matter how hard the Senate con-
ferees might struggle.
Position of Senator Chiffon.
Senator Chiffon, chairman of the joint
select committee. which made the in
vestigation last fall into the fiscal re-
lations of the United States and the
District of Columbia. found himself in
direct opposition to the other two Sem
ate members of the joint committee,
House bill carried out in principle the
of the joint commit
tee. The other two members OF the
committee, Senators Salisbury and
no such thing. Senator Works has
offered a plan of his own to substitute
for the House rider doing away with
the half-and-half plan. and Senator
Salisbury insists that the half-and-half
plan must be retained until some care
fully framed and adequate plan is sub
+stituted. He told the Senate that he
never would have signed the report OF
the joint committee had he not believed
that the half-and- half plan would be
j
tenn had been enacted into law.
Senator Chamberlain declared that
there was great need for many I'M
provements in the District He
described, in detail, the Washington
Asylum Hospital, which. he said, was
the disgrace of the National Capital
The fault lay with Congress, he in
sisted. He pointed out that the
District commissioners have estimated
time and again for much needed
only to have their
estimates slashed to pieces by
the House. How. he asked, could
any one expect Congress to appropri-
ate more literally from the govern
ment funds for the District when it
was niggardly in it's appropriation,
when it had only to put up dollar for
dollar with the District He said that
Senator Works and Senator Chiffon
were indulging in optimistic delusions
when they asserted that by doing away
with the half-and-half plan the way
would be open for the larger and more
liberal appropriations for the District.
Defends Half-and-HaH Plan.
Senator Gallinger said in defending |
the half-and-half plan:
"I do not know how it may be In
other parts of the country, but know |