Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-03-24
COMING FIGHT FOR SPEAKERSHIP NOT
 LIKE PAST ONES

LIKE PAST ONES l When the house of representatives
 of the sixty-fifth congress assemblies for the extra session next month it will find the two parties lined up with
 a smaller difference in numbers than lever before: and it is this small diff ference, which is expected to result in a sharp fight for the speakership,
 which is causing the students of his- tory and parliamentary precedents to dive into the volumes telling of for Inner close contests at the capitol. AL
 though the present political status
 is extremely interesting, there are no
 such bitter issues at stake as those l which tore the country in the days
 preceding the civil war.
 I In the twdnty-sixth congress the or ganization If the house was delayed three weeks lon account of a contest in
 the New Jgrsey delegation, the five
 candidates who had been returned as
 elected at large having their seats
 contested bf the five Democratic can-
 didates on, the ground of miscount 1 in one co,1nty. For three days the
 clerk, who under the rules always pre-
 sides drfing the election of a speaker, refused to put any motions save to adjoyfn, and the proceedings were very disorderly. John Quincy Ad
 ans, former president of the United States, having become disgusted with the behavior of the clerk, took the chair, called the house to order and declared that he would entertain any parliamentary motions. The first mo- +c o1a 1 En1s fov,o and he presided for two weeks, until Robert M. P. Hunter of Virginia, al Whig, was elected speaker.
 Thirty-first Congress Badly Mixed.
 The thirty-first congress was badly mixed up politically, neither party 1 having majority. There were 110I Democarts, 105 Wings, and nine Free Sellers. The latter refused to vote for either the Whig or Democratic candidates for speaker, and after six ty-two fruitless ballots agreed that on next ballot a plurality should elect. Howell Cobb of Georgia, a Democrat, was then elected speaker.
 The thirty-fourth congress was an- other "conglomerate" body, the Demo- crats having a small majority in the senate, and neither party majority in the house. There were 1Q8 "anti-Ne- braska" and Republican members, 83 Democrats and 43 Americans and Southern Whigs. After 133 ballots had been taken without result it was agreed that a plurality should elect, and NathanieIlP. Banks, IT,, of Massa- chusetts, an anti Nebraska Republican, was elected speaker.
 When South Was Not Solid. < The thirty-sixth congress was equal ly "conglomerate," the Democrats controlling the senate and no party controlling the house. The Democrats had 101 members, the Republicans 113 and the Americans 23. These latter were all from the South, except four. The Republicans were loosely organ ized. There was no majority and a serious situation confronted the Re- publif ans if they wished to place their speaker in the chair. There were six teen candidates on the first ballot. l J6An Sherman of Ohio received 66 of 'th& Republican votes and Galusha A. l .Grbw of Pennsylvania received 43, while Representative Bocock of Vir- ginia, Democrat, led with 86. Rep- resentative Grow withdrew his name and John Sherman took the lead. But Sherman's indorsement of Help er's Impending Crisis" an abolition ist's book, was made an excuse by Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky and Henry Winter Davis of Maryland for ssbolting" his nomination, and after two months of fruitless balloting-M Sherman several times lacking but two votes for election-William Penning- ton of New Jersey was elected speak fer.
 Drops Gun; Overwhelmed. k@. Personal encounters were narrowly averted during this long struggle over the speakship. Branch of North Caro- liAa challenged Grow of Pennsylvania. There were threats of killings and as- saults. There were arrests of members who became too obstreperous and noisy. Representative Haskin, Dem- ocrat of New York, made so many wild |;gestures in an impassioned speech that he dislodged a revolver from his own |pocket, and the weapon fell upon the floor with thump. Many members believed he had drawn the gun to shoot, and Haskin was carried to the floor beneath the rush of wild and furious colleagues.
 Remington was dark horse can rd3ff6Ate. No one had heard of him in national sense. In all of the mud scattering he had remained clean, and Ithis won for him the speakers chair. With him the Republicans won the house. Pennington and Clay are the only two men who have been elected
 ,peaker in their first terms, except,
 scourse, Muhlenberg, the speaker of
 e first house.
 t % IN HENRIK CLASS.