The Washington times., 1918-04-09
By w. V. BYARS.

The great sham battle which ragged
on the Republican side Of the Senate
all day yesterday was one of the most
memorable in American history. As
there has never been one like it, we
NAV all hope that there will be no
occasion for another. But since the
occasion has arisen, we may rejoice
without prejudice to any one else
concerned) that the honors belong to
Senator Lawrence Y. Sherman Of
Illinois. He vindicated the central
West. No one could have done 1t
better. No one else in the, Senate
was physically capable of doing it at
all.
Very soon after the chaplain had
concluded his prayer, Senator Sher-
man began trying out his voice on
the gag clauses of the 'disloyalty
BILL" As he began objecting to the
search and seizure clauses Of the
original bill, his tones were rather
low, and not calculated to terrify at
all. These are his usual tones, but
as he judged the right time had come
for the upper register he developed
vocal power to appal which has
been supposed to belong to the sage
brush States only.
Even from. South Carolina, the
Southerners of the Senate have
voices which are usually musical and
habitually mild. This may be due to
heredity. For about four genera
tions in the South a statesman who
used the terrifying tones of his voice
in addressing a constituent or argu-
ing against an opponent could not
reasonably expect that both would
survive. Hence, the Southerners
were in this respect at disadvan-
tage, not really, though apparently,
shared by Senator Sherman.
AS soon as he was sure his voice
was working all the way to the top,
Senator Sherman turned to the seats
Of his Republican colleagues from the
sagebrush and invited the issue
against them, with the Democratic
administration, or any other support
they could rally. behind them.
As far as they accepted the chal-
lenge at all they used in replying
those mild and pleasing tones
through which We usually avoid the
maximum OF mansiaughter. When
there seemed to be the least>tend-
ency toward a terrifying pitch Sena-
tor Sherman permitted his voice TO
rise little higher. At the close he
still seemed to have possibilities in
reserve, but he had won a great vic
tory for the Central West When it
comes to loud and appalling argu-
ment he had brought back the cham
pionship to the Mississippi and the
Lakes from the Upper Missouri, the
Platte, the Yellowstone and the Co
lumbia No one had supposed it pos
sible.
This was apparently a spontaneous
development Of the day. Whether
anything ever does develop sponta-
neously in the Senate is a question
not yet answered by experts. In any
event it may be some time before
another debate in the Senate devel-
ops the terrifying possibilities which
have lain concealed in the human
voice above middle pitch since the
stone hatchet and the war club were
the most civilized means Of commit
ting manslaughter.
Had Senator Sherman been really
opposing the bill he might have rail-
lied support to beat it. He was
speaking, however, to an amendment
proposing to condense into the one
word "disloyal" about half a dozen
amateurish adjectives. Almost any
lawyer, trying TO make the bill seem
lawful under the precedents OF Eng
lish common and American statute
law, would have amended it as he
proposed-not to defeat it, but to
make Il more effective. or Senate
debated in apparent op-
position TO the bill, all will have the
effect Of putting it into more nearly
legal form. The Senate is not really
the bill.
Senator Sherman spoke on many