The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-12
WILLIAMS
 OPPOSES TALKFESTS

Washington, December u.-(SpeciaL) Senator John Sharp Williams of Missis- sippi in a formal speech before the Sen
 ate, charges the Senate with being inn potent, with having made god, Verbo-
 logy, in it's own image. and with impos- ing a cost on the government three times
 the cost of the House of Lords.
 Senator Williams spoke when Senator LaFollette and Senator Lenroot of Wis consin prevented the Senate from break ing all precedents. For within the space
 of single week the Senate had argued and was prepared to vote, on measure of vital importance, the Cummins rail
 road bill. But when the vote was called
 for. the Wisconsins raised technical oo-
 jections, and the measure went back step or two, instead of forward. That fact prompted the following un- usual remarks by tre Mississippi sena-
 tor:
 Mir, President. this is a wonderful body. Disraeli wrote his "Curiosities of
 Literature but if anybody wants to write a history of the Senate of the United States during the last three years. Curiosity of Legislation senator
 pretending like he has come into the Senate to hear another senator talk about something that does not interest him and concerning which he has formed his own opinion; a man getting up in the Senate to talk not with the idea of informing the Senate and not with the idea of in forming the country. but with the idea of semi-informing himself. is an actor
 in this drama book entitle, "Curiositles
 of American Legislation
 The senator from Corolado (Mr. Thom-
 as) is entirely wrong when he thinks that the absence of members from this
 chamber inricates a lask of interest in
 the subject matter. It generally indi- cates that they have taken an interest in the subject matter and have already come to a conclusion. That is proven by the fact that whenever you get bill
 up on a vive voce vote, with trick amendments offered every now and then, the Senate is full of it's members, because every senator wants to be there on that particular question. He has no con sidered it. he wants to hear what is said about it.
 But when you come to a great aues- tion that the country has considered, that capital and labor and the public have considered and concerning which they have come to a conclusion in the opinion of the individual senator, then he does not want to waste his time hearing an- other senator verbalize.
 There is no question presented to the Senate since I have been here that has been more thoroughly considered than this one by the senators. by individuals, by the newspapers, by the laboring men, by the capitalists, by the consuming pub lie; and I deny that we ought to go back ward in order to enable somebody like the senator from Wisconsin, who imagines he has neglected to say something that he thinks is of great importance, to get an opportunity to try it.
 I have not uttered word upon the bilf I am not uttering word upon 1t now, much; but I deny that simply be- cause I am not gifted with an acute sense of hearing, I cannot read l also deny that because I am satisfied with my own opinion concerning the subject mat ter that it is absolutely necessary for me to listen to somebody else's verbal ization of his opinion-and ''verbaliza- tion' is about the right phrase for it.
 I do not know what one days session of the Senate costs. have never count ed it up. I do know the annual ex- penses of the Senate of the United States are three times those of the House Of Lords of Great Britain. I once had oc- casion to count that up when l was chairman of the committee to audit and control the contingent expenses Of