Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-05

One of the things that will not APP
pear in the Congressional Record is
the inside history of the Senate fill
buster which turned the closing SEES
sion of the Senate on July into a
farce The principal effect, if not
the deliberate intent. of the time kill
ing plot was to Illustrate action on
Senator Neely'S resolution dfSquallfy-
ing Senators elect who spend more
than S25, 900 in their campaigns. The
resolution, which had the unanimous
approval of the rules committee, was
the outgrowth of the Pennsylvania
slush fund exposures. The man most
interested in preventing either dlScus'
sion or passage Of the resolution was
Senator David Aiken Reed. Repubil-
can. of Pennsylvania. The day before
Reed fought bitter, all-day battle
in the rules committee over a single
word in the proposed resolution. He
wanted that word included-the word
extraordinarily the resolutions
effect would not be retroactive. The
purpose was to make it non-applicable
to the case of William S. Ware of
Pennsylvania, victor in the senatorial
primary which led to the pending in
vestigation.
X X
Senator Reed won his fight. Here
after" went into the Nicely resolu-
ton. Thereby hangs tale. The
Pittsburgher openly threatened, In
case of a retroactive resolution, to
move on the floor of the Senate the
passage of a resolution debarrlng
from eligibility to the Senate any man
elected by majority of less than Is
per cent of the male voters of his
State. That was a deliberate thrust
at the Southern States which have
grandfather clauses" literacy tests
and other provisions in their cleo
ton laws that effectually disfran
chise large numbers of colored voters.
Reed not only threatened to move the
massage of such a resolution. but de-
clared he had the votes in hand, as
the result of a poll, to make passage
certain. The bluff worked. Here
after" was duly edited into the Nicely
resolution. with standpat Republic
can and Southern Democratic. sup
port pledged in it's favor, Reed con-
sidered that Wares seat-in the event
of the Philadelphia boss election IN
November-could now not be endan'
gered. The resolution would apply to
future, not past, slush funds.
That was the first stage of the ma
neuver to save Wares hide from sena
torial castigation. The next move
in the game was TO prevent tne EN-
harrassing subject of congressional
campaign funds being discussed In the
senate at all. On that issue, as 1t ap'
reared, both parties see eye to eye.
Each of them expects to spend money
this wear. One will spend more, the
other less. Both will probably spend
all they can lay hands on. So 1t was
decided by the respective Republican
and Democratic poWers-that-be that 1t
were best to postpone unseemly dis.
c,lssion of slush-fund matters until the
1926 elections are come and gone. To
that end the f1libuster was staged
Senator Cameron, Republican, of Ari
iona, with his plaintive pleas for dam
sites" was cast for the Villains role
which he proceeded to enact with
faithful and endless verbosity. Cam
eron was still on his feet jawing about
dam sites" when Vice President
Dawes rasped out the fateful an
nouncement that the hour of adjourn
ment had come. Once again a fill
buster had served politicians purposes
X X X y
Senator Cameron Is a down East
Maine Yankee, who went to the Willis
of the Territory of Arizona as a youth
of 20 and carved out romantic ca
reer there. He tabulates as his chief
claim to fame the fact that he was
the locator and builder of the famed
Bright Angel trail into the Grand Can
yon of the Colorado in Arizona. Fol
| more than 40 years Cameron has lei
the two,f1sted life of pioneer in the
desert country. His story would make
| a movie scenario into which Bill Hart
| would fit. Cameron was sheriff oil
Coconino County for three terms, and
put in weeks on end hunting dowr
matl'coach robbers, horse thieves ano