May 28, 1919

l\Ir. ASHURST obtained the floor.

Mr. WATSON. Mr. President, will the Senator from Arizona yield to me? ·

Mr. ASHURST. Yes; I yield. I wish to say that I am only going to speak 10 minutes; but, of course, I yield to the Senator from Indiana.

Mr. WATSON. I ask unanimous consent to make a report out of order.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. On what subject?

l\Ir. WATSON. From the Committee on Woman Suffrage, a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and I will say that I want to follow that up with another request for unanimous consent to take up the discussion of the subject next Tuesday, and to make it a continuing order until it shall have been :finally disposed of.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I shall not interpose any objection. I think that is a perfectly fair proposition.

Mr. WATSON. I ask unanimous consent first to report favorably House joint resolution N<>. 1, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right of suffrage to women. . Now, I ask for the unanimous-consent agreement which I send to th-e desk.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, if the proposed unanimous-consent agreement which the Senator is sending to the desk is to fix a time for voting--

Mr. WATSON. No; I am not . asking that. I could not do that without a quorum.

Mr. REED. I was simply going to call ati;ention to the rule on that subject.

1\Ir. WATSON. I could not do that without the presence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DIAL in the chair). The Secretary will state the proposed unanimous-consent agreement.

The Secretary. The Senator from Indiana offers the following unanimous-consent agreement:

It is agreed by unanimous consent tha.t immediately upon the conclusion of the routine morning business on the calendar day of Tuesday, Ju:ne 3, 1919, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of House joint resolution 1, joint resolution propo s ing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women, and will continue such consideration to the exclusion of other- business until its final disposition.

1\Ir. REED. Mr. President, I think I shall object to that. I do not see why we should agree absolutely to tie up the business of the country for this purpose. Let me say to the Senator from Indiana that I will not object to the joint resolution being made the unfinished business, but as the agreement is presented it is to be carried out to the exclusion of all other business.

Mr. WATSON. After the morning hour.

1\lr. REED. Well, I would object to that; but I will not 1\Ir. WATSON. Then I will give notice to-morrow.

1\Ir. ROBINSON. l\lay I ask the Senator from Missouri if he objects to fixing a time to vote? I have a very important personal reason for wanting to know when a vote 'is to be taken.

Mr. REED. I do not object to fixing a time to vote, if the Senators are so situated that they can be here.

1\Ir. 'V WATSON. I will say fuat the only objection to fixing by unanimous · consent a definite time to vote is that it must be done in the presence of a quorum, and that we have not got.

Mr. REED. Since I made the objection, let me state my position: I have not the slightest disposition to delay a vote on this joint resolution. I think I shall want to take 10 or 15 minutes in a mere statement of my personal position; but I do object to an agreement which puts this matter down for consideration to the exclusion of all other business, that agreement being a unanimous-consent agreement, which we can not escape from when we have once made it. I will not object to this matter being made the unfinished business, and I assure the Senator from Indiana that there will be no dilatory tactics on my part.

Mr. CURTIS. Mr. President, in the absence of the Senator from California [Mr. JoHNSON], who has charge of the resolution that is now the un.finished business, I do not see how we could consent to having this joint resolution made the unfinished business; so I suggest to the Senator that he file his report, and then, either now or upon to-morrow, he can give notice as to when he will call up the joint resolution.

l\lr. OWEN. That will be the better plan.

l\Ir. WATSON. That is all I can do now. Therefore, on tomorrow I will give notice that 1 will call it up on Monday.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Is it the Senator's expectation to that. dispose of it next week? .

M.r. WATSON. I hope so; but I do not know.

l\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. I should like to ask the Senator from Indiana if we can not rely upon his giving us two or three days' notice before he presses it?

Mr. WATSON. I propose to-morrow to call it up, and give notice that I shall take it up on Monday. · Mr. SMITH of Georgia. That is satisfactory.

Mi·. SMITH of Arizona. Mr. 'President, I should like to suggest to the Senator-it is merely personal to me-that I want to vote on the joint resolution, and intend to do so; but it would be a very great inconvenience to me to be here Monday and Tuesday. It is purely a matter of personal inconvenience.

l\Ir WATSON. To-morrow many Senators are going away for the purpose of making Memorial Day addresses; and I have bad notice from many Senators that they will not be present the latter part of next week. I have no desire to work a hardship on my friend from Arizona; but, after all, I do not believe that any time could be fixed when all the Senators could arrange to be present.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. If the Senator will allow me to make . a suggestion, I believe we could all agree to vote on it the middle of next week if we had two or three days' notice to that effect.

Mr. ROBINSON. I will say to the Senator from Georgia seen !:mother one asserting i t. that we can settle that to-morrow.

Mr . Sl\IITH of Georgia. Yes; I only make that suggestion.

Mr. ROBINSON. Mr. President, I should like to see the question settled to-morrow if it can be done, because I am leaving the city for two or three days, at least, and I do not want to leave if some adjustment of that kind is made, and I will have to remain here.

Mr. SMITH of Arizona. That is my attitude exactly.