July 12, 1911

ELECTION OF SENATORS BY DIRECT VOTE.3 min read

Mr. BORAH. Mr. President, I desire to call attention to another matter for a moment. I should like to ask, if proper to do so, and I presume it is, whether the conference committee on House joint resolution 39 can advise me if there is likely to be a report from that committee soon?

The VICE PRESIDENT. The chairman of the conference committee is not in the Senate Chamber at the present time.

l\fr. BORAU. Two members of the committee are here. I presume they know something about it.

Mr. NELSON. There has been no meeting of the conferees yet. I inquired of the chairman of tI:ie Senate conference committee yesterday whether the House conferees had been here and desired to have a meeting, and he said he had not heard anything from them on the subject. That is all the information I have.

Mr. BORAH. Mr. President, I was of the opinion that there had not been any meeting of the conference committee, and I thought it proper to call attention to the fact that there ought to be an effort on the part of the conferees to get together. The Senate is entitled to know if the conferees can not agree, and it is entitled to ha-ve the result if the conferees can agree. We are approaching the time now when we are all hopeful of a final adjournment, and I feel quite sure that it will expedite the hour of adjournment if we can have a report from the conference committee. ·

Mr. :NELSON. I desire to add a word further. l\Iy experience as a member of conference committees since I ha-ve been a :Member of the Senate, and I think it is the experience of all Senate conferees, is that in all cases the House conferees come to the Senate conferees when they are ready to act ; that it is not customary for the Senate conferees to go to the House, but the custom has been for the House conferees to indicate when they are ready to meet with the Senate conferees. I think I can safely say for the Senate conferees that we are ready at any time to meet whenever they are willing and indicate a disposition to meet. There has been no purpose, so far as I know, and I see the Senator from Georgia [Mr. BACON], a member of the conference committee, who, I think, will bear witness to the fact that there has been no disposition on the part of the Senate conferees to delay the matter in any shape or manner.

Mr. BORAH. I did not intend to intimate that there had been any intention to do so. I thought perhaps that owing to other pressing matters it had been overlooked, and I simply desired to c.all attention to it so that it might not be put aside too long.

Mr. BACON. Mr. President, I simply desire to say that the Senator from Minnesota [Mr. NELSON] has stated the facts as I understand them. I" will add that I have had several conversations with the chairman of the House conferees and I judge from what he said to me that the disposition of the con- · ferees on the part of the House is for an early meeting, and I ham no doubt there will be one.

Mr. CLARK of Wyoming. hlr. President, I just came into the Chamber and became cognizant of the matter under discussion. The only thing I Cfill say as a member of the committee of conference is that in the regular order of business the papers are in the hands of the Senate conferees. The Senate committee is waiting the appearance or the action or the request of the House conferees to act thereon.