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Show 164 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER He obtained the floor on the pretext he wanted to address himself to S. 1555, but he said little about it before he began what was obviously a filibuster, seem- ingly speaking on any subject that entered his mind. Having been recognized, he had command of the floor. No senator could speak without his permission. Each time he was asked to yield, he did so only after being assured that he would not lose the floor. Malone had the Senate tied up, and as he rambled on in his aimless talk, Knowland, wearing a troubled look, moved across the well to talk with Millikin. For several minutes the two conversed with their heads close to- gether. Presently they were joined by Watkins. No one seemed to be listening to Malone. Most of the senators remained in the cloakroom. A few sat at their desks working on papers. Some simply stared into space. Malone's voice droned across the chamber. He talked of the pending treaties with Japan; about Paul Hoffman and Studebaker cars; about unrra, Henry Ford, strategic fuels. He placed in the record page after page of letters and newspaper stories, most of them praising a man named Malone. He expounded on the nation's founding fathers, and an American policy for Americans. He criticized Great Britain and France, the doctrine of collective security, and told how Church- ill had used President Roosevelt as a tool. It was an intolerable situation. The night was going. At last Millikin stood up beside his desk, his shoulders bowed as if under the weight that had collected on them during his many years in office. Senator Anderson moved to stand beside him, and it was he who asked Malone to permit Millikin to make a few remarks about S. 1555. |
