Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1871-12-22
Rotation In Office.

One of the arguments advocated
by the enemies of Mr.. Harlan IL the
plea of rotation in office. It stands
on a par with locality. 1t deserves
a hearing when all things else are
equal, but it is a flimsey argument
against men who have filed their
positions acceptably to their cor :
stituents. When the friends of Mr..
Allison push his claims on the
grounds of rotation in office, 1t comes
with so little weight that few regard
it as anything in the balance. We
notice by the Congressional Globe
that q strong discussion was called
out the other day in the House by
the new apportionment bill in
which the rotation argument" was
severely handled. Mr.. Potter of N.
Y. contended that it was not the
number of members from a State
that gave influence, but the ability
and experience of the representatives
from those States. He contended
that New England would lose
nothing in influence by her reduc-
ton of the number of members in
Congress. His illustration Is so ap-
plicable to the case of Mr.. Harlan
that we extract the illustrations given
by Mr.. Potter in his speech on the
bill alluded to. He said
mot to refer to this Congress I
would remind the gentlemen that
in the last Congress Massachusetts,,
with her ten members, had the
chairmanships of five of the princi-
pal committees of the House-the
Committee of Ways and Means, the
Committee on Appropriations, the
Committee on Reconstruction, the
Committee OF Claims, and the Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs, while
New York, with thirty-one mems
bers, had the craftsmanship of but
one committee, and that only the
Committee on the Pacific Railroad!
Having regard to the right which
the chairmen Of some of these COM
mittees possess under the rules of
the House at all times, Massachus-
etts, with a million and a half of
people, had i'm the Forty-First Con-
gress more to say in this House,
more control, and in every respect
but in the number of votes she cast,
more power than New York, with
a population of four and a half
millions.
Sir, I do not complain Of that
It was the constitutional right of
| Massachusetts, it was an advantage
due to the wisdom of her policy
A member of this House, than whom
none is more able and distinguished,
himself a New England Republican,
| said to me during the last Congress
that when the middle States of this
Union should learn to send their
best men to this House and to keep
them here, they would control this
| Government but that just SO long
as they adhere to that principle of
rotation which takes men away
from the House before they become
familiar with the duties and rules
of the.House, and get those positions
on committees which result from long
service here, just so long those States
would fritter away the power and
influence in this Government which
by their central geographical pos
ton they ought to have. Sir, 1 re-
peat | do not complain of this
Whatever influence and power Mass
achusetts has here, she has it Of
right and she will continue to have
it, whether this House be composed
of one hundred or of five hundred
members, so long as she pursues the
same wise policy as to her members
of Congress that she has adopted
heretofore
For the eason that we would see
Iowa carrying out the wise policy of
New England we would urge the
re. election of Mr.. Harlan. In re-
turning him to the Senate Iowa
will have regard to the weight of
ability, experience and true states
manship.