Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-02-25
THE STAR CHAMBER.
ANOTHER LONG SECRET SESSION
YESTERDAY.
House.

dNOlhER LONG SECRET SESSION
YESTERDAY.
| House.
ST. PAUL, Feb. 23.-The Minnesota Legisla-
ture so-called, or rather the secret tribunal
secret meeting yesterday. At o'clock, the
hour to which the body had adjourned, no
| quorum had shown up and some time elapsed
before sufficient number put in an appear
| ance.
Upon the formal opening of proceedings,
Mr.. Hicks offered resolution, which was
| adopted that when the House adjourn, it adj
! journ to Monday next at 10 o'clock.
Another motion made that no special
order be made before Monday evening but the
motion fell through.
| Mr.. Muir moved to reconsided the vote where
| by the House proceeded to the consideration
of the Impeachment of Judge Page, but the
motion did not prevail.
| Mr.. Purdie next threw frebrand among the
members of the Star chamber, by moving that
| reporters of the daily press be admitted. At
this the old Goodhue war horse pricked up his
ears, and was about to make deadly charge,
| when Lieutenant Edison rushed in with an
amendment that the friends of the measure, by
which he is supposed to have meant the i'm
peachers, be admitted to the gallery.
| Mr.. Stone said, if the House wanted to do
sensible act, it would order the testimony print
| ed. As it was nobody could make heads or
tails of the testimony as it was being read. The
whole proceeding farce as matters now
went.
| Mr.. Bohan, contrary to the usual custom
OF so sensible gentleman, went off half
cooked, . and protested against admitting the
reporters, whom he said certain gentlemen
would 10 doubt like to have there to write up
| their speeches.
Mr.. Bowler made some very sensible remarks
| in favor of their admission. He sup
posed every member, if he had read the
morning GLOBE, convinced of the futility
OF endeavoring to keep secret matters transpir-
| ing there. The newspaper men, it seemed,
would get the news, whether kept out or not
and for one, ne preferred to have them present.
How they got it he didn't pretend to know, but
it, as suspected by some, it was gotten up in
| the cock-loft, among the cobwebs and dust he
| was not disposed to put them to SO much trou-
BILE, and preferred having them in the room.
| At this point, Mr.. Colvill wanted to know
if the House Che ought to have said Star-Cham-
ber) wasn't seeking to reverse their action Of
the day previous in ordering a secret session.
| OF course, the venerable Colvill had such an
overwhelming veneration for precedents and
established forms that he couldn't think for
| moment of undoing what had once been DONE
[ Edison withdrew his amendment but did so
| without making speech.
! The speaker here interposed, and announced
| that he was decidedly of the opinion that the
vote whereby the original order was adopted
could be reconsidered by majority vote.
Col. Feller somehow got the odd idea into
his head that a two-thirds vote was necessary to
change the vote. But the latter part of his
speech, in which he unqualifedly favored the
admission OF the press, was eminently sound,
and made up fully for his little crookedness on
the first proposition.
| Mr.. Muir made decidedly good speech
He said it was conceded the reporters got all
1 the news, and would still continue to get it.,
and he couldn't see the necessity of compelling
them to resort to the loft to find out what was
going on. The House might as well gracefully
submit and throw open its doors. He consid-
cred it small business at least to keep out the
reporters, and then tell them all that happened
after they left the hall. That was about what
the House was doing now.
Mr. Bowler again addressed the House, and
read from Edmund's trial, to show that the
House was acting in accordance with estab-
lished precedent. There was reason though, in
all things. There was none however, in this case,
for the proceedings would, under any circum-
stances, become known, and perhaps distorted
version. 1t was better, as they would be pub
lshed and the House couldn't prevent it, that
1t should be done correctly. The testimony
which they wanted to keep secret was all
known, besides nobody wanted to read it, or
would read it, if it were published (and in this
the speaker showed a level head).
MIR. Purdie rose second time and made a
| strong speech in favor Of admission. He didn't
|
entitled to know all that is going on and being
done, and for one he was willing to crafty
them. Suppose the reporters did stir the mem
bers up occasionally, it was all the better for
them, and he was willing to see them come in
and report as much of the proceedings as they
wanted to.
Mr.. Muir again took the floor and contended
that the judiciary committee had given a di-
gested report of the testimony, and that the
members who wanted to make speeches could
do SO on the facts as set forth in that docu-
| ment.
just here Speaker Gilman made a formal
ruling that the easiest way out Of the. trouble
was to reconsider the vote whereby the doors
had been closed and secret session ordered
and that the rule, once reconsidered, could be
modified as to allow the admission of re-
porters.
Mr.. Rice wanted to go on with the proceed
ings. That testimony so entertaining he
wanted more of it. Here they had already
spent between one and two hours, discussing
the question of the admission of reporters, and
had arrived at no conclusion. He asked where
the House was and what it was about. Let's
go on to the testimony.
The motion to reconsider was then put, and
the yeas and nays being demanded. Mr. Robin
son then moved to lay the whole matter on the
| table, which motion was carried.
The motion to admit reporters was then re
newed, when Mr.. Stone moved to amend by
throwing open the gallery. 1t was, he said
mere child play to be sitting there with closed
doors.
Mr.. Giles put in his oar, and said he would
like to see the doors opened, and reporters
lobby and all invited in. In fact, he would
like to make an old fashioned Methodist Low,
feast out of this modern star chamber, but tn,
House didn't agree with him. and on motion O
Mr.. Christensen, laid the whole matter on tn
table.
Mr.. Rice, whose inmost soul was yearnin,
for the testimony, called for its reading, ant
the long agony commenced, lasting until nearl,
l o'clock, when the House again got into rov
about adjourning or taking a recess, the forme
finally prevailing by vote of A to 43. Ad
journed to Monday at 10 O. clock.
THE GRANDIN FARN.
An Interview With Hon. j. A. AIcClusky
A GLOBE representative had the pleasur
of meeting last evening Hon. j. A. McClusky
of Cottage Grove. Mr.. McClusky still rank