Osage Valley banner. (Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo.) 1879-1881, 1880-03-25
Committees Of the Whole.

II is one of the rules of the National
House of Representatives, that every
bill involving the levy of a tax, or an
expenditure of money, shall be first dis
cussed in what is called the Committee
of the Whole. As committee of the
whole is made up OF precisely the
same persons as the House itself, the
reasons for this rule are not apparent to
persons who are not acquainted with
parliamentary usages. What is chiefly
gained, when the House goes into q
Committee of the Whole, Is that then
the rules Of Che House only apply In
part, and those which take their place
are more favorable to free discussion
and amendment, and TO the rapid trans
action of business.
We can only give one or two illustra-
tions to show this. When the House is
transacting business, a member may
move the previous question, and thus
prevent amendments from being offered
or voted upon. In the Committee of
the Whole, amendments may be offered
without limit, and there is only one way
of stopping debate, which we shall
presently mention. Again, in the
House, one fifth of the members may
order the yeas and nays to be taken,
and this often makes progress
very slow In Committee of the
Whole the yeas and nays can not be
taken at all. Votes are taken by rising,
or by the members passing between the
tellers. When the House votes to 90
into Committee say on an appropria-
ton bill--the Speaker leaves the chair,
and calls to IL some member who is
addressed as "Mr. Speaker" and who
usually acts as Chairman when the
House is in Committee of the Whole on
that bill, until it has been disposed of.
In Committee of the Whole, the member
who reports the bill from the Committee
on Appropriations, has charge of it, and
first makes a speech in explanation. He
is followed by other members who dis
cuss the measure generally, and not in
reference to particular items. When
this general debate is ended, the bill is
taken up in detail. The Clerk reads it,
clause by clause. If member wishes
to offer an amendment to any clause,
he interrupts the reading and pro-
poses it.. The usual practice is to
allow the mover of each amendment,
and those who support or OPP
pose it, so many minutes each, and to
limit the time that can be given in all to
one amendment, Sometimes MEM
Der will move to strike out the last word
of an amendment for the sake of max
ing few remarks. The reading of the
bill, the moving of amendments, and
the voting, continue until the members
are tired, when the motion is made that
the Committee "rise.n When this is
carried, the Chairman - leaves the
chair, the Speaker of the House takes it,
and thus the House resumes its session.
The Chairman then says To the House
that the committee has come to no reso-
luton, and asks leave TO sit again.
Sometimes, however, it happens that
long time is wasted in talk and in re-
peated amendments 10 the same clause.
As the Committee of the Whole have no
power to stop the debate, the object is
accomplished in this way: The mem
ber who has charge of the bill first
moves that the committee rise. When
this is carried, and the Speaker
has taken the chair, and the Chairman
has reported, as we have stated
above, a motion is made that when the
Committee resumes its session, all de-
bate on the pending clause shall be closed
in one minute or in five minutes. This
motion having been adopted, the House
goes into Committee of the
Whole again. When the consideration
of a bill has been finished, the Commit
tee rises. The Chairman then reports
the measure and amendments TO the
House, which at once votes on the
amendments, either separately or as
whole, and then votes on the passage of
the bin
In the Senate, bills are considered Gas
in Committee of the Whole, - but with
out so many formalities. The practice
in both branches is very useful and
important one, and the right of men,
bers in Committee 10 full discussion of
all bills, especially those that involve
taxation or the expenditure of money,
is one that is and should be most jeal-
ously guarded YOUTHS Companion.
THE Connecticut experiment station
is about commencing series of expert
ments for testing thoroughly the differ
ent methods OF setting milk to obtain
the best results as TO cream, and, II pos
sible, 10 arrive at a definite conclusion,
so that the butter-makers may have
sufficient data to enable them to work
with some degree Of certainty in the
production Of butter.
- . s-s-------
The expression ga dinner fit for a
king " is OF little significance to Emperor
Frances Joseph Of Austria, whose daily
habits are thus described: lie gets up
early in the morning, prays in his pri-
vate chapel, and then takes cup of
coffee with bread, and eats no more till
his lunch of brown bread and beer Is
served at noon.
A wOopouTrER never tells q tree