Mexico weekly ledger., 1880-02-19
THE STAKE
At Issue in the Discussion of its Rules fby
the House.

THE STAKE
At Issue i'm the Discussion of its Rules 10,
the House.
For several weeks, the House has
been p~erfecting its rules. To casua.
observers these are of no special in.
terest, and yet, they are essential to
investigation. The tendency of large
bodies is towards confusion. Personal
contact begets excitement where there
ought to be elaboration, and the re-
suit is conflict instead of legislation.
Many of the rules which the House
is considering have been forming
since the first congress. Not a few
of them have arisen from party neces-
sites, the whims of speakers, and
contradictory constructions and prac-
Ices OF the House. AS they exist,
they are restraints rather than helps;
terrors rather than guides. In fact,
by almost common consent, they have
been denounced as too intricate to be
understood, much less applied, by
any but the most skillful and expert
enced parliamentarians. How often
do the reports make mention of adj
venturous congressman caught in
their meshes and returned to their
seats confused, if not damaged, hu-
inflated if not crushed, utterly dis
gusted with legislation, legislators
and themselves.
On these accounts, debates upon
rules always arrest the attention of
those that are to be governed by them
but, far more than ordinary interest
attaches to the discussion that is pro-
crossing in the House. Indeed, in
the legislation that must follow 1t, the
democracy have at stake those poll
cies of retrenchment and system of
economy, heretofore successfully in ,
augurated by that party. The SUBJ I
stantial questions before the House |
are these: Shall those policies derive +
assistance from methods calculated to =
prevent corrupt combinations, or f
opportunity for log-rolling and {
lobbying, for unwise and extravagant h
expenditure, be furnished to the nu- e.
nervous committees, to which legisla- h
lion is necessarily entrusted? |,
The work to be done in committees G,
1t Washington naturally divides itself O
nto parts, and the democracy insists
hat dissimilar duties shall not be v
imposed upon the same body. 1t is III
&nough, for instance, for the Com #
nittee on Commerce to discover dur I'll
ng its short Investigations, what is tb
eeded to impart its greatest devel- tn
pment to that interest. 1t cannot in
ave time to determine how much the T.,
consistently appropriate to ru
lat object, nor to inaugurate a iu- tn
lclous method of raising what is to a
given, and if it has, it is not the m,
eslgn OF the democracy to confer
vast powers upon it. On this fri
count, provision is made in the va
les OF the House, not only for COM bic
lttees on all important interests, ex,
nose duty it is to find out and re- an
'rt how they Can be adjusted, but WI
r the reference of all their recon- arr
endations of expenditures to the COM an,
lttee on appropriations, which is Tn
ecially charged with considering to
d directing the work of the House all,
a whole, at least SO far as expendi- ont
res are concerned, which the democ- ,
is determined to keep within acc
Sc and economic limits. Do,
Heretofore this appropriation com mt
ttee has been an impossible barrier ,bi,
corruption and extravaganza. 1t sea
Is not to be expected, therefore. eft,
it would find much favor among dol
opponents of democracy. 1t was Der
more natural in them to make q ss,;
mblned assault upon it, in an en- aho
to repeal that rule of the tb,.
'use that confers upon it authority mn,
offer new legislation in the interest roo,
economy, in place of that referred tor
it, as demanded by proposed or tba,
sting laws, a rule that enabled the
nocracy to ave to the nation over
rty millions of dollars in a single Y
IT, and hep the army from oue
polls, and defeat laws that ex- ou,,
ded fair and impartial Jurors from ma,
jury box. no.
as soon rs the rules are finished, so,;,
important business of the session, ton,
. in the hands of committees, will D..
brought forward and passed upon. A !,
- We
CONGRESSIONAL. o,
II. c., Feb. 1O.-The Gro,
nmittee on Public Lands, to which m,s,