St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-07
UNCLE SANS CIRCUS.
The Congressional Curtain About to Rise
and an Angry Wrangle Over the
Rules Promised.
Randall and his Baokers to Lock Horns
at Once With the Republican
Element.
Indications That the appropriations A
Committee VIII Succumb to New
Order of Things.
Program to be Followed by the Senat'
--Treasurer Jordan's Financial
Statement.
Opening of Congress.


Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-The probabili-
ties for the first three days of this week are
that tomorrow the house will organize at
Dnce and adjourn as mark of honor to the
late vice president. On Tuesday the house
will listen to the clerk read the presidents
message and the members will draw for
seats. On Wednesday the question of rules
will come up. The form in which this last
will occur will probably be that some advo-
cate of the present rules, perhaps Mr.. Ran
dali, but more likely some friend of his,
will move that the rules of the last house
be adopted for the present house,
and then representatives of the gen.
tlemen who want changes will offer
as amendments the changes they desire.
There may be prolonged debate over this
question and efforts will be made to have
the whole subject referred to the committee
on rules when appointed, but the advocates
OF change are maturing their program and
will know by Wednesday pretty definitely
how much they can accomplish, and
whether they have
VOTES ENOUGH
to carry through their purpose to put
through in the house without any refer
ence. The gentlemen who are most inter-
eSted in changing the rules have agreed
among themselves on certain propositions
and they are now engaged in an effort to
find out how many votes they can depend
on - support their program.
The indications are very strong that
they will have to yield something
of what they want in order to get votes.
Members of the last appropriations commit
Tee, who are, of course, opposed to reduc-
ing the jurisdiction Of that committee, can
see the handwriting on the wall, and par
tial distribution OF the appropriation bills
is inevitable. This is not true of all of
3 them, Some of them are very hopeful of
! being able to stem the tide, which is con-
fessedly strong. A strong effort will be
made to talk the thing down in the house.
The distribution of the appropriation bills
will be likely to result in an ENHANCEMENT
of the bills. If one committee makes all
the bills it has to appOrtion its
ECONOMY ALL AROUND,
but if separate committees prepare the bills
each committee will be under a strong
temptation to let other committees do the
economizing. This argument will be pressed
vigorously The indications are very strong
tonight that there is a clear majority OF
Democrats who will sustain the demand for
a curtailment of jurisdiction of the appro-
priations committee, and most of the Repub-
licans will vote the same way. Reed and
Hiscock are the two Republican leaders,
and they are for the change. Reed has al
ways been attacking present rules. His
cock has been a mild supporter of the
rules of the last house until lately.
Now he is ready to go as far as
organized Democratic champions of
the change will go. With Reed and His
cock on that side not very many Republi-
cans will be found on the other side. Nj.
Sprngers proposed rules would take only
! three bills from the appropriations COM
mittee The proposition on the slate is to
take four and perhaps five. 1t will be
easier to take five than three. The wider
the distribution of the Spoils the more gen.
eral the attack will be- This is not alto
gether, nor even primarily, an attack on
Mr. Randall personally. There is wide
spread
FEELING OF HOSTILITY
on the part of members toward the appropri-
alton committee, and the time has not come
for them TO get even and they swear they
will do it. A Republican member from
/ Illinois said tonight and he expressed the
sentiments of a great many members, that
/ the appropriations committee members have
sfor a long time been a good deal too big for
anything on earth and not quiet enough for
E1leaven. and we will now clip their wings.
! The appropriations committee has at times
/ been tyrancal but this really has not been
due TO its control of appropriations, but to
. the fact that as the rules have stood for
/ the past few years, hardly any legislation
could be gotten through the house except in
,the shape of amendments to appropriation
bills, and this fact has made the appropri-
ations committee a house within a house.
There is no question about this evil. Most
of the general legislation attached to appro-
,priatiOn bills creeps in through hole in the
rule regarding such bills, which is known
as the Holman amendment. The same
members who are engineering the curtaiI-
ment Of the functions of the appropriations
committee are engineering thee very i'm
pOrtant and valuable changes i'll the rules of
procedure.
The Senatc'S Program.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-The presidents
message will not be sent to congress till
Tuesday. The senate is expected to ad-
journ tomorrow, out of respect to the mem
ory of its late president, Immediately after
! the swearing in of the members and the
electon of the president pro tempore. The
committees of the senate were all organized