The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-12-31
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1885,
The New House Rules.

! The adoption of the new rules in the Nation
al House by so large majority is not surpris-
ing in view of the tyranny with Which the APP
preparations Committee has ruled that body in
the past Few outside of Congressional circles
know how great a power it welded or how ty-
rannical it was. The Speaker, in selecting COM
mttees and by his rulings from the chair, can
exert great influence on legislation but there
are times when the chairman of the Appropri-
ations Committee is bigger man than the
Speaker. The former has controlled the appro-
priations for every branch of this government.
The committee of which he is the head decide
how much money shall be voted for this and
that purpose, and an investigation of the APP
preparation bills will show that members of the
committee have taken good care of their re-
spective States and districts. Under the meth
dds heretofore pursued no opportunity has
been afforded to dissect and discuss these bills
They have been rushed through the House in
the last hours or nights of a session under sus-
pension of the rules and their provisions are
not generally known or understood until they
have become laws. But this is not the only
offending of the Appropriations Committee. 1t
has used the appropriation bills to defeat other
measures, and in the last Congress thus pre-
vented consideration of the bankruptcy bill, the
Mexican pension bill, and many others. True
the House might have rebelled against the APP
preparations Committee and refused to slts-
pend the rules until the bills couli be properly
considered, but they have been withheld
until the end of Il session this would have i'll
VolNed an extra session OF IA protracted sum
mer sitting, and members We're naturally
ayerse to bringing about either result.
The new rules deprive the Appropriations
Committee of some of its power, and make it
more easy to discuss other matters In fact
they open the doors for general legislation. OF
course this privilege may be abused; and with
the House under Democratic control it is ma
tural to expect that it will be. But certainly
there are matters and measures which should
be considered in Congre>S-meaSures no less
important than the appropriation bills, but for
which it has heretofore been impossible TO OBJ
tain even hearing. We think. however. that
the amendment offered by Mr.. Millken, and
advocated i'll Il five minute speech, should have
been adopted His remarks are printed on the
first page. The object of the amendment was
to compel the Appropriations Committee to
bring in their bills early enough TO enable the
House to examine them. TO have them read by
sections, TO allow the offering of amendments,
and to thus put stop TO the practice of crowd
ing them through under suspension of the
rules. In the 25th Congress the Appropriations
Committee We're obliged to report in three days
after their appointment. OF course the bust
ness of the committee has greatly increased
since then; but they had twelve bills under the
old rules, and fought to retain them all, and
under the new rules have but six. If they
could report twelve bills prior to March 4th
they ought TO be able to report six before the
lSt Of February, and this would be Gain to
the country and correct some of the abuses to
reform which the House voted down Mr. Ran
dali and his followers.