Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-02-25
RULES OF THE HOUSE.
The Men who Made Them, ana no"
They Came To heirloom iOr hbh-
prOvement.

w aSuluRlNu WI W
Writes: The suggested change IN lhe
rules of the house seem likely Tor a
time al least, to be paramount inter
est in its proceedings. These rules,
which have been adopted BY each
Congress since 1880, and which 1t is
nranosed now TO change, were adopt
ed ia the session of of 1880, after SO
iopo a debate, coming up at intervals
for many weeks, that Hon. Proctor
Knott. now Governer Of Kentucky.
then a distinguished member OF the
house Of representatives, dryly ooserv-
ed; 1--WE are consuming all the long
session making rules for the short
session." meaning tnat the rules oil
one congress do not continue IN force
in the next one, unless it readopts
them, so that the members OF the con-
gress first adopting them would use
them only during the short session,
If they took all Of the long session to
make them.
A very distinguished member 1.-THE
present congress who has been ia the
house since before these rules we're
{ he work practically Of three men
FRYE. now senator FROM Maine, Gar
field the late president, and Randall,
who was the speaker OF the hou at
the time and as such the chairman OF
the house committee on rules OF
which the other gentlemen named,
and also Mr.. Blackburn, now senator,
and the late Hon. Aleck Stephens
were then members also. The two
latter gentlemen when the committee
had leave to sit during the recess OF
congress in 1919, were with the other
mebers OF the committee at Long
Branch, but did not give much atten-
ton TO the preparations Of the rules
that summer Messrs Garfield, Ran
dali Frye, with the assistance of
Harry Smith, then and now journal
clerk OF the house, formulated them
as seemed to Thorn best and in the
shape they preferred they were pre-
scented 10 the house the next winter.
The committee sat in 1869 at the Ell
boron hotel at Long Branch, and it
was that visit which was reallg the
occasion of President Garfield dying
there two years later, since he cher
ished such pleasant memory OF his
summer there in 1879, that he select
ed that as the place to which he
wished to be taken IN September, |
when MORALLY wounded, and his dy- |
ing wish was fulfilled, as the world |
knows.
As contrast to the present rules, |
give the following, which are some of !
the rules adopted by the first con
gress, which l have found in the Ga
zette Of the United States for April IS, |
1888:
''The speaker shall appoint com
mittees unless il be determined by the |
house that the committee shall consist |
of more than three, in which case the |
appointment shall be by ballot Of the |
house. In case Of ballot by the house |
the speaker shall vote; in other cases |
he may not vote unless the house be
equally divided, or unless his vote, if
given to the minority will make the
division equal, and in case of such
equal division the question shell be
lost.
"While the speaker is putting any
question, or addressing the house, |
none shall walk out ef or Grass the |
hoase, nor either in suih case, or when |
a member is speaking shall entectaln |
private discourse or read any private |
book or paper, nor while q member is |
speaking, pass between him and the |
chair.
every member who shall be in
the house when the question is put
shall vote ON one side or the other
unless the house for special reasons
shall excuse him.
ANY fifteen members Including
the speaker, If there IS one) shall be
authorized to compel the attendance
of absent members.
"Wheu the house adiourns, the
members shall keep their seats until
speaker goes forth, and then the
members shall follow
On tde contrary, this is quite the re-
verse now, for not only do the mem
bers rush out ptll-mell, like school
boys when school is dismissed, as soon
as the house is adjourned, but the
speaker is in danger sometimes of be-
ing left alone i'm the chair, with no
one in the house to make a motion to
adjourn, in which case he must sit
there, for the speaker canno! adjourn
the house except on the motion Of a
member on the floor
AS mentioned in previous articles,
many OF the customs OF our congress
were borrowed from those of the Brit
house of commons, and the rule SIS to
the members waiting for the speaker
to leave the chamber after an adjourn
mcnt and then follow him, is one
which is still ih force in the house of
commons. While we began by adopt.
ing some Of the rules of tine latter. IL
has since returned the compliments
by following the example Of our house
OF representatives. IN regard to several
practices. One which it copied as late
as 1853 excltes wonder that il was
able to do so long without it, having
had speakers since AuH0 D1mini,
1860 refer to the placing Of what
they call deputy speaker, and we
a speaker pro tempore, q the chair
to relieve the speaker when i'll or
weary az Sppa liutr so l0ptr p1iul- If