Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-11-27
WASHINGTON.
Absolute Power Of the Clerk Of
the Lower HOuse.
A FLAW DIsCoYEREp IN THE UNITED
3 81 STATES STATUTES,

ie8 sa' - ------ ,sa m 4
But Littrs PrOvIslsn = Made In the Com
stitatton for ths Organization Of the
House. and the Laws Are siRgnlsFly De-
fsctivs-.cisoa;as Frem the Inaugural
commlttss. lg " i.Arsam i'e 3st
NEW YoRk, Nov sT.--A dispatch from
Washington Nays;
The officials ,of the house ef representa- tiyes
have renewed their confidence in the belief
that The Democrats will Organize the pext
house Of Representatives. The sonswnas
sensational suggestions which are made ns "
what may happaH II the clerk q the present.
house shall place upon the roll q thp nexs
house the names Of memhsrs who, Y tne
opiniem of asesaas Rspablsoatass nssse mcf
elected. may serve 70 call the attention OF
the public to another weak spot in our gov
erninsntal system.
The authority for the organization OF the
house is not found in the constitution OF the
United States, save in the general proyF
sion that each house shall be the judge OF
the election, returns and qualifications OF ITS
own members Under this general power
the usage has grown up, which is embodied
in part, at least, in statute that the organ
ization of the house is placed absolutely
within the power and the discretion OF the
clerk of the house of the preceding congress
The specific authority under which the clerk
of the house prepares the roll upon whlcn
the succeeding house is organized is found
in rule 8, paragraph of the body OF the
rules Of the house. The provision is;
1.-THE clerk shall, at the commencement OF
the first session of each congress, call the
members to order, proceed to call the roll OF
members, by states in alphabetical order,
and, pending the election OF speaker, or
speaker pro tempore, preserve order and de-
corum and decide all questions OF order, SUD-
iect to appeal by any member"
Rule 2 of the house provides that the clerk
and the other officers of the house shall con
tinue in office until tn 'r successors are
chosen and qualified TIE revised statutes
! GSection 81 prescribe tha duty OF the clerk
OF the house with respect to the roll OF the
members of the next house. That section
provides;
Before the first meeting of each congress,
the clerk of the next preceding house OF rep
resentatives shall make the roll Of the repre-
sentatives-elect, and place thereon the names
of those persons, and of such persons only,
whose credentials show that they were regu-
larly elected in accordance with the
laws of their states respectively, or the laws
os the United States.
In the event Of the death or disability OF
the clerk, the duties are devolvei in success
sion upon the sergeant-at arms, and, in case
of his death or disability, upon the door
keeper. II it should happen that the clerk,
sergeat at arms and doorkeeper of any
house should all die, or be disabled from any
cause at the time OF the meeting of the sue
caeding congress-, there is no provision what
ever for the organization OF the succeeding
house. .s
In case of d vacancy which occurred il
the Cfice of clerk during the Thirty-t -tirs
congress, ii was decided that the house coult
take no action upon or transact any othel
business until a clerk was elected But
does not appear that vacancy has nap
pened in this Office prior to the meeting o
a congress The power or the clerk Is no
only absolute as to the roll, but according u
the precedents established by Republicans
the house itself is without any power T.
amend the roll.
Since the organization of the house OF rep
resentatives Of the Thirty eighth congress
the clerk has uniformly declined to enter
tain motions or resolutions to amend the rol
of representatives, which section 81, revise
statutes requires him to make, and has fur
ther declined to entertain appeals from sue
decisions This appears very fully from tn
decision by Mr.. Edward Mcpherson in tn
proceedings in the organization of the house
1 first session, Forty first congress, March
1860 The exposition was reaftrmed b
Clerk Adams Democrat.
In this last instance the clerk declined t
entertain the appeal, on the ground that
was not competent for the representative!
elect to instruct the clerk in the performanc
of a duty imposed upon him by law, and fc
the further reason that question of highe
privilege was then pending, i. e., the eleC
tion of speaker, on which the previous que
ton had been ordered.
s In case duplicate certificates shall be ser
to the clerk of the house from dual stat
governments that officer is the sole judge {
> to which certificates he will place upon tt
roll. aud, once upon the roll, it appears to /
discretionary with him whether he WI
recognize any suggestions from the house {
= TO amendments. According to the prec
dents which have been established, the cler
mas INC dIDiJIuIJ pOWoi W AOiSS oiA VI 5N'
cation of the house upon a roll the lntegrit
of which may be questioned by the who
body of the representatives-elect.
The clerk of the house, in short, seems
be the only officer of the United States wi
is absolute, from whose decision there Is r
appeal, who owes no allegiance to any on
the body which created him having passe
out of existence at the time Of the organic
tion of the succeeding house And there
no means Of correcting the results of u
roll which he may present, except by IL
subseua action of the house, as to Il
membership of which he is himself the so
judge
He is, to be sure, required to pass upon u
certificates iu IA judicial capacity, to dete
nine whether they are in accordance wi
: the laws of the states, or of the Unit
States; but. if he shall exercise his authori'
in an unlawful or arbitrary manner, the
is no remedy provided, except for the hou
itself. by action likewise arbitrary. to 7
verse his decress.
Internal Revenue.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27.-The annual 7
port of Joseph S Miller, commissioner