The Portland daily press., 1890-07-15
PRESS THE BUTTON AND YOU VOTE.
Proposition To Take the Yeas and
Nays by Electricity.
1t Would &c a Great Blow to the
Congressional FIIibuster
But Would Interfere With Baths,
Lunches and Siestas.
Especial to the Press.l

WASHINGTON, July 14.-The trouble the
Democrats have given within the last week
by their filibustering tactics has set some of
the brightest young Republican members to
meditating over some plan that will entirely
subdue the filibuster TIE new rules have
put it out of the power Of the filibuster to
prevent legislation; but he may still hinder
it greatly, as has been shown this last week
by Rogers Of Arkansas, and few of his
followers. The great hold of the filibuster
is the yea and nay vote. To call every mem
bers name on the yea and nay vote, with the
necessary second cal of those not voting on
the first call and the recapitulation of those
voting on each side, requires from half to
three-quarters of an hour. A yea and nay
vote may be demanded by one-fifth of those
present, so it is in the power OF very small
coterie to force yea and nay vote upon
every little motion made. In this way few
members with affroutery enough may
hamper the work of legislation for many
days. Rogers, of Arkansas, has been doing
this. for week, merely for the purpose Of
paying off some old grudges. The young
Republicans have been trying to think of
some way to shorten the process OF taking
the yea and nay vote, and they have hit upon
plan which they think would kill filibuster-
every proposition. Their plan is the adoption
of the electric system of voting, upon which
patents have been out for long time, and
which has been put into practical use. Ac-
cordng to this system there is placed in the
desk of every. member two electric buttons;
Each of these buttons is connected by wire
with the clerks desk, where there is board
or case with the names of all the members so
arranged that when one OF the members
presses one of the buttons in his desk his
name ranges into either the yea or nay
column, according as he presses the yea or
nay button. The mechanism Of this electric
arrangement is such that all the buttons
may be pressed at once or consecutively. So,
when the Speaker calls for the yeas and nays
the members, being in their seats, may press
their buttons at once, and all the names will
at once range into two lines, one the yeas
and the other the nays. Thus could be done
in moment what it takes half an hour to
do now. The clerk, from his tablet or board,
could recapitulate the yeas and nays, as he
does now, thus guarding against any mis-
takes in the vote.
With such machinery roll call would be
no task at all, and the fellow who should
want to filibuster would have to invent some
other way. 1t is said that the French cham
Der of deputies has had the plan in operation
for some time and also that it has been put
into the House of Representatives chamber
at the state capitol of Illinois at Springfield.
Probably it will be years before the National
House will adopt such plan, even If it
should be at once shown to be the best possi-
BILE arrangement The older members would
look askance at such an innovation, ard ev-
cry fellow who has ever tasted the sweets of
filibustering would be uncompromisingly
against plan that would shorten the yen
and nay vote to 10 minutes time. Moreover,
the business of the House and the habits of
the members have been adjusted to the con-
dtion of the three-quarters-of-an-ho roll
call. The member feels that he is sure not
to lose his vote. He may go down into the
lunch room, or to the bath room, or over to
the Senate side, or may take a nap in his
yea and nay vote is to be taken there will be
time enough for the page and doOrkeepers,
who are the whips" to find him and get
him into the hall in time for the second call
of those not answering the first call. On a
close roll call the chief of the pages, or some
other interested employe of the House,
stands by the clerk calling the roll and takes
the name of every member falling to answer.
If the absentee is some member in town
pages are at once sent in quest of him. They
search the House restaurant, the bath
rooms, the committee rooms. the library of
Congress and all the other places of the cap
itol, and having found their man, impart
to him the stirring information embodied in
the phrase "yeas and nays" The member
at once starts at full speed, sometimes arriv-
under the wire. Stahlnecker, large, good
natured Democrat from New York, during
one of the roll calls on the federal election
bill, burst into the House in this way and
reached the floor just in time to answer to
his name just as it was called for the last
time. He was greeted with applause as he
spurted through the door. Senator Reagan,
the earnest but unwieldy Senator from
Texas, lost his vote once when he was
of the House because he was not
spry enough. He was down in one of the
solid marble bathing tubs in the
basement of the House when he heard that
the yeas and nays were called on the inter-
state commerce bill, in which he was much
interested. He is said to have made all haste
to dress himself, but even the long yeas and
nays were too short, and the Texan got onto
the floor too late TO vote.
Sometimes too, the yeas and nays serve a
useful purpose to enable side to get its men
together, when they have carelessly remained
away when some important measure is COM
ing up. Thus, Mr.. Mckinley used the yeas
and nays to prevent the Democrats from get
ting the silver bill from the Speakers table
until the hard money men had been rallied,
during the silver raid in the House few
weeks ago.
With an electic device members would
have to be in their seats constantly, which
might be as we'll for the country but would
be hard on the members.