The Portland daily press., 1890-02-06
What They Are un To.

lhete Is danger tnat In the talk about par
liamentary law, and rules of the House, and
presidents that the substance Of the contro-
versy now going on in the House may be lost
sight Of Our government is founded on the
the principle that the ma'~-'.-' have the right
to rule. That is :. corner stone
being removed, the whole structure
Gumbles in ruins to the earth. With this
principle recognized and obeyed republican
government is possible, without it we begin
TO drift into anarchy. The essence
OF the struggle in the House is the
securing of the recognition of and
submission to the principle of ma
jority rule. This struggle was foreshad-
owed some time before Congress met In
deed as soon as the result of the congress-
ional elections were ascertained and it was
seen that the Republicans had but slender
majority. the Democrats began to throw out
hints that in spite of this majority the Re-
publicans would not be allowed TO legislate.
AS the session drew nigh so confident were
they that they had scheme cooked that
would paralyze the majority, that Mr. Mills
OF Texas went staggering round the country
publicly proclaiming that the Republicans
would not be permitted to do anything. This
was the exact language of his proclamation:
We do not propose that the Republican majority
snail pass single measu without our consent.
FOR Instance, You can depend upon 1t that the
rules of The house will net be changed In any
essential feature by the Republican majority.
we VIII not permit them to be changed, as IL Is
Desired by Mr. reed, In any particular feature
Nor will we permit any Of the proposed legsla-
tlon looking to control by Congress of the cleo
tons, for we see plainly what the purpose of that
is. The same Can be saiu OF the contested seat
cases that viii como Up before Congress. We do
not propose 70 let the Republican majority be fur
lner Increased aD llbitun, thu owing out Demo-
Cratic members, as seems 10 be the purpose. In
other words, we propose 10 exercise the control
OF the House just as much as though we were
still In the majority, because we know our nj.
norltS Is strong enough TO make us the virtual
rulers.
There is the same old spirit of ante-bellum
days, the spirit Of rule or ruin which pre-
cipitated upon the nation the rebellion of
1861. "We," says Mr.. Mills, do not pro-
pose that the Republican majority shall pass
a single measure without our consent" The
Southern leaders talked just that way In
1860. They did not propose then that a
President should be elected and seated with
out their consent, and when the North in
sisted upon electing and seating Mr.. Lincoln
they urged upon their States policy closely
analogous TO the policy which they as indi-
viduals are today adopting in the House of
Representatives. They said to their States,
the national government cannot coerce you
into action, cannot take c0gnizance of your
existence unless you see fit to allow it to.
When the government wants to march
troops across your State to suppress revolt
In neighboring State, then you can assert
your existence and claim that under the con-
>StAedtion the government cannot violate your
territory without your consent; but when
the government calls upon you to perform
your duties toward it under the cOnstltu-
ton, then you can keep silent. by which you
say in effect that you are absent from the
Union. This advice was followed, this
policy was adopted. Aud when the national
government ruled that State could not be
in the UnlCn for one purpose and out of it
for another, these Southern leaders all rose
up and proclaimed that the government was
a tyrant; that Lincoln was despot Their
whole performance was in pursuance of a
carefully laid plot to paralyze the govern
ment and yet commit no overt act.
The present performance of the Demo-
cratic leaders In the House is closely pat
termed after this rebellion programme. They
have plotted to defeat the will of the ma
ority in Congress, just as thirty years ago
the Southern States plotted to defeat The
Will o the majority of the States, and their
methods are close parallel to those of that
period They are members of the House
whenever they can do anything to further
their scheme; they are not members when-
ever anything is attempted to defeat it, As
the border Southern States used to protest
against the marching of troops into them as
an invasion Of their rights as members of the
Union, while still evading all their dudes, so
the Democratic representatives in the pres
ent House protest against every ruling
which may in the slightest degree invade
their rights as members of the House, while
at the same time they insist that they are
under no obligation to perform any of the
duties of members, even IL their refusal
should result in starving the government
to death. And justas the refractory States
shouted tyrant and usurper when Mr.. Lin
coin undertook to make them perform their
duties as members Of the Union, so these re-
frsetory representatives, when Mr.. Reed at