, 1890-09-05
REED, THE B%RAGGART.
The American Gar Speaks in
Portland, Me
Says Republican Pledges Have
Been Fulfilled,
And That a Precedent Has
Been Set for the Future.

PORTLAND, Me-, Sept. 4. Speaker
Reed arrived here this afternoon. He
received o%vations at several points along
the road where the train stopped today.
Tonight he wa welcomed at the city hall
BY a crowd of 5000 people and made an
address, the substance of which is as fol-
lows:
Speaker Reeds address was devoted to
a review of the work of the present house
of representatives. He spoke of the
threats of the minority before the assem-
bling of congress AMI the declarations that
they were to rule in utter disregard of the
will of the people, and of all the flllbus-
tering tactics they were prepared to en-
ploy. The house of representatives, he
said, is not a body quick to do business
under any set of rules. Its large mem
bership and the adverse interests they
represent will always make it slow and
cumbersome, but the system which en-
abled one member to hold the whole
house at bay until the going down of the
sun aud then to hold it until physical ex-
haustion set it free. and one-ffth to hold
it forever, was evidently a system which
rendered elections useless and called a
halt to civilization itself. II there be any
thing in popular government it means
that when the people have elected one
party to take control of the house or sen
ate that party shall have both the power
and responsibility.
1t was with far other. ideas of public
duty that the minority met US at the
opening of the session. Not only were
no measures to pass which did not have
their approval, but no rules even OF pro-
cedure we're to be permitted, except
.I,an trhfah up1fahla 10 Nha bnasan
party. After two months opposition
they found that under the parliamentary
law which had been built up by the
American people in consonance with their
institutions public business was going on
every day without their consent, and they
began to clamor Tor the very rules they
had denounced. | need not describe to
you the scene of disorder preliminary to
the establishment of sound business prin.
ciples 10 the house. Ii is enough to say
that good work was lone and the house
has taken a long stride towards business
and the performance of duty.
At any time in the last eight months l
have been subject to muck indiscriminate
praise and much discriminate blame. One
isjust as much deserved as the other.
Great events do not turn on one man.
The house of representatives was ready
Auu IlDt " tue CnduEt Alu Aut DcOpit
stood ready to approve. What all the
world wanted was easy to do. l al not
greatly proud to be speaker, but | am
proud, with all my heart, to be one OF that
magnificent majority of the house OF rep
resentatIyes which for nine long months
has never for one moment faltered in its
duty. We have achieved all the Repub.
lican party promised and more.
We promised the people that the tariff
should have q fair aud exhaustive treat
ment. That the principle of protection
should have full recognition, and we have
kept the promise. By the administrative
bill a wise aud discriminating effort has
been made to secure to our manufacturers
and merchants the complete benefits OF
the rates of duty imposed by law. A few
years ago the Democrats in the house ad-
mltted that owing to a change in the
methods of the manufacturers the whole
wooden industry was lettering to its tall
unless woolens and worsteds were put
upon a footing of equality. Nevertheless,
for the purpose OF adding to the votes
for the Mills bill, which could never pass,
they sacrificed the woote1 industry with
out delay and without waiting to
strengthen their own bill by the support
of the worsted men.
Major Mckinley and Governor Ding
ley pushed through the measure of JUS
tice which has rescued so many of our
wooden mills from disaster and ruin.
These bills, useful as they are, were but
torerunners of the tariff bill. The Nc
KinleY bill was not the product of one
man who tried to know everything. If
any tariff bill was ever the result of the
beliefs of the whole people of the United
States the Mckinley bill was.
Another great achievement of the
house is the silver bill. The Republicans
had promised that all the silver dollars
should be furnished which could be kept
equal with gold Such a bill fulfilling
that promise to the utmost now adorns
our statute books as a tribute to the wise
conservatism of the Republican majority
OF the house. Already silver seems to be
climbing to par with safety to all interests
of the country.
There was also another promise to be
Kept made long ago and often renewed.
For years the Republicans have declared
most righteously that there could not be
In a republic a duty more sacred than the
duty of upholding the right of every citi-
zen to participate in the government.
The house. true to its duty, has passed a
bill which, when it becomes a law, will
give to the people of the United States
the sutfrages of millions. Ii will enable
votes to be cast and to be counted as cast
Then Mr.. Reed continued; Every inch
oil our progress has been contested by the
opposition in highway robbery of time.
We spent two months and a half
In organization and in prelimi-
nary struggles to settle the right of
!he majority to control, and in determin-
I W tue rules of the house proceedings.
were forced to spend more time on
contested elections. Our loss of time
On contested elections willnot be less than
twenty days. One other cause of loss of
time Will be a surprise, perhaps, TO the
at large. No man would re-
stet more than | to be thought wanting
~ all proper respect for the dead and all
proper reverence for departed comrades
Spu ior the feelings of surviving friends.
tet the method by which the house shows
1uis respect aud pays this reverence is
very costly to the nation. The speaker
vent on to show that by the time the
nouse gets through with the e~ulogies OF
tue members who have died during this
been lost.
ne then went on to speak. of another
vWUstnod OF obstruction-calling the roll
nNn $50 members, it takes twenty-five
hiuutes to make a roll call, Whenever
.ne yeas and nays are ordered it means
ane loss OF half an hour, So far this ses-
SION we have had 400 roll calls; 300 of
.nese have been utterly useless, mere
Wanton waste. Three hundred roll calls
mean twenty-five legislative days wasted,
Ine mere useless calling over OF names and
I'll UOnn Tn NuuaN4 N-.1 al ..Ll.- -.