The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-09-28
Ingenious Device to Expedite Voting
and Roll Call in the
House.
The Congressman Need Only Press
the Button, the Clerk
Does the Rest.
The Vote of the Entire House Can be Thus
Taken Inside of a Min


WASHINGTON. Sept. "A New England
congressman who, for obvious reasons,
wishes his name withheld for the present.
informs me that he has placed in the hands
of Mr.. Douglas Dyrenforth, the we'll known
patent attorney of this city, an invention
which will do more than all the rules in
Christendom to prevent filibustering in
legislative bodies. I am, of cou .se, not
permitted to know how the device works.
but this is what the inventor has to saw
about it:
1.-The greatest delays in so-called deliber-
alive bodies are occasioned by roll-calls. "
says he. Look at our house of representa-
tives for instance. It takes the clerk fifteen
minutes to call the roll the first time.
to call the names of those who do not
answer the first call. Then he uses from
two to five minutes announcing the names
of those who are paired. After this he
verides the record by reading over the
list of those voting in the affirmative
and of those voting in the negative.
This takes five minutes more. Then
you may count two or three minutes more
for the delay caused by those members who
come in after their names have been called
and who wish to be recorded. At last the
clerk counts up and the speaker announces
the result. The whole has taken never less
than thirty minutes often much longer, for
the clerk frequently has to call one mans
name three or four times before he can get
his attention, and often the answers are so in
distinctly given that the vote is recorded on
the wrong side and has to be changed after
ward. All this, of course, consumes time.
But say it takes thirty minutes for each
roll call. As soon as it is done somebody
moves to reconsider the vote and somebody
else moves to lay that motion on the table.
On this proposition the roll is called again.
There you have an hour utterly thrown
away; and dozen roll calls in day is not
an extraordinary thing. 1 have sat and
seen day after day wasted in this manner,
until l wonder that the people who are
paying for it all do not rise against the
men who are responsible for it,
"Do you propose to do away with roll
calls!'' ] asked.
mo: that cannot be done without work
ing injustice to the individual member.
Every member has the right to 60 upon the
record as he wishes to. Roll-calls in some
form are necessary. but in the present form
they are a great evil. mischlevous min
ority can prevent the transaction of bust
ness for weeks at a time, and as our country
grows ana representation becomes larger
and larger this delay gets to be worse and
worse. Anu IL SeeINS 10 DC tNe growing
policy of minority parties to prevent the
majority from doing anything, so that at
the next election the paucity of results may
be pointed to as an argument in favor of
change of administration
''What is your invention and how does it
intend to overcome this evil!"
TT is a mechanical device by which the
roll is called and recorded almost in
stantly.'
It is unnecessary to tire the reader with
long list of questions and answers. AS
nearly as l could make out from the vague
into giving. the device consists of large
table like that of a hotel annunciator. con-
nected with each desk by two wires. In
side the desk are two buttons marked re-
spectively yes and no. and SO placed
that only the person having access by key
to that desk can touch them. This is to
prevent the wrong person from turning in
the vote. The annunciator is provided with |
discs, each marked plainly with a members |
name and bearing the word yes on one
side and mo- on the other. When the
member presses se the affirmative button in
that the word ''yes'' is exposed, or
if he presses the negative button
the reverse side of the disc !
is turned outward. Then, attached
to each disc. there seems to be sort of |
''nickel- in-th SLOT arrangement, so that
Wueu uuc NAeC Is IUIAcu III SSS u piece Oh
metal which falls into a hopper and in its
turn is passed through a slot, where it turns
a ratchetwheel one way or the other and |
records on counting machine either an
affirmative or negative vote. As soon as
these pieces of metal have fallen into place
the face of the counting machine shows the
sum of the vote on each side of the question.
The inventor claims that the vote of the
entire house of representatives could be
taken, counted and announced in single |
minute.
'sHave you any reason to believe that |
congress will adopt your device?" l asked |,
Il have little doubt that the voting in !
both houses will be done by this means |
early in the next session. he answered. II
have placed the papers and the model in
Mr.. Dyrenforth's hands and he is now look
ing them over with view of determining
whether it is patentable--that is, whether
any part of it infringes any patents hereto
fore granted. | have looked into the sub
ject myself and l do not believe there will
be any trouble i'll that direction. and'' here
there was significant twinkle in his eyes
II guess the republican caucus will adopt it
all right
"You have talked with some of the lead
ers about 1t, them |
"Well. never mind. l think the house
will be using it next session."
How about the minority side2 What
will they say about it?''
''They will kick against it, of course.
They kick against everything that is calcu-
lated to expediate business No; this is not
q minority invention. 1t is intended to as
sure to majorities some of the rights that
ought to be theirs. We have babied minor
tiles in this country and talked about their
rights until the rights of majorities have
almost been lost sight of. This device ia
intended to revive the good old practice of
letting D,ajorities rule, but it does not rob
the minority OF a single right. 1t simply
saves time which mlnorities now waste, I
think 1t will shorten sessions of congress so
per cent. or permit congress to do a hundred
per cent. more business in the same time:
and whichever way you put it it is con-
summation devoutly to be Wished
Mr.. Dyrenforth, whom afterwards called
upon, expressed surprise that his client
had spoken of the matter at all, but, being
assured that the cat was out of the bag
said that in the course of his practice he
had examined great many voting ma
chimes of one kind and another, and that
until now he had never seen one that did
not fall short in some essential particular,
Il have not looked into it as fully as /
shall, he said, but it seems to me now to
be patentable and practicable. l would
rather, however, make my report to my
client than to the public
Until this or some other approved method
of taking votes is adopted. however, the
clerks will probably 60 on with their same
old song, varying it only as new congresses
come IN and the list of names is changed.
The roll of the house as it is at present
called has become SO familiar to those who
ait day after day and hear it called over |