West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1890-11-20
ELOQUENT SPEECH.
or II en-. William l.. Wilson nj the
BGnqnet Given In Honor 0f
The "1ld Romans" ssth
Birthday.


Hon. William l.. Wilson. of West
Virginia, in responding to the toast
"The House of Representatives. =
said;--"Mr. Uhairmm-I shall take
It for granted that the toast to
which | am invited 20 respond docs
not refer to any particular Eouso
Of Representatives least of all that
House which the people have Just
made the victim OF their furious
but most discriminating anger. L
shall treat itas referring generally
to that branch of our Federal Leg
islature which we sometimes, in
language borrowed from another
country, incorrectly call "the low
err House OF Congress, forgetting
that the chamber in which the
American people appear by their
Immediate representatives can in
no justly constituted sonse be a
subordinate one.
In the general structure of our
Federal Government, built by the
Union Of sovereign States, the peo-
pie act through servants chosen by
somoiatermediatc system of elect o !.
In tho House of Representatives,
they act by those whom they choose
themselves, selected from thor own
ranks aud commissioned for a brief
and definite term OF service. Here
alone we find rep .esentativ, gov
in its primary and full
manifestation. To an Americ n
citizen, aud especially to y citizen
trained in the political faith of our
guest and most Of us here
tonighs are the House of Replesen-
latiyes must ever forsthis reason be
1t all times u center Of interest: OF
interest," rs fundamental part of
oar constitutional system, where
the workings of that system, ap-
2esr IN their most open and strik
ing exhibition and OF scarcely le
rs mirror OF tho scnti
ncat, thc temper nd The political
Intelligence Of a great people. md
struggling with the inomentous task
II selfgogernmeut.
Lee me present the llou3e eor
nomcnt in each o. these aspects
It is one Of The serious quesi Is
of our day whether the popls
branch Of Congress has kept pacc
with the growth Of Our country and
with the demands for legislation
that growth has brought with it,
We begtn with house Of 60
nenbers, representing less than
iour million OF people, chiefly On
gaged in one pursuit agriculture.
We have today q House Of
}32 members, representing sixty
-hree million people. engaged in
every branch Of profitable indus ry
md steadily maesing into large cit
cs Tiegreat industrial revolution of
Lhe past quarter OF century has
evoked novel and gigantic agencies
of production and transportation,
being noyel.and difficult questions
for governments to deal with.
The real question is, does the
ilorse deal with questions it should
deal with, and in an intelligent.
statesman-like manner. 10 meet
its growing demand for legislation
the House has developed into q
well.kaown system Of standing
committees, each in certain sense
a petty house, where bills are con-
sidered and matured for the enact
ment of the House itself. Neces-
aty and experience have also built
up set Of rules against which
there is much clamOr, but which
are as indispensable to its guidance
as tho clcvees that hold the current
Of the Mississippi river, to tho steel
rails that guides the locomotive.
Nothing more helpless could be i'm.
agincd than the House Of Repre-
sentativcs Of today exploiting in
the general field Of logisbtion, un-
fettered by a rigid system Of rules.
The main idea Of the House rules,
next to the orderly conduct Of busi-
ness, is TO make it easy for tho
House to do those things which
must bc done, or the wheels Of Gov
ernment viii stop and increasing
the difficulty 10 do anything else.
Well, what do we thcn do. The