Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-02-06
in a nutshell the true inwardness of

in nutshell the true inwardness of
Reeds ruling. 1t says:
"The principle that a majority of
the members of the House ought to
be able to control its business
under proper and we'll established
restrictions--is one that commends
itself to the approval of every intel-
ligent man, and the Republicans in
the House are appealing to that
principle to justify them in their
present contest with the minority.
The appeal is weakened, however,
by single fact which the majority
arc careful to keep in the background
in the discussion in which they are
engaged, that fact being that the
majority recognize no proper and
established restrictions for the con-
troll of their conduct.
"Ihe House Is governed by no
rules except those of its own making
at each session. The will of the
majority is its only law, so long as it
keeps within the broad limitations of
tho Constitution, and it judges for
itself what those limitations are.
Under these conditions, the minority
can have no measure of protection
against the tyranny of the majority
except the rules adopted at each
session and the prcccdcnts cstab-
lishcd by former Houses.
"The position of the two parties in
the present House will be clearly
understood when it is borne in mind
that, although Congress has been III
session for two months, the ma ajority
have refused to adopt code Of rules,
or to recognize prccedents which
have been in force for many years,
including those established by their
own party, and arc cndcavoring to
control the business of the body
temporarily by the application of
the principles of general parlia-
mentary law'-as construed at every
step by thoroughly partisan and
unscrupulous Speaker.
"Thc motive for this extraordinary
course of conduct is well known.
The Republicans have very small
majority in the House, and their first
object is to increase their strength
by unscating some of the members
of the minority, who hold contested
seats, and replacing them by Repub-
licans, without regard to the cvi-
dcncc in the contested cases. They
would adopt rules that would give
the Speaker power to accomplish
this object, but snch rules would
go on record to plagnc their in
vcntors aftcrward. Thay have
every reason to believe that they
will be in the minority in the next
Congress, and they do not wish
to establish rules, or formal pre-
ccdcnts, that could then be applied
against themselves. They prefer,
therefore to act without definite
rules until they have accomplished
this purpose and then to make such
rules rs will not cmbarrass them
when they arc in the minority again.
"Fhc real question that is now at
issue in the House, it is seen, there
fore, is not whether the ma ajority
shall control the business of the
House, but whether they shall cx-
ercisc such control i'm fair and or
dcrly way or according to the whim
OF the Speaker in the absence of
rules and in defiance of all precedent.
Under these circumstances, the mi
nority arc right in contcsting every
inch of the ground, and even if they
are defeated in the House it can
scarcely be questioned that th>ir op-
poncnts will pay dearly for their vic
tory in the end"