St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-31

day, cOntending that the speaker in
counting in members who refused to
vote as present. had violated no rule of
parliamentary law. A parliamentary
controversy ensued during Mr.. McKin-
ley's address between Mr.. Mckinley
and Mr.. Carlisle on the speakers ruling
that it was not necessary to have quo
rum voting to pass measure. but SIM
| ply to have quorum present. AS one
| or the other of the gentlemen scored a
point, he was greeted with applause
Oy those on his side of the house.
"All that was involvedein the appeal"
SAID Mr.. Mckinley, twas simply ques-
ton of fact. Was not the speakers ac-
count correctP The constitution did
not declare that majority OF the mem
| Ders who answered to their names
should constitute quorum. Itwas not
decided how the question OF majority
| should be determined" He thought
! 1t right that if 167 members sat silent in
| their places one member should have
right to pass bill. Tt was the duty of
the others, if they wished to defeat it,
| to cast their votes against it. Mr.. Car
Isle inquired If one man could pass
bill over the presidents veto. Mr.. Nc
Kinley said that the constitution pro-
yided that yea and nay vote should be
taken on vetoed bill. Applause.l
| Mr.. Carlisle responded that one-ffth of
| the members had light under the con-
| stitutlOn to call for the yeas and nays
on any other proposition, and it then be-
came as imperative as the other. Ap-
| plause.) Mr.. Mckinley said that when
| Mr.. Carlisle was speaker he had signed
many bills that had been passed with
out the presence of quorum. He was
| willing to admit
THAT HE HAD FILIBUSTERED
q
call that he had ever done it from
high, or noble, or a worthy purpose.
| Applause. No minority had ever car
ried on filibustering that had not been
| ashamed of itself afterward. If gentle
men on the other side wanted revOlu-
tion let them get out of the house. [Ap-
| plause. Those gentlemen wanted to
perpetuate fiction that said that man
was absent from his seat cOnstructively,
when in fact he was present. The Re-
publicapS wanted the journal to declare
the truth. The tyranny of the minority
was infinitely mole odious than the
| tyranny of the majority. Mr.. Crisp in
terrupted Mr.. Mckinley to say that Mr..
Blaine had denied the right of any one
to say that member was present. Mr..
Turner, of Georgia. said in reply to Mr..
Mckinley that if the wild viewpresented
here was once grated on the practice
of the house, it would inaugurate
reign of anarchy and prof1igacy unpre-
cedented in the annals of the country.
He accused the Republicans of hav-
ing changed their views on this question
to suit present emergency. Mr.. Reed,
| in his speech at Woodstock. had said
that tilllbuStering was dishonest, un-
patriotic practice. He denied the right
of the speaker to note him as present
and voting. thus holding him up to the
country as dishonest and unpatriotlc.
| The speaker had no more control over
| the minutes than he (Turner) had. He
| had no doubt of the decision Of the
people when this question should go to
the country, but as an American citi-
zen anxious to maintain the free condi-
| ton of the fathers, he asked members
to put behind them this temptation.
Mr.. ButterwOrth said this decision was
| departure from the practice which
had been tolerated in the house half
century, and which
WAS SANCTIFIED BY ANTIQUITY,
if antiquity could sanctify that which
vOlved the power of the majority to rule
in this country, and members should
determine to-day whether the constitu-
ton contained in itself the element of
suicide. Mr.. Butterworth dissented
from the proposition advanced by some
| of the minority members that member
| must answer to himself and his consti-
tuents alone whether he would vote and
| discharge his duty here or not. The
doctrine would have passed when it
was held that members were ambassa-
dors from the states; but it would not
do in 1890. A member was here to
legislate not simply for himself and his
constituents, but for the whole country,
and the country had right to exact of
him that he be in his place and per-
| form his duty. The effort of the DEM
ocrats was to proclaim to the country
that not the majority, but the minority,
should rule. If the minority might say
what measure they would not consider
they. might also say. what measure they
would consider. Il am not afraid Of
"we have acquiesced in this petty
tyranny too long. What are the rights
| of the minority? To be heard on every
question. To approve or oppose what
| is proposed, to enter in its protest
against it by voice and by vote. But.
! in addition to all that. this minority
here insists that it has constitutional
right to stand in the way of any legis-
latlon that it disapproves. Such is
neither the letter nor the spirit of the
constitution. Such was not the idea of
country. They provided. not against
| the silence, but against the absence of
| members. The right Of the minority,
| which the fathers provided for. was the
| right to amend, or to do whatsoever
they wished to perfect legislation. But
| the
SOVEREIGN WILL OF THE PEOPLE
| is represented IN the majority; and
until that right shall be overthrown by
! revolution or otherwise, the decision of
the speaker must be upheld as vindicat-
country" [Applause.l At the close of
Mr.. Butterworth's speech Mr.. Mckinley
moved to lay on the table the appeal
from the speakers decision. Mr..
Springer moved to adjourn. The mo-
| tion was defeated. The roll call was
proceeded with and the motion to lay
| the appeal on the table was carried
| yeas 162, nays none. No Democrats re-
| sponded and the most of them left their
seats during the call of the roll.
| Speaker Reed again noted down the
names of the Democrats present and
not voting. When the speaker an
uounced the result of the vote and d.
| clared Mr.. McKinley's motion carried
there were shouts of
mo quorum" and exclamations of
| Indignation on the Democratic side. but
in the midst of the tumult and uproar
the speaker recognized Mr.. Mckinley
| for motion to adjourn. put it and de-
clared it carried, but before he left the
| chair (amid shouts of SHANE" from the
excited Democratsl ne paused long
enough to give Mr.. Springer chance to
say that he had demanded the yeas and
| navs. The speaker said he had heard
no request for the yeas and nays: but if
| the gentleman from Illinois said that he
rose in his place ana called for them,
| the speaker would recognize the de-
mand. And so MIR. Springer had the
poor satisfaction of having the yeas and
nays called; with the result, yeas 1914,
nays 81. The house then, at 6:35, adj