Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-08-10

non. The Democrats are Benton Nc
Millin and James Ii. Blount. Under tn,
rules nobody except a majority of the
committee on rules can tell what legis
lative business is coming before The
House each day.
One day in each week is set aside un
der the rules for the consideration OF
private bills. One day in each fortnight
is set aside for bills relating to the DIS
trict of Columbia. Yet the committee
on rules can seize either day for the
transaction of business it desires. 1t
does do il. For more than fifteen weeks
private bill day was wiped out.
The most important measures are
whirled before the House by this COM
mittee without moments notice. The
minority of the committee are helpless.
A huff an hour or an hour before the
House meets they are invited tc the
Speakers room. Everything has been
cut and dried by the majority. a meas
ure involving a hundred million dollars
NAV be upon the calendar The major
ltv of the committee on rules draw up a
resolution that it shall be considered
! Immediately after the passage Of the
resolution If the House. 1t does more
than this. IL limits debate 10 two days,
| two hours, or perhaps one hour.
| IL gives the committee from which
the bill was reported preference in Of
! fering amendments, and allows so little
time for amendments that no one else
can offer any. At times the allowance
has been so short that the committee
itself has been cut off. This has been
the case with the most important meas
ures. II was the case with the Nc
Kinlev tariff bill. An amendment al
lowing uncut diamonds to enter the
country duty free and placing duty OF
five dollars carat on all imported cut
diamonds. was thus cut off. IL was in
tended to foster the art OF diamond cut
ting i'm this country. Two hundred
other amendments exceedingly import
ant had been printed in the record, and
were left Enacted upon. About $40 OF
the 1876 pages were never acted upon in
committee of the whole
Under the privilege of the Committee
on Rules Major Mckinley or Joseph G.
Cannon walks into the House, is rec
ognized by the Speaker, and introduces
the resolution providing for the imme-
date consideration of "A measure. limit
ing the debate and ordering the prey
ions question. The majority of 5he
House is expected to stand by the ma
iority Of the committee. The rcSolu-
ton isi showed through Ike a board
through a planer. The minority is the
parliamentary planer and it makes fully
as much noise as the planning machine.
Unlike the planer, however, 1t rarely
succeeds in trimming the plank The
Democrats are wary and watchiul. |
They call for a division and the |
yeas and nays whenever they /
can. If possible. they raise |
Doints of order and take appeals from /
the decision of the chair, They move /
to amend and TO adjourn, if they can Sc /
cure recognition. This they seldom get. |
Major Mckinley or Joseph q. Cannon /
Immediately demands the previous /
ouestion ON the adoption Of the resolu- /
lion. The demand is seconded and the I
previous question is ordered, despite the /
protests Of the Democrats. Then, I'M
under the rules, forty minutes for de-
hate are allowed. The Democrats get
twenty of the forty. The resolution
then goes through. and motion to re-
consider it is tabled. After that the
majority of the House has full swing
Nm the hour set for the vote has ar
rived.
Only once since the opening OF the
present session has the committee on
rules struck snag. 1t was on July ;.
On that day Mr.. Cannon offered a reso-
Intion providing that Immediately after
its adoption the House take up the orig
inal package bill and the Torrey bank
rnptcv bill. -Four days were to be al