The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-28
COUNTING A QUORUM.
Salty Comments on Speaker Reeds
Question able Methods.
From the Pittsburg Post.

From the PittsbUrg Post.
Heretofore Speaker Reeds rule of count
ing in a quorum has been mainly applied to
therascally business of stealing seats OF DEM
ocratic representatives. but few days ago
he used it to consummate probably the most
important act of government, so far as the
House is concerned. That is the admission of
new state into the union. The Idaho bill only
received l29 votes, or 81 less than the quo
rum the constitution calls for. 1t is well un-
derstooe a number of republican rep
resentiveS refrained from voting for this
caucus measure because of their opposition TO
some of the un-American features OF the
Idaho constitution. If the bill becomes
law as passed By the House last week it will
be tested in the courts, and judicial deter
mination had, if the question can be reached,
as to the constitutionalitv Of the speakers
autocratic assumption Of power never be-
fore held to be in the hands of one man in
the American congress. Here are $4,000
people, a few more or less, given represen-
tation in the Senate, for partisan purpose.
the same as Pennsylvania with its 5000 600,
or New York with its 100000. And In
Idaho some &c, 900 of the population are dis
franchised and held to be ineligible for hold
ing office or jury duty because of their af-
finity to the Mormon church and not because
they are themselves polygamists, for all ac-
counts agree that very few of the Idaho
Mormons are. This is the constitutional
point involved in the acceptance by congress
of the Idaho constitution, which will be
consummated, if at all, by the speaker voting
- members as present to make quorum
a proceeding he has himself denounced as
unconstitutional. lawless and revolutionary,
with Speaker Blaine, President Garfield, Sem
aJor Hawley, and the whole body of the re-
publicans in congress on the record as hold
ing to the same opinion.
The republican plan for the retention
of power involves the admission of six new
states, with twelve senators representing
population by the last census not more
than half that of Allegheny county. The
next step is the placing of the congressional
elections under federal coltrol; the agents
to be rascals of the Quay, Dudley and Ma
hone caliber ana morality. Then comes the
bill to make republican gerrymanders of
states permanent, or at least beyond the
power of the people of state to modify for
ten years. Add to these damnable usurpa-
tions the creation of pretorian guard, by
pension plumber and other schemes of extrav-
agance, and we have what is already fully
developed. We believe there are in some OF
these measures elements that may event
uate in civil war, for they involve the con-
troll of elections at the north in opposition
to the will of the people of these states, and
cap this by handing southern states over
to carpet-bag and negro domination.
And all this is to be done by Speaker
Reeds patent plan of counting in a quo
rum,S and passing laws on his individual
say so. 1t seems to us this is very danger
GUS business There is no telling where it will
end. The supreme court may find a remedy.
or the people may protest at the coming
elections with force and emphasis that will
call a halt. But the devllish vlilalny
may be consummated before the elections,
and the usurpation maintained by the
power of fraudulently constituted Senate
against the protest Of the people In the cleo
ton of democratic House of Representa-
tives in 1890, or a Democratic President in
1892. There is trouble ahead. The Quay-Ma-
hone udley-Reed crowd, north and south,
that are managing the Republican party are
riding for big game, like baggars on horse
back, or for fall that will annihilate them.
They will get the fall. The people of
America are not ready to accept the plans
of Louis Napoleon, backed, as his were, by
perjury, fraud and violence