Los Angeles herald., 1890-03-23

Even as | melt into sympathy with them.
| cannot but liken them to story read
long years ago, of an Alpine village
which the devil had so thoroughly de-
bauched and corrupted that it was ter
ror to all the region round. But as a
punishment for his misdeeds the devil
was forced to assume the garb OF priest
and go among them and preach so elo-
quently that he converted every one of
them into the fold of the true church. |
lear it would not be allowable, under
general parliamentary law" for me to
say in this instance who the devil he is,
lgreat laughterl but l think, Mr..
Speaker, | have him in my minds eye.
| [Renewed laughterl.
Sir, know what cross it was that
these gentlemen had to take up when
they came into the House with this pub
lie confession. | know that malicious
people will say that it would have been
better for them if they had turned from
their evil ways when it was against their
Democratic sidel, but hope nobody will
doubt the genuineness of the conversion
because of that small and very unim-
pOrtant circumstance.
Why, sir, we have already had in the
case of the distinguished Speaker an
illustration of the proverb that virtue
is its own reward. In single bound he
has leaped, as it were, far above the
level of all previous Speakers of this
House, who were weighted down by
precedents and rules of procedure, and
he now stands before the world as the
highest living authority on general
parliamentary law' if not it's sole ex-
positor and depositary. [Great laughter
on the Democratic side.
No wonder, under these circum-
stances, that who have taken calmer
and more philOsophic view of all the
proceedings of this House for the past
week than any other man here, and
have studied general parliamentary
law," as it has been revealed to us, as
the scientist studies new phenomena
no wonder that l, too, have at last ex-
perienced change OF heart, and am
ready to join my colleagues on the other
side and admit that all my previous
ideas about the rules and the practice of
the House were wrong, and that there
is nothing in the world, above the
world, or under the world equal to ''gen-
eral parliamentary law" [Laughter.]
Sir, l, who have been dwelling over
here among the tents of the wicked, had,
and it is no wonder that had, the old
fashioned idea which has come down to
us through all the generations of Eng
lish legislators, through Jefferson and
the great authorities he followed,
through Story and many others, that,
somehow or other, for any great assem-
bly,, especially for one as large as this,
rules of procedure are a first and indis-
pensible necessity.
Sir, in my former blindness | supposed
that chastity was no more the virtue of
a woman than impartiality was the vir-
tue OF the Speaker of this House, loud
applause on the Democratic side], and
that whatever other graces and accom-
plishments she might be endowed with,
lacking this she fell from the estimation
of men. [Renewed applause.] But that
was before | became an expert in gen
eral parliamentary law" that was be-
fore my darkened mind was opened by
the tender conversion of the friends |
so loved on the other side of the House.
l had also supposed, as / believe
my friend from Texas Mr.. Moorel
has just argued, though l had
not the honor of hearing him,
that our forty odd rules, built up by the
wisdom of the past, revised and simpli-
fed in the Forty-sixth- Congress,' were
almost the sole defenses erected by the
experience of this House around the
Treasury of the United States that they
stood between the people and all those
schemes for their spoliation that come
in here by the carload on every bill day.
But, as | said, this was when | knew
nothing of the advantages of general
parliamentary law"
Sir, let me dwell for q moment upon
those advantages. Ny friend from Ar
kansas (Mr. Rogers), whose judicial ex-
perience in frontier region brought
him into official relations with many
lawless people, characterized general
parliamentary law as something that
''now you see, and now you don't see."
| have inquired of him what he meant
by that phrase, and he tells me it is one
OF the ungodly expressions of men who
engineer certain game where all the
chances are on their own side Laugh
ter and applause
But, sir, think can give better
definition of general parliamentary law
| than that, and | can tell you what it is
Its great and distinguishing mark is that
each ruling of the Speaker should be an
the play bills, Positively the first and
| Ollly l>flSoo iNuSiioNi oiiet
applause
Sir, think can catch Though have
not had the pleasure of reading the
speech which the Speaker made at
Woodstock on the last Fourth Of July)
the connection of general parliament
tary law" with Nelson and Trafalgar.
Heretofore we have supposed that under
the rules of the House the Speaker must
have two good eyes, SO that he could see
equally both sides of the House; but it
seems that general parliamentary law"
makes it possible not only for one
eyed man to be Speaker, but in some re-
spects gives to him an advantage by
reason of the intirmity, particularly if
his blind eye happens to be on the side
where the minority sit. Laughter and
applause. go
And perhaps still better qualification
would be that the Speakers eye directed
toward the minority should have the
upper half blind so that he will fail to
see us when we rise in our seats for rec
ognition, but the lower half sharp
sighted so that he will always see mem
bers who sit in their seats and refuse to
vote. [Great laughter and applause on
the Democratic side.
We are sent here to do business, said
my friend from Ohio Mr.. Butterfeldl.
| RI ourbtar opd anp1ouca1 We are D7,t