Telegram-herald., 1890-02-11
THE HOUSE RULES.
Majority and Minority Reports on
the New Code.
A SYNOPSIS OF EACH DOCUMENT.
The Former Prsseats Defense 81 speaker
Rcsd's Po.itioo -tisss of the OPP0-
sitian ses Forth BY Messrs-
gariisls 4nd Randall

ruE MAJORITY REPORT.
WAsHINsroN. Feb. To- Though not
formally presented 70 the House. the
majority and minority reports upon the
new code Of rules proposed have been
9led With the Journal clerk and ordered
priuted. The majority report, In great
detail. explains the difference between
the proposed code and that previously
in force. but IN most instances tho ex-
F PLANTATION is unaccompanie1 by any
argument
In regard 70 the rule authorizing the
Speaker 10 count a quorum the report
says.
Tho process Of aseeriaining the presence Of
quorum 10 90 business under The CoRstitu.
tion would ordinarily be under She con
troll q tho Speaker who woulc de
rive his information from MS own senses
or by tie aid of clerk or
10 any way which would satisfy
5 own mind u The accuracy OF the count
Under our system OF roll calls il has been
deemed more convenient 70 ascertain aud an-
nounce The votes of members and the presence
{ Of those Who refuse 10 vote ~ the same time
and by The same means
Concerning the new clause providing
that no dilatory measure shall be enter
tanned BIZ the Speaker, il Is stated that
the clause is merely declsratory Of par
liamentary law. Tho report continues:
There are no words which can DC framed
Z which VIII limit members 20 The proper use Of
7 proper motions To-day tho abuse has grown
10 such proportions that the parliamentary law
which governs American assemblies has found
/ IL necessary "a keep pace with the evil and 60
enable the majority, by the intervention Of the
Iasra Ina arrr
means the extraordinary abuse Of power on the
part sometimes OF few members.
If the suggestion should bo made that great
1 power is here conferred the answer IS that the
approval OF the House is the very breath IN the
nostrils OF the Speaker. and as nobody on earth
is so jealous Of its liberties and so impatient
Of control, may be quite sure that no
arbitrary interruption viii take place
and. indeed, interruption at all, until
not only such misuse of proper motions IS made
clearly evieen, 70 the world but also such
action has taken place on the part OF the House
as will assure the Speaker Of the support OF the
body whose wishes are his law. So that in the
end il is a power exercised by the House
through its properly constituted officer."
Considering the question OF providing
that hundred members shall constitute
quorum in committee OF the whole, the
report states that this change is made
necessary by members refusing to vote
when the roll is called, and points out
the fact that every thing done in COM
mittee has TO be reported to the House,
and that nothing dono Is in any way
final In conclusion the majOrity report
says:
Your committee have thus gone over briefly
the proposed new code Of rules. They believe.
il followed out in good faith, it will at once
enable the House 70 have due control over its
business and al the same time provide those
safeguards Of deliberation and debate which
will enable the House 10 act wisely
THE MINoRITY's VIEWS.
The minority report, signed by
Messrs Carlisle and Randall, gives
much attention TO the fact that commit
tees are given superior rights to call up
bills in the morning hour to the exclu-
sion Of the individual rights of mem
bers The proposition 10 reduce the
quorum Of the committee OF the whole
to 100 is opposed
The counting in" rule that caused so
much bitterness during the recent strug-
gle in the House over the Smith-Jack
son contested election case is thus dis
cussed:
This is the most radical and. in our opinion
the most dangerous innovation proposed by the
majority u agreed 10 il viii not only over
throw the construction that has been upi
formly given 70 the constitution for
more than century. but it will enable
less lhaa majority OF the Repre-
sentstiveS OF the people TO pass the most
important laws affecting the interests Of the
whole country. The personal and property
rights OF the citizens protected heretofore by
laws enacted by the votes OF a majority may bo
impaired or destroyed by The votes Of a mere
fraction OF the members OF Congress; for II
less than a majority may constitution
ally pass measures in the House, Of
course the same thing may be done in tho
Senate. In the same way enormous sums OF
money may be appropriated from the public
treasury for the most unconstitutionsI and i'm.
proper purposes and the interests OF the tax
payers completely subordinated TO tho selfish
demands Of private individuals and corpon-
tions. Without entering here into O dis
cussion Of the constitutional question
involved IN this proposition, we earn
esuy protest against II as a measure OF The
most dangerous and revolutionary character
Any rule for practice which enables the Speaker
OF the Clerk 10 pass bills by counting members
present and not voting viii inevitably resul, in
destroying the confidence Of the people Ia the
integrity Of legislation aud engender contro-
versies and ltigations which might be easily
svoided by an adherence 10 the mandate OF the
constitution as heretofore interpreted
Relative to the rule by which the
Speaker may refuse to entertain dila-
tory motions, the report says under this,
even, the right Of appeal from the de-
cision OF the Speaker as 70 what is a
dilatory motion might be denied and
adds
"A rule aboliShin9 all tee parliamentary mo.
tionS heretofore recognized by the House. and
simply providing that members may make such
motions only IS the Speaker may see proper 20
permit aad take only such appeals from bis de
cisions as he may sec proper 20 allow. would a.
least have merit a. dircctress and simplicity.
such rule would bo more unreasonable cr I'D
iust than the one now proposed
Nellie BLY, Turns Lecturer.
NEW YORK. Feb. io.--Miss Cochrsne,
the young woman who recently made a