The Portland daily press., 1890-08-11
LIVELY DAY IN THE HOUSE.
Mr.. EnIoe's Trouble With the Door
keeper-Mr. Perkins on the Speaker.

WASHINGTON, August 9.-On motion Of
Mr.. Mckinley of Ohio (by unanimous con-
sent) the Senate joint resolution was passed
accepting from the q. A. r. statue of Gen.
U. S. Grant.
Mr.. Enloe then rose to question of per-
sonal privilege. He said that pending a
call of the House he was present in his seat
He had then started out of the House, with
out his hat, to attend to business in the Cap
itol. In passing out of the west door, the
doorkeeper told him that he co uld not pass
out. He replied that he would pass out. The
doorkeeper said that he could not do so that
he h ad orders from the Speaker to that effect
He (Mr. Enloe) had said that he would pass,
and the doorkeeper thereupon caught him by
the arm and attempted to arrest him. He
had been acting in his representative capa-
city, and exercised his constitutional rights
to go and come whensoever he pleased. He
had not been absent. A subordinate of the
House had laid violent hands upon, him, in
order to prevent him from passing from one
portion of the Capitol to the other, and he
offered resolution to bring the doorkeeper
to the bar of the House for contempt Of the
House, and for breach Of the privileges of
member
The Speaker, ruling upon the question,
said that the rights and privileges OF all mem
bers of the House in the discharge of their
functions were sacred, and that the House
could undertake no higher duty than the con-
sservation Of those rights. and privileges
arose under dubious circumstances, it
was proper for the House to pause,
and to give suitable heed to any question
which member raised in regard to his
rights and privileges. 1t was for the House
alone to determine what those rights and
privileges were. In this case the gentleman
had embodied in his resolution his COM
plant and the remedy therefor. The chair
thought that thij was a question which ought
to be passed upon by the House. The rules
Of tne House made provision for the obtain
ing and retention of quorum. In order to
accomplish that, the rules of the House re
quired that whenever call was ordered the
doors should be closed. Such closing of the
doors, in the opinion of the chair, prevented
any member from leaving. the. chamber.
They were made, in the opinion of the chair,
for the purpose of keeping in such members
as were there already and retaining those
who might appear there, after having been
sent there by. order of the House. But that
was the opinion of the chair as an individual
member. The Speaker had issued no order
in regard to the matter, but in response to a
question Of the doorkeeper or one of his as
sistants as to the meaning of the rule the
Speaker had stated that to be his opinion;
and the doorkeeper hal acted on it, always
subject, OF course, to the decision of the
House. AS this resolution raised question
which must be disposed of by the House, the
chair ruled it to be admissible.
The motion by unanimous consent was re-
ferled to the committee on judiciary, and
the House then proceeded under the special
order to the consideration of the Senate
amendments to the Indian appropriation
bill.
Mr. Dockery of Missouri commented upon
the extraordinary RUE tn which took the Senate
whole, and provided that the House should
vote in bulk upon 101 amendments.
Mr. Perkins of Kansas criticised the Dem
ocratic side for filibustering against the gen.
eral appropriation bills, and he approved of
the resolution which required speedy vote
to be taken on the Indian appropriation bill.
Defending the Speaker from attacks made
upon him, he declared that members on the
other side had received much more courteous
treatment than their conaaes tSa deserved OF re-
fie believed that the presiding officer was
impartial and courteous. He knew that he
was able, and he desired to say that no man
occupying the chair by permission OF DEM
ocratic House had ever occupied that chair
fidelity to the public good, than the man
whom the Republicans of this House
had honored by their votes. For in
tegrity, for manhood, for impartiallty,
he was willing to put put tae ne Speaker In
cans can had no apologies to make. here Or else
where, for the vote they had cast for Thomas
B. Reed. Republican applause] The lead
ers who aspired to dominate the other side
in their representative capacity they had the
power to call the yeas and nays. Laughter
How their constituents must swell with pride
when they read from day to day their manly
proceedings. And how their people must
glow with pride when they saw them stand
ing in their places and insolently and in de-
fance Of decency insulting the man who had
been elected Speaker The gentlemen on
the other side were continually discussing
dead issues. They other day they had found
live issue, John /. Davenport OF New York,
and for two days they had discussed his work.
He congratulated them upon having at last
found a live issue Laughter He wished
to read an editorial upon Mr.. Davenport, an
pearing In the Democratic paper of Washing
ton controlled by Beriah wilkins. [DerisiYe
laughter on the Democratic side, and sarcas-
tic INQUIRIES as to whether Frank Hatton
was good Democrat Mr. Perkins then
read the editorial referred to, deprecating
Democratic attacks upon MIR. Davenport.
The vote then recurred upon the motion
made by Mr.. Perkins to non-cOncur in the
Senate amendments This was agreed to
yeas, $50; nays, 2. Adjourned.