The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-23
Gag Rule DENOUNCED by Reed.

IL AANuNA AEAAAGA hACAD NAie-N ---'-
Speaker Reeds gag rule was under discus
sion in the House no one recalled an article
b airing on the subject which was published
in The ChdUtduquGp over Speaker Reed 5
name about four years ago. Speaker Reed
was in the minority then, and in the article
IN question he Denounced in the strongest
terms gag rule which the present
House adopted through bis fundamentally,
and which be has been defending in the
magazines with all the skill and learning
which ne possesses and enforcing with the
enthusiastic approval Of his party
In the course Of his article in The CLGu-
tnu0udn he said: "Whoeve. thinks that
the function Of a legislative body IN free
country is fully performed by the mere
passage of bills good or bad, has little
comprehension Of the real scope and useful
ness of such a body. A full, free and
frank discussion is the very life Of lntelli-
gent action Further along in the article
he said
But there has been in the country for the
past half century 50 many subjects OF bitter
feeling, involving bitter words, that the
tendency 10 suppress discussion in lngress
by those VINO have the power has reached a
point whore there ought to he Il reaction in
favor of freer discussion. In no other cJun-
try in the world is the power Of shutting eff
DEBATE lodged in the majority. the 'pTevl-
Gus question has been employed without
mercy. IL is III the memory of all that until
the last few years the House Il Commons
never had such hing as he previous ques-
ton in our sense OF the term. There was
no power in the whole House to close debate.
The IRISH members, simply by talk
ing, were able to prevent the
passage of bills which had the
approval of the vast majority of the
House. Even since this strong provOcaton
has caused the Introduction of the cloture,
debate cannot he closed except by the pre-
siding officer under some circumstances
under such requirements of support from
the House as in that body secures a right of
debate, which is much greater than in the
House of Representatives. The hesitancy
with which 50 slight a measure of suppress
sion was adopted in England strikes with
shade of surprise the American legislator
accustomed in congress to see discussion
drowned with as little remorse as if it were
a sightless kitten. But the English are
right Unreasonable and cdpricious sup
preston Of discussion is tyranny, lUhetheJ'
done By king or by a Majority
The foregoing are no doubt the real views
of Speaker Reed. When he was elevated
TO the speakership he suppressed his honest
sentiments and willingly played the part Of
a tyraHt in order to do certain things which
his party could not do if free discussion
were permitted. Among these things were
the unseating of large number of demo-
cratic mem ers and the filing of the va
cancies thus created with republicans, the
passage of the Mckinley tariff bill and the
federal election bill.
In the June number of the North Amer
lean PerieW there is an article which
proves conclusively that Speaker Reeds rule
which authorizes him "to count quorum"
is unconstitutional, and his own argument
in the The Chdutduqltdn shows that his
gag rule is nothing less than tyranny The
reputation he has made as Speaker, there
fore, is not one of which a high minded and
honorable man would be proud.
What has been the effect of the enforce
ment of the gag law in the present congress9
MIR. McMillin, one of the leading demo
cratic members, says that bills have been
rushed through the House with indecent
haste; that in many instances they have
been considered at all; that bills
have been sent to the Senate in
such crude condition that the chances are
that that body will not even consider them,
and that, in the case of the Oklahoma bill.
it was found after the bill had reached the
President that the state of Texas was incor-
porated in it, There was virtually no con-
of the tariff bill. 1t contains 146
pages, only sixteen of which received any
whatever.
Speaker Reed congratulates himself, prob
ably, upon having done great things, but
from the present outlook this congress will
not accomplish as much as many previous
congresses, and the House is confronted
with the fact that under Speaker Reed IS
management its work is noticeable only for
its partisan character. There is absolutely
nothing in it which shows care, intelligence
or craftsmanship.