Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-04-11

scott and stay to pray. And then, when
turn to that side of the house, my MEM
Dry fresh with the scenes I saw enacted
last congress, l can scarcely suppress
my wonder at the great and marvellous
change which has come over them. Even
rs melt into sympathy with them, I
cannot but liken them to story l 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 punishment for his misdeeds
the devil was forced to assume, the garb
of priest and go among them and
preach SO eloquently that he converted
every one of them into the fold of the
true church. fear it would not be al
lowable, under general parliamentary
law" for me to say in this instance who
the devil he is laughter, but think,
Mr.. Speaker, have him in my mind s
eye. Renewed laughter.
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 own interests to turn laugh
ter on the Democratic side, but hope
nobody will doubt the genuineness of the
conversion because of that small and
xyo,- nj oil ,cfo
WHAT GREAT LIGHT SHINES!
Why, sir, we have already had in the
case of the distinguished speaker an il
lustration of the proverb that virtue is
it's 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 pre-
cedents and rules of procedure, and he
now stands before the world as the high
est living authority on general parlia-
mentary law" if not its sole expositor
and depositary. Great laughter on the
Democratic side.
No wonder, under these circumstances,
that 1, who have taken calmer and
more philosophic view of all the pro-
ceedings 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-now wonder that
|, too, have at last experienced a change
of heart, and am ready to join my col
leagues 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 general parliamentary law"
Laughter.
Sir, 1, who have been dwelling over
here among the tents of the wicked,
old fashioned idea which has come down
to us through all the generations of Eng
fish legislators, through Jefferson and
the great authorities he followed, through
Story and many others, that, somehow
or other, for any great assembly, espe
cially for one as large as this, rules of
procedure are first and an indispensa-
BILE necessity.
Sir, in my former blindness I supposed
that chastity was no more the virtue of
a woman than impartiality was the vir
tue of the speaker of this house loud ap-
plause on the Democratic side], and that
whatever other graces and accomplish
ments she might be endowed with, lack
ing this. she fell from the estimation of
men. Renewed applause. But that
was before became an expert in ''gen
eral parliamentary law" that was before
my darkened mind was opened by the
tender conversion of the friends SO much
love on the other side of the house.
"Now YOU SEE AND NOW YOU DON'T SEE. "
My friend from Arkansas Mr.. Rogersl,
whose judicial experience in frontier re-
gion brought him into official relations
with many lawless people, characterized
general parliamentary law as some
thing 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.
Laughter 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
nounced in advance, in the language of
the play bills, positively the first and
only appearance" Great laughter and
applause.
Sir, I think I can catch Though have
not had the pleasure of reading the
speech which the speaker made at Wood
stock on the last Fourth of july the con-
nection of general parliamentary 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 respects gives to
him an advantage by reason of the in
trinity, particularly if his blind eye hap
pens to be on the side where the minori-
ty sit. Laughter and applause.
And perhaps a still better ratification
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 members who
sit in their seats and refuse to vote.
[Great laughter and applause on the
the Democratic side.
We are sent here to do business. said
my friend from Ohio Mr.. Butterworth].
Laughter and APPLAUSE We are not
sent here to sit silently in our seats and
draw S13 day, but to legislate and do
business, and the rules stand in the way
of legislation and doing business. Sir.
this is the meaning of general parlia.
mentary law" renewed laughter] of tina
new dispensation that is to do away with
the rules of the house. Hereafter we
shall come here to legislate, not waste
precious hours in roll calls and motions
to adjourn, and all these dilatory pro-
ceedings, but industriously and con-
stantly to legislate.
AN EFFECTIVE DOOR OPENED TO ''LooF-
ING"
H.. ..,.axz