Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-30
BATTLE OF THE GIANTS.
The Exciting Contest In the House Yes
terday.

terday.
TIE TWO POLITICAL ARMIES ARRAYED-REED AND
CRISP The PROMINENT FIGURES IN TIE GREAT
coSTESTIoS-rHEIR POSITIONS STATED By
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. INCIDENTS OF THE DAY.
The contest in the House yesterday was not
ended at the adjournment. The fighting was
resumed again this morning and nobody knows
Just when it will end, though there is no
doubt as to the outcome finally. The excite
ment during the tumult and shouting when Mr.
Reed first sprung. his coup d'etat, when a hun
dred members raised and often repeated
cheers, like men rushing into battle the excite
menr was not as intense the scene as i'm
pressive when the quiet OF deep earnestness
settled down and the real fighting began.
During the delivery of Mr.. Crisp's
protest every member sat in 81
lence with his nerves at highest
tension. Democrats with their lips compressed
and trembling with suppressed excitement
listened with intense interest to the impassioned
appeal Of their new leader. But two men in
the hall appeared calm and self-possessed. and
these two were they who felt most intensely
the seriousness of the situation. They were
Reed, in the chair, standing like giant, the
embodiment of power and determination, look
ing down upon the House one who would
with single blow strike down opposition. and
Crisp, on the floor, man of almost as great
physical proportions. calm deeply in earnest,
swelling within himself to twice his normal
size. contending with almost irresistible force
against his immovable antagonist. The battle
was between these two strong men. The rest
Of the House were the excited lockers on.
THE TWO CHAMPIONS.
Occasionally some democrat hurled hand
grenade at the Speaker, but the only blows he
was conscious of were those dealt him by the
he H.,
almost without wincing. With the rest of the
House in tumut or Gained by over excite
ment, those two champions kept up the form
OF honorable combat. politely pounding at each
others heads. and Reed was the first to cry foul
The only time throughout the struggle that
Reed showed a disposition to shrink from the
Georgians blows was when the latter turned
from the direct attack and sought to show the
motive which led Mr.. Reed to his course
Then, without waiting for a member on the
floor to call order, Mr. Reed commanded his
antagonist to keep to the direct attack.
Then Mckinley, the republican leader on the
floor, appealed to the House to let the gentle
man from Georgia proceed in his own way.
This was something of a rebuke to the Speaker
and members fastened to turn it from him to
themselves by taking the responsibility for the
point of order.
On the very start of Mr. Crisp's defense of
his party an attempt was made 10 silence him.
The Speaker recognized MIR. Payson to move
to lay the appeal from the decision of the
Speaker on the table and to cut of debate be-
fore the democrats had made any defense.
Then Mr.. Butterworth arose to the defense of
fair play. Il hope" he said. 1.-The gentleman
from Illinois will withdraw his motion. This
Is an important question and gentlemen on the
other side have right to be heard" 1t was in
respect to this appeal that Mr.. Crisp was per-
United to enter his protest. This and the sub
sequent action of Mr.. Mckinley two of
the most striking incidents in the contest
showing that these men did not lose their love
Of fair play in the heat of contest.
SPEAKER REED STATES HIS CASE.
Mr. Reed. after the first tumult had subsidized
after his ruling. stated his case He said: 1.-The
clerk has announced of members voting 16l
yeas, nays. The chair thereupon having
seen the members present, having heard their |
names called in their presence, has directed a |
record to be made of this fact Accordingly |
that question is now before the House. and the |
chair proposes to give a statement. accompa-
MEN by ruling. from which appeal can be |
taken if any gentleman is dissatisfied there
with"
Mr.. Crisp ga. Tin advance enter an ap-
peal lLaughter.l
''The Speaker, continuing, said that for some |
considerable time a question of this nature had |
been raised IN very many parliamentary assem-
bles, and there has been great deal of doubt |
especially IN this body, on this subject. He re-
ferred to various precedents. One of the first |
places, ne said, where the question had been
raised was the senate of the state of New |
YORK The present governor of New
York had been the presiding officer, and upon |
him had devolved a duty similar to that which |
mad now deyolyed upon the Speaker. He had |
met that duty In precisely the same manner
He referred to the struggle over the registra- |
non bill IN the Tennessee legislature In 1885. |
On the third reading the republicans had re- |
fused to vote, whereupon the Speaker. a men, |
Der OF the other party. had directed the clerk |
TO count as present those not voting. and had |
declared the bill as passed on that reading |
These two decisions Cthe first made in 1888 and |
the other in 1850 seemed, Mr. Reed thought |
to cover the ground; but there was an entirely |
familiar process which every old member |
would recognize whereby the opinion of the |
chair is incontestible evidence of the recogni-
uon at all times OF the right to record men,
bers present as constituting part of quorum. |
The count by the chair and the count by |
tellers and the count by yeas and nays" the |
Speaker said, were of equal value The House \
had right on a call of one-ffth of the menu
bers to have yea and nay vote, and then on |
that the question was decided, but the decision /
In each OF the other cases was of precisely the |
same value. 1t had always been the practice in |
parliamentary bodies of this character. and es- |
pecially in the parliament of Great Britain, for
the speaker to determine the question if there |
was or was not quorum present by count. 1t |
was because that was a determination of actual !
fact, and the determining of that was en- |
trusted to the presiding officer in almost all in |
stances. So that when the question raised |
whether there was a quorum not, without a |
special arrangement for determining it, it |
ing officer. Again. there was a provision in |
the Constitution which declared that the House |
might establish rules for compelling the at |
tendance of members. II members could be |
present and refuse to exercise their functions |
and yet not be counted as quorum that pro- |
vision would seem to be entirely nugatory"
He then read Gov. Hills decision when presid- |
ing officer of the New York senate.
He then ruled that,a quorum was present and
Mr. Crisp appealed. Then the attempt was
made to prevent the Georgian from talking
and then 1t was that Butterworth raised his
voice for fair play.
MR.. CRIsP's APPEAL
Mr.. Crisp said he desired to call attention to
the rulings on the same question of distin-
guished gentlemen who have occupied the
Speakers chair and to read the opinions of dis
nngulshed members of the majority party on
the same question, so that republicans might
understand tn I when they vote to sustain the
ruling G. the chair they will not only overturn
the I'M iterrupted practice of one hundred
years IN this House but will vote directly i'm
opposition to the views OF many of their most
distinguished leaders.
This, he said, was the first time in the history
OF the organization of this House when such a
course has been taken, although there have
been numerous occasions when the Speaker has
been asked so to decide. For the first time
In our history" he said, ''the occupant