Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-01

A New Revelatioa.


"You, cir, have attempted to vamp
some feeble show to sustain your out.
rageon rulings, to amuse the galleries
and TO Amuse the people, while you con-
summated and carried out the behest Of
the chairman Of the Republican ma
tional committee 10 turn out the repre-
sentativcs Of the people elected to seats
on the door y; and Speaker Reed defined
tho latitude Of the power which he In
tends to exercise to achieve this purpose
when In reply he defended his refusal to
entertain . motion to adjourn, which IL
universally understood to be always In
order, by declaring that "when any
member or Get Of members undertake to
oppose the orderly progress Of business,
even by the use Of ordinarily recognized
parliamentary motions, 1t IN the right Of
the majority to refuse to have those
motions entertained and to cause the
public business to proceed. Primarily,
the organ Of the House il the man elected
to the speakership. 1t 10 his duty, In q
clear case, recognizing the situation, to
endeavor to carry out the wishes and
desires Of the majority Of the body which
he representa-"
That is plain declaration that the
majority can set aside the rules when
ever they desire " the public business to
proceed" and that the speaker is the
organ Of the majority, whose duty 1t Ii
to divine its wishes and act accordingly
In enforcing or suspendIng the rules.
Speaker Reed In his present perfor-
mances has organized himself into the
majority Of the House which elected
him, but which is no longer present to
sustain him. Az such majority he con-
cedes that the rules must be suspended
to enable the majority to work without
it, being actually present.
II b clearly an excellent way In which
70 dispense with the presence Of the
majority after It has once assembled to
constitute the speaker, who thereafter Ia
IT. organ, to speak and act for 1t, and In
IT. name to suppress the minority and
suspend the customary rules Of parlia.
mentary government. "Where are the
rules?" cried Congressman Springer to
the speaker, who was calling him to
order for violating parliamentary pre-
cedence. And the speaker replied that
the House was under the parliamentary
law which governs all assemblies.
This was said on Thursday, when the
speaker did not have to 90 any further
than to make q quorum by counting
memben present who had not answered
the roll call, but whom he saw in their
seats. But on Friday there was need Of
additional suppression Of the minority
In order to get to the work Of turning
ont the Democratic congressman In the
contested districts, Of which the pend.
ing one was In West Virginia. A mo.
ton was made to adjourn, and the
speaker found 1t to be necessary, to ex-
pedite this business, to refuse to en-
tertain the motion; and when he
had gone this far It was easy
Tor him to 90 still further; and
20, while he invited an appeal from
his decision, he refusing TO permit Mr..
Springer 10 discuss the question In.
volved In 1t, or even to advise him
when motion to adjourn would he In
order, further than to say that it would
be In order sat the proper timep; and
he gave the floor to Mr.. Dalzeil on the
contested election case, after refusing to
permit the question to bs put to the
House a. to whether that case should
be now considered.
These performances Of Speaker Reed
may be very mildly characterized as
high handed. His advice that motion
TO adjourn ID In order at the proper time,
be being the sole judge Of the propriety
o. the time, Is especially interesting.
There is not o debating school In the
land or an association of any kind that
- not familiar with the rule that q
motion to adjourn is always In order.
The Reed amendment to this now, il
that 1t II always In order to move TO
adjourn when the presiding officer of
the meeting thinksthe time for the
motion to 10 a proper one. Speaker
Reeds defense to this proposition Is that
the motion Is dilatory one, and that II
= proper. to ignore 1t to advance the
public business. II his reason was sim
cerely given it would still be unsound.
The public business cannot be advanced
by = tyrannical treatment of minority
q by putting it in the power of q pre-
siding officer, who is but one man, to be
unjust to the minority, who are many
uhen, and each one Of whom Is respon-
slbie to a large constituency for the up
fsghtness and Intelligence of his con-
duet.
But we hold it TO be beyond question
By any intelligent mind that the motive
which. animates Speaker Reed in his
arbitrary conduct is not care for the
public business; but solicitude to ad-
vance private business and to cultivate
The power Of the Republican party in
Congress. The power of the party
nneans power and profit to the
leaders, and 1t IL wholly sell
nah prompting which has induced
&sed and his co-conspirators to deter
mine upon increasing the Republican
power In Congress by hook or by crook.
Bed furnished an elegant instrument
- the scheme, knowing naturally no
eestrsint In the pursuit of his aims.
1nt the wonder Of 1t is that all the Re.
pnblicans In the House have been whip
- Into bis support. 1t 10 wonderful
exhibition Of the power Of party
exigency over partisans. Here are
'men who In times past pers ist-
entity demanded and defended as
ylghb those things which they now
Qany TO the Democrats who are In the
Minority that once was theirs and the
eadsr Of the Republican party on the
ooor Of the House has even the audacity
. declare that though he did these
eAlnr In the minority he was always