The Portland daily press., 1891-03-05

n
L Reed) 4B2
| OF the 207 roll calls under Mr.. Carlisle, 65
4 were made in the long fillbustsr which de-
| feated the Direct Tax Bill, and were dila-
tory. Deducting these there are left 142 legi-
| innate roll calls, which would be about the
number naturally used In determining public
| questions in q session Of eleven months,
| about the length of the first session Of the
| Goth Congress. The first session Of the 5lst
Congress was shorter by half a month, yet
we find that it had four hundred and sirty.
tlo0 OF these roll calls. Each roll call requires
at least twenty-four minutes OF time; and
for all the calls II, ,088 minutes, or over 1874
hours were consumed. This makes over
thirty siI legislative days used In calling
the roll, on motions larger part Of which
were for the sole purpose Of obstracting the
In spite Of this unprecedented obstruction
forced upon the House by the Democrats
through their ability to demand yea and nay
votes. the public business Of this Congress
has been carried through without any fall
ure on the part Of the House. The House
has been true to the programme Of the Re
publican party, through many difficulties
and many trials.
The Democrats have admitted the success
Of the House in this Congress as a legislative
body; but they have complained that this
success has been won at the expense Of the
deli6eratire character Of the assembly. They
have declared over and over again that de-
bate has been suppressed; and they have re-
iterated 1t so often that many people have
supposed II necessarily a fact. Yet there
was never greater lie in all history. Tn
the first session Of this Congress there t1ds
more debate than in any other corresponding
session of any other Congress- The hrst ses-
was speaker, Is spoken Of by Democrats as
the golden age Of unshackled debate; yet In
the first session of this Congress, which ad-
journed fifteen days earlier than did Mr..
more debate In the House of Representatives
under Speaker Reed than In the House under
Mr.. Carlisle. And compared with
the second session Of The Thirty-seventh
Co. Congress, the first war, war Congress,
all the important legislation necessary to
begin the struggle with secession, the first
session Of this Fifty.frst Congress was a
perfect wilderness OF debate. The proper
tion Of debate In the second session will be
found about the same as In the first when
the reorpts Of the congressional debates
shall be put In book form. The following
table will show the actual facts In regard to
debate in the present Congress as compared
with the preceding Congress and the first
war Congress:
session esd session ssS session sss
37thCong. 50th Cong. 6lst Cong.
bate In House.. 1873 6l7l GAGS
Pages OF De-
bate il senate. 1913 4,oe5 5.123
words in Housed 12s 300 2,si2 coo Il, ,eso. 900
words in Senate. 4. 800 900 s,1soooo Il, ,24s. 900
Length Of Sess.. dec. o TO Dec. 8 10 Dec. to
July 16 Oct. 20 Oct.
These figures need no comment. They
efectually dispose OF the cry that the House
Of Representatives has lost its deliberative
character.
Any notice Of the work of the present Con-
gress would be incomplete without refer
ence to the abuse which has been heaped
upon the Speaker of the House both by
Democratic members on the floor and by
the Democratic press In all parts of the coun-
try. Few men in public life since the adop-
tion Of the Constitution have been so
abused as Speaker Reed has been. With the
exception Of one Congress the Democratic
party has enjoyed undisputed sway In the
House OF Representatives for fifteen years.
The Southern wing OF that party has d0min-
ated its counsels with the old-tlme intoler-
ance. 1t has been truth Of history, aud II
Is truth now and will be found truth for
many years In the future, that any public
man who crosses the path Of the oligarchy
now dominating the South will be doomed to
| all the abuse and detractiOn that maleyolence
Democrats made their boast through Mr..
Mills that they would virtually control the
| business Of the present House, even though
the Republicans were In the majority. In a
desperate and tumultu0us fight they were
oyerthrown; and they turned on the author
OF their overthrow with a bitterness that
can scarcely be understood by one who has
not witnessed 1t. But there are two facts
that should never be forgotten nor be OBJ.
scured by this abuse and by the shouts of
tyranny" "despotism." "czarism." etc,
with which the Speaker has been bonn
| barded:
1. Every act Of the Speaker may be re-
versed instantly by the House, II 1t Is not in
members. This was true under the old
rules, and Is equally true under the new
| rules.
2. Although numberlsss appeals have been
taken from the rulings of Speaker Reed,
nerer In single instance has the House
| failed to sustain him in every particular.
vi.
So far as the Senate Is concerned, one fact
stands out with startling preeminence Its
proceedings have been an acknowledgment
that a minority may at pleasure. stop the
progress of that body on any particular
measure and defer action indefinitely. A
factious minority may do this, even though
an indisputable majority may wish to pass
the measure. The Senate has declared its
inability to legislate without the consent OF
the minority. In republican form OF gov
ernment such condition of coordinate
legislative body Is matter Of vast p0ssibili-
ties, since 1t practically admits that the rule
Of the majority exists only at the pleasure OF
the minority.
1t has heen charged, notably by the New
York Tribune. that the procrastination Of
the Senate In dallying with the tariff bill
until the eve OF the general election was the
cause Of the Republican disaster In Novem-
ber. Without passing upon the truth or fall
sity OF this charge, certain facts may be
noticed. The tariff bill was passed by the
House on May 21st. 1t was important legis-
latlon which should have been completed
long enough before an election TO enable Its
provisions to be understood. Yet the Sem
ate held the measure until September 10. al
most on the eve OF election. Moreover, the
Senate was so deliberate In its actions that
an adjournment was not reached until Oc-
tober 1st, although the House had been ready
to adjourn weeks before. The result of this
was two-fold. The Democratic members of
the House were able to be absent canvassing
their districts; while the Republicans, hay
ing the responsibility Of maintaining
quorum In the House, could not get home to
look after their elections. While Mr.. Mills
and other Democrats were making free trade
speeches throughout the West the Republi-
can members were held In Washington by a
Senate that seemed to have the power to end
hSssHea Aeo ohuACoo uCUhbD uOl itS DOolucoSs
"rhe Senate tied us to the stake while the
enemy massacred u.s." was the description
one member gave Of the campaign Of the
summer and autumn Of 1890.
VII.
fnal observation may be made In this
connection upon certain signs OF a rearrange-
ment Of political equilibrium upon new sec
tional lines. The spectacle Of the alliance
Of the silver senators from the West With
the southern Senators for the defeat OF the
elections bill and the passage Of free COIN
age bill has not been without an effect upon
the imagiDations OF men. They nave fore
seen new political arrangement which they
Imagine may restore the old ascendaucy en-
1oyed by the south in the days Of the Slave
holding aristocracy, and pass the control of
the government over to the elements that
nave been In the minority for the last quar-
Ter Oh century. A close inspection Of the
social aud Industrial condition of the new
silver States Of the west and Of the oligar-
| chlcal governments of the Southern States
will not inspire the faith that the signs OF