New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-26
TSTPP1TION BY 4 MINORITY.

I'm any other country it would be regarded as
very strange thing that the minority IN a
legislative body should be encouraged deliber-
ately to make any Legislation impossible, in
order to defeat change of rules by which the
majority could recover power to transact DuSl-
ness. Yet it is sOlcmny asserted in Demo
cratic journals that the duty of Democratic SEN
atoS Is TO resist to the last gasp the cndcaVOr
of Republicans to suppress intentional waste OF
time. They are lighting, these Democratic SEN
atOrs are told, for the most sacred rights OF the
minority, the right to resist by all possible
means measures which they deem improper.
1t may as well be understood at the outNct
that a minority has no right whatever TO arrest
action except for one of two specific purposes
to place the reasons against u measure, when
might otherwise pass because its provisions are
not known either before the majority or before
the people of the country. There is the night of
minority i'll a real and grave emergency, TO
appeal to public opinion by taking enough time
for debate 10 inform the members OF the ma
joritv or the voters Of the country, what the
pending measure actually is. But that night
has its own natural and necessary limitation.
When the majority fully knows what 1t IS
irving to do there is no right whatever to de-
bate for the purpose of informing its members
Talk with that prctcncc is then an insult. And
when the country knows full well what the
measure pending is, and has considered it for
months, ,aE under pretencc of aIousing pub
lie opinion is sheer impudencc. When a
minority wilftlly abuses such power as 1t
has for either of these purposes, 1t proves
tha. il can no longer be safely trusted with the
opportunities previously given. The right to
interrupt, in an emergency, implies that there IS
no right to interrupt where such an emergency
does not exist. When men put themselves be-
yond the pale of dcccncy, and show that they
cannot safely be truStcd-with any power, 10y
their wilful abuse of opportunities, the majority
and the country arc then bound to sup
press the disorderly behavior of that mutinous
minority as speedily as possible.
The Election bill is one which has been dis
cusScd in all its aspects for a full year The
majority in the Senate has examined 1t carefully
in conference and has discussed it for weeks in
open Senate. The people know all that they
wish to know about it. Any prctcncc that pub
lie opinion needs TO be aroused regarding that
measure by delay is simply dishonest. There
fore when an attempt is made 10 stop the pas
sage of this bill, under such circumstances 1t
is not an exercise of any right which belongs
to minority. 1t is, in fact, an effort to uSurp
the power of the majority to make laws. IL Is
essential to the discharge of the legislative trust
that the majority shall at all times have power
to carry out the will of the people. as it inter-
pre.s that will. Denial OF that power, attempt
to deprive the majority of the peoples repre-
sentatives Of that power, is simply attempt 10
usurp the Government and to take il from
those to whom the people have entrusted IT,
ANY one who has watched the proceedings in
the two houses of Congress during the last year
must have observed that the disposition OF the
minority in both houses has been precisely that
which IS here discussed 4 year ago there be-
gan in the House a determined effort to prevent
the passage of the Tariff bill and Of other meas
ures by dilatory proceedings, and when that
performance was stopped by the rulings of the
Speaker the temper shown by the minority made
it clear that it had been their most cherished
purpose to usurp the power to control the action
Of the House. 1t is exactly this purpose which
the minority in the Senate now diScoses. and
its attempt to defeat the Election bill, and any
change Of rules by which the majority can re-
cover its mghtfu influence in legislation is in
its essence simply usnpation OF power.