, 1891-04-17
DEBATES IN CONGRESS-.
REPORTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS
HAVE GROWN BY VOLUMES.

Written Essays Are Set In Type Instead
Of Being Delivered on the Floor.
The reports Of congressional proceedings
are growing or have already grown so large
a. 10 bee burlrusome and ia imminent dan
ger Of becoming useless. There are two
specific REASONS for this Increase. one H. the
printing Of every trivial detail with stem.
lgrtphic eNHctness, and the other is the
permission iu both branches Of using writ
seu essays Instead Of making actual speech
- in debate
In the beginning Of the government, aud
lor many years thereafter. the habit Of
speaking from u manuscript in either
branch ~ congress was unknown. Or
every important measure that came before
congress, uu the eNprdiency Of which mem
bers differed ia opinion, there was an act.
ual debate, ia which positions were Affirm
ell aud contested with OF hand speech. In
every conflict OF this kind the member Of
congress were, us a rule. 90 their seats,
many taking part and the mass SO inter
e-ted As to sit continuously through the
debutes
The nal Of speech has greatly changed.
At this time any one who will take his
seat In the gallery Of the senate rs the
senator assemble will be interested dur
ing the morning hour which is often
marked 10y what may be called a sharp de
bate hut when the morning hour eN-
plres and the regular order" h an
nounced the spectator will very probably
see "A gentleman rise and unfold IA mass Of
manuscript and begin to read.
lie will next SEE out Of the eighty eight
senators probably seventy-hve and posi-
bly more u the senate DE full, absent
Themselves from their seats aud retire TO
She COMMITTEES rooms to write letters Hund
transact kUtN UUblir and BriNufH hI4iuaaa
untll the pages shall inform them that the
reading Of the manuscript, In progress
Wheh the senators left the chamber. Is
about 70 close.
SATURDAY Essays.
In the house Of representatives the spec
thtpr' when lac seats himself IN the gallery,
VIII probably see repeated, rs nearly AS the
analogy OF proceedings in thetwo branches
VIII allow, all that has been suid Of the
senate, with the addition of u habit which
Us not extensively, % at all, prtctleed In the
setate-Nil' the permission to print
speeches not one word OF which has been
delivered, aud also the setting aside OF odd
afternoons, generally saturday, for debate
only winch means thai some one deputed
nl the speaker VIII preside, with the un-
d~erstahdiuR that no business Is to he done
"l" 'hlt ANY ihrulD'F Mh" chooses can
come mere hhu denver a speech upon any
SUBJECT ne may select whether 1t is pend
ing before mgr or not
Inc essays which are thus read on a
single SaturlRy would often MI "A large
s'Heu octave more eNlended IN point OF
nlAtter thah a volume oI Bancroft or Mot
icy
rev nave %reckoned the magnitude Of the
increase IN the reports The general pre-
sumption is that IL comes from the in
creased membership OF both hrauches Of.
HANNrHsaaa nHfaH4 ...HV# f-- ...N - .E-
increase, but IL IS not "a sufficient cause for
the whole.
The senate Is larger than fifty years ago
by a little more than one hulf-ifty two
then, lightweight now The house today
Is not one half larger Ia membership than
II was fifty years ago But the volume Of
the reports Of either house today com
pared with those Of ifty yeurs ago Is pro
digiously great.
The reports Of proceedings in the Tween.
ty-siNth congress-March I, ls2g, to March
4, lSll-takc scarcely one-siNth Of the space
given TO the reports Of the Fitticth con
gress-
But If we go back only half Of fifty years
a striking illustration will be found Take
both houses Of congress from 1851 to 1865,
embracing the Thirty seventh and Thirty.
eighth congresses, and covering the entire
period of the war. One would suppose
that the proceedings in two congresses,
with an extra session in one Of them, dur
ing such "a period as lsGl-d5 would be ex
traordiuurily yoluminous.
Both houses were filled with remarkable
dehaters, and the subjects that were cor.
t|inually before each branch were so alb
sorbing in interest that almost every 4ena
tor and every representative desired to be
heard,
TRIKING COMPARISONS
A. Ill HLaa. De-.