Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-04
IMPORTANCE OF THE spEAKERsH IP

lMfonAANCE OF THE SPEAkERsH II
The earnestness of the fight for the
Speakership of the House brings forcibly
before the mind of the spectator the re-
fiechon that the position is second only to
the Presidency in power and prestige and
nearly all that goes to make up the poll
ticians' reward and qualification. And no
sooner does this fact come to mind than it
is followed, at least, in the thoughts of the
older generation of men, and those
younger ones who have made themselves
familiar with our political history, by the
reminder that such Importance did not
originally attach to the Office. In fact, it
has been quite recent growth-one con-
fined chiefly to the period since the war.
Originally the Speaker of the House ex-
ercised only about such power as is now
exerted by the presiding officer of the
British House of Commons, who simply
rules upon questions of order and controls
the action of the body in its various de-
tails and routine. The chief requisites
would seem to be prevailing calm. judi
cial mood with ready and minute knowl-
edge of parliamentary law-and little if
anything more.
But this has all been changed. A spirit
of aggression and of the assumption of
new powers, as well as the increase of old
Ones began to arise quite naturally in the
heated period during and Immediately
after the war. Gradually it came
about that not only was the Of
flee made a more conspicuous and
authoritative one, but demand arose for
different type of man to fill it. In the
old days the Speakers of the House, while
usually among the ablest of the dominant
party and often Of national reputation,
were not, as rule, among the ones par
ticularly noted for their forcefulness or
aggressiveness. These qualities. with the
growth Of new conditions, became fully as
essential as those of parliamentary knowl-
edge and impartial habit of mind COM
bined with ordinary firmnes5 They were
the necessities of new order of things
Of course here new demand is made
for men, or demand made for men hav-
ing qualifications newly become desirable
or necessary. Men of a new order came
forward to answer it. Thus it came
that the office of Speaker, which had been
held in the earlier part of the century by
few men who shed mild luster upon it
by their general ability and the dignity of
their characters and official carriage-as
Henry Clay, James K. Polk, Robert c.
Winthrop, Hunter and Howell Cobb-be-
came by certain process of natu-
raj political selection the field
for the exercise of governing pow
er and the attainment of influence
and ascendancy. Thus there came into
the enlarged arena of action greater gladi-
ators than before-the succession which
includes such notable names as James G.
Blaine, John G. Carlisle, Samuel j. Ran
dali and Thomas B. Reed.
These men each enlarged upon the pre-
negatives of the Office, and augmented its
uthority-Randall, more notably than
all, until Reed-and each of them aided
much in creating that high public estima-
tioI in which the position is now held.
The whole tendency of both men and
measures has been toward the exaltation
of the place from that of the mere par
liamentary presiding officer to the dual
one of the party champion and party
COululdnutI Illus IL 10 lllauS dt once Uue |
coign of vantage for political control and
the promotion of personal ambition. The
growth in the Importance of the Speaker
ship has been gradual and perfectly
natural one, but is none the less curious
and interesting as exhibiting the radical
changes that are brought about in the
of parties and Government |
without any constitutional enactments.