The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-12
TOM REED INDICATED.


The leader of the Republican debate in
the lower House of congress is easily Tom
Reed. of Maine. To Mr.. Reeds capacity
for forceful parliamentary leadership the
Republican party owes the passage of the
Mckinley tariff, our winning card for
1892.
In robust intellectual quality and rare
moral courage in politics Mr.. Reed has
not had his peer in either house of con-
gress since the days of Thad Stevens,
whom Mr.. Reed something resembles in
his intrepidity, his sarcastic wit and his
power to compel rather than cajole
his party to follow and support his
policy of parliamentary battle; he
always trusts to his strength, his
skill and his staying powers; he
never lodges blows or falls to avoid
punishment. Since 1878, when he made
his first great speech, he has never met his
match on the floor of the House for brains
at once forceful and versatile: keen logic,
wit, sarcasm and general forensic ability.
He has firmness, nerve, courage, fertility
of resource and absolute self-command;
equal to any emergency, because he never
gets "rattled." It is his habit to convince
men and aggressively bend them to his
will rather than coax them to his support;
he has won his success by his glsdiatorial
quality of mind and action rather than by
any of the popular arts Of political man.
agement and compromise. In his powers
of wit and sarcasm; in his skill and
strength as boxer in debate, he recalls
Roscoe Conkling: like him he is square
fighter and hard hitter, but is of more
democratic manners and temper, and
therefore socially popular, which Conkling
never was, even in his young days.
This is fair picture of the man whom
Congressman Compton, of the fifth Mary
land district, IN a campaign speech last
summer described as ''that tyrant, who, if
God lets me live and retain my seat in
the House of Representatives, intend to
tell on the floor of the house, face to face.
teeth to teeth, just what think of him. I
mean Tom Reed"
When Mr.. Compton gets through biting
Mr.. Reed he won't have any teeth left in
W
as to command the compassion of the So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to AMI
mails.
Since the adjournment of the Fifty-frst
congress Mr.. Reeds famous ruling as 10
how the presence of a quorum shall be de-
termined has been fully sustained by Pro-
fessor Burgess, who has been for fifteen
years at the head of the school for political
science in Columbia college, and lecturer
and professor in its law school. Professor
Burgess says:
The constitution does not expressly provide as
TO how the presence OF a quorum shall be de-
terrnined: but il seems TO me to imply in the
power of each house 10 force the presence OF
members, in order to form quorum, that
physical presence is the test, whether or no the
members present shall act.
In Europe the practice is universally
against allowing minority 10 bring legis-
lation to a standstill by refusing to vote.
This is the practice in the French parlia-
ment. in Denmark, Holland, Portugal and
Germany. The Richmond. Va, Despatch.
Democratic newspaper, has recently urged
upon the Democratic majority in the Fifty
sSNSAA AAOAsCs hAAS SCsAA sAeAAAtl Va dIOpIlng
the rule which empowers the speaker to
count as present any member or number
of members whom he sees in the hall upon
personal inspection, but who decline or
fail upon roll call to answer to their
names.
The Despatch IS bright enough to see that
if the Democrats refuse to follow the
precedent of Mr.. Reed 1.-The Republicans
practically will have control of the House
affirmative control Of Republican
House of Representatives and negative
control of Democratic House of Repre-
sentatiyes."
Mr. Reeds ruling rested on the common
sense view that members of congress are
sent 70 Washington 10 transact business.
not 10 obstruct il, and when the House
has been called TO order and its members
are seated in the chamber they are present
and should be so considered, whether they
choose TO answer when their names are
called or not.
To consider 8 man absent when he is