Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-29
The Bland Bill an Issue of
the Past.
A Vote on 1t Is Out of the
Question.
The ClOture Will Not Be Invoked to
Save 1t.
Friends Of the Measure Grievously Dis
appointed-Bland Accuses Speaker
Crisp OF Bad Faith in the
Matter.
Asso ocisted Press Dispatches.

A6SOCl6teu fress Dlspdtcnes
WASHINGTON, March 2S.-The silver
question is an issue OF the past, go far as
the house is concerned. The develop.
ments of today clearly indicate that the
cloture will not be invoked by the com
mittee on rules to assist the free coinage
people in forcing final vote on the
passage OF the bill, and without such a
decree all the resources OF parliamentary
law will be powerless to resurrect it. II
was not until the house had met and
passed to the consideration of uninter.
esting routine business today that Speak
er Crisp finally announced that the
committee on rules would not deem
it proper to report rules preventing
filibustering and forcing vote, unless q
majority of the Democratic members
should sign petition demanding arbi'
trary procedure. Bland was quite in
dignant and insisted upon the rule, but
the speaker was obdurate. Pierce and
others at once began the circulation oil
petitions, but thus far have not secured
more than iorty or fifty Democratic sig.
natures, although the work will be con-
tinued tomorrow.
BLAND MAKES STATEMENT.
Bland, this afternoon, made state
ment to the Associated Press. He said
"When the rule was first reported set
ting apart three days for consideration
of the silver bill, insisted that the rule
should be continuing order, to be con-
sidered from day to day until disposed
of, knowing that three days could be
,filibustered out. Speaker Crisp replied
that we ought to trust the committee on
rules in that matter; that if the three
days were flibustered out, without
,disposing of the bill, the COM
mittee OF rules would report a rule
preventing filibustering motions, and
compelling a vote. The night of the
last days debate. the friends of the bill
determined to continue in session to
prevent the lspse of the legislative day.
Myself, Pierce and Others went to
Speaker Crisp and asked whether If he
thought filibnstering had proceeded long
enough to satisfy the house and the
country, that the committee on rules
would be warranted in reporting rule
by which all filibustering motions would
be prevented and bring the house to a
direct vote upon the bill. He assured
US that he thought filibustering had
gone long enough to demonstrate the
fact, and that the committee on rules
would report rule to bring the bill to
a vote. Last Friday went to the speak
er's roo m, and Mr.. Crisp advised the
introduction of rule to be voted on
Monday, preventing all 6libustering mo-
tione and compelling a vote upon the
bill. He sat down and wrote out the
rule himself. l introduced it at his re-
quest, and had it referred to his COM
mittee, with the distinct understanding
that the rule would be reported today.
I never heard anything about his
wanting the petition of the majority
of the Democrats until this morning
when we ought to have been voting
upon the order itself. A telegram in
the New York Herald this morning,
stating that its correspondent had in.
formation from the highest authority
that Speaker Crisp would exact petit
ton before acting upon the rule was the
first intimation I had of anything oi
that chararter. When we found
that the attitude of the speaker had
changed, it created confusion and
CONSERVATION among the free coinage
advocates. They felt that they had
been deceived aud disappointed by the
action of the speaker. The fact that
the speaker himself has changed his at
titude towards the measure and de.
ceived his friends, caused great many
free coinage people to weaken, and see
at this time little hope of getting ma.
iority of the members on petition ask
ing that the rule bs reported"
CRISP DIFFERS WITH BLAND.
Speaker Crisp, when shown Bland's
statement this evening, said he was
surprised that Bland had so far forgot
ten himself and the true situation as te
endeavor to, mislead the public by such
statements. In justifying his position
Crisp said when the rules were being
considered, he, in caucus, pledged
the party that no rule should
be reported prohibiting flibus-
tering or cutting off dilatory mo
tions, except at the request and desi, {
of the majority of the Democratic mem
bers of congress. A majority of the
Democrats requested that time be fixeG
for consideration of the free coinage t~l
hut making no reference therein to any
change in the rule. In response, the
committee permitted three days. The
speaker said, as we'll as he recollected
Bland did want to incorporate limita
tion of the right of the house to filibus'
ter, or wanted a continuing order, but the
committee determined that until the
necessity for such rule was demon
strated, they would not report it. The
bill was taken up and debated for three
days, and finally saved from the table
by the casting vote of the speaker
Crisp said this tie vote was grea
surprise to all parties, because when thu
original order was made it was gener
ally understood that the majority TO-
free coinage was from thirty to forty.
WHY CRISP CHANGED HIS MIND.
The majority Of the Democrats vote'
against tabling the bill, and thereb.
demonstrated that they favored its pas
sage. Speaker Crisp said he assumes
that these gentlemen were in favor Q
rule which would bring him to direct
vote on the bill and prevent filibustel
ing, and 80 believing he said t
Bland that he had no doubt the commit