The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1892-08-26

The close Of this session of the house
seems likely to be worthy of its begin
ming. After full and free debate the
house, by "a majority Of a dozen, deter
mined to agree with the senate to make
the appropriation for the Chicago expo
sition which it needed. Then commenced
the extraordinary spectacle of filibus-
ter begun by the chairman of the COM
mittee on appropriations in house
where his own paStisans had a majority
of 140 votes. Such scene is unusuab
Ithink unique, in our history. In order
to heighten the spectacular effect Gen
eral Wheeler was allowed to drag into
the house a Characterization Of the
house by the Hon. Tom. Watson, Of
Georgia "a Characterization which
could be made of no other house and
which Mr.. Watson was allowed without
punishment to reiterate and reaffirm.
Mr.. Watson, though now of the ALI
ance party, was chosen as a Georgia
Democrat.
A part of that Characterization has
been made the subject Of investigation
and must speak for itself. All the rest
seems to be a true bill. Here is the de-
scription, emitting the part under inves-
tigation:
"The congress now sitting is one Illus
tration. Pledged to reform, they have
not reformed. Pledged to economy, they
have not economical. Pledged to legis-
late, they have not legislated. Extrava-,
gance has been the order of the day. Alb
senteeism was never so pronounced. Lack
Of purpose was never so clear. Lack of
common business prudence never more
glaring. Useless employees crowd every
corridor. Useless expenditures pervade
every department"
After Two weeks wasted in dilatory
motions, which the speaker should have
suppressed at once, the spectacle was
presented to the world of compromise
on the Chicago fair, dictated by the in:
surgents to Democratic caucus. Even
then the Democracy were forced by
few unreconcilables in the far corner of
Texas to adopt rule compelling vote
on a special date at special hour, with
previous question ordered and dilatory
motions suspended, thus confessing at
last after long struggle that even with
more than 140 majority, with three to
one power over their enemies, the hated
practices of the Fifty first house afforded
the only adequate method of procedure
even for the Democracy. This completes
the public confession which has been
going on through the session that all the
cutlery against the rules of the last house
was partisan SANDER, the wild fury of
defeated obstructionists, whoseosly real
grievance was that they had been as
soundly as they were righteouSly beaten.
Such, in brief, have been the charac-
teristic acts of house of representa-
tives where the Democracy dominated in
the proportion of three to one. Its last
days have been but the GROWING ex-
ample of the riotous control of the few
which was deliberately made possible
when the body adopted its rules. While
but a small number are visible as leaders
and workers in this new attempt to es-
tablish the rule of the few over the many,
the whole Democratic party is response
BILE for their actions, for it put into their
hands the very power they are now using
against the people and. against the ma
jority. Remember also that this was in
a house Immediately preceding a presi-
Dental election, where the members
were on their good behavior.
Suppose the party to which these men
belong is victorious all along the line
next November, what ought we to ex-
pect?
If they act thus when they try to be
good, how will they act when they act
like themselves? THOMAS B. REED.