The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-09


and containing 10000 words, under
suspension of the rules with fifteen
minutes debate on either side! One
minute to every ten thousand words and
forty seconds to every million dollars
On the same day was passed unoer a
similar suspension of the rules, bill
to admit Arizona as Estate, PROPOSE
ton hitherto never seriously discussed.
Fifteen minutes were allowed each side.
On the same day, also, New Mexico had
a bill passed to admit her as State,
with like limitations as to debate. just
think of it, fifteen whole minutes to dis
cuss such question as thati Surely,
there never was such farce! The ques-
ton of the admission Of New Mexico is
not at all political question, or, if it is,
the politics sink into insignifcance COM
pared with the complex question arising
out of the nature of the population and
it's relation to the rest of the Union. On
this question the wisest men of both
parties even in New Mexico hesitate, and
this Democratic House illustrates the
freedom of debate and the wisdom of de-
liberation by deciding the whole matter
in thirty minutes. This is wisdom shod
with the shoes of swiftness. On that
same day also under similar suspension
of the rules and with fifteen minutes of
debate on either side the Anti-Option
bill was passed. Fifteen minutes of de-
bate on the Anti-Option bill in house of
1872 members! Why. one Senator, and he
a new man, took five hours to state his
views, and during the time listened to
him he did not seem to be wasting words.
Here was bill which may disarrange
the commerce of the world-a bill ON
which hangs more hopes and fears than
than any bill of the last ten years, and
this bill has passed the House on the
theory that the House has only fifteen
minutes of wisdom to be bestowed on
either side of the question.
Bourbon Incompetency Illustrated.
Against these bills there had been no
factious opposition, and not even hint
of proposed delay. They had never been
debated before and attention had never
in any way been called to either of them.
No public discussion of them had taken
place ontside, and the excuse that the
subjects were familiar could not be
urged. 1t was simply wanton incompe-
tency. The time of the House had been
SO wasted by lack of system and want of
leadership that debate was impossible
and deliberation unattainable. The great
Appropriation bill went its way unex-
planned and the Anti-Option bill was
hustled through as vote catcher, not
withstanding the lurid and, strange to
say, accurate declaration of Amos j.
Cummings Dem., N. Y.,) that it was
more unconstitutional than the Force
bill. This could easily be, since the
Force bill was not unconstitutional at
all and was allowed six entire days for
discussion. Six days for the Force bill,
thirty minutes for Anti-Option! Six
days was called ''gagging' in the last
house, thirty minutes is deliberation
and debate is this.
On another day bill to repeal in effect
all the careful work. extending over so
many years, of Senator Edmunds and
Randolph Tucker in regard to Utah, was
passed under suspension of rules. In
fact all the important bills have been
passed that way.
Even what the Democratic Mr.. Pierce
of Tennessee called the 'popgun tariff
bills, were many of them passed under
suspension.
To be exact, just one-half of them were
passed that way. This was the fact,
though such bills have a right of way on
other days. Binding Irvine, bagging for
cotton and its machinery and the wool
bill were the only ones which had nor
NAL passage. Some one may say that
this action on the tariff bills was because
the Republicans filibustered. We did
filibuster, and that because it was a sim
full waste of public time to be eternally
Numbering around about bills that no.
body wanted or believed in; bills the
only purpose of which was to prevent
Democracy from even making believe
doing anything. Il anybody asks why
we who ourselves suppressed filibus-
tering INDUCED in it the answer is
very PLAIN. We offered to suppress it
so that it would be effectual against us
the minority. The Democracy refused
to suppress it. On the contrary, they
deliberately re-established it giving to
any minority the right to suppress legislaz
lation. Filibustering had the sanction
of the House, except where the autocra-
tic Committee on Rules held sway. This
was all wrong. But minorities are in
this House given the power, and the
right to filibuSter is reserved for whoever
chooses to exercise it. Some of the
crafty old leaders wanted it for them
selves and so they had to give it to us.
The Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses
Compared.
But while the Democratic House has
failed in all other respects, the most sig
nal failure has been in the matter of
economy. All the circumstances con-
spire to make that failure conspicuous.
The abuse which was poured out upon
the last Congress comes back with added
force on this, and the time has now
come to do justice to one of the most
really economical statesmen we ever
had, the Hon. Joseph G. Cannon. His
conduct as chairman of Appropriations
in the Fifty-frst Congress was worthy of
all praise He was careful, economical,
upright and just, and has always de-
served we'll of his country. People do
not realize the tremendous pressure
there was on the Fifty-irst Congress,
and how very handsomely Mr.. Cannon
stood up against it, and how well he was
backed by his associates. You must
remember that the Democracy, as part
of their scheme to pile up a surplus and
break down the tariff, had refused to
pay even the honest debts of the govern
ment. The result was the accumulation
of a oraat surn1uS ravan11e and an over