Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-04-01
WILL BEGIN MONDAY.
Silver Debate Tabled
Until Today.
Cl0TURE RULE DEFINED.
Why the Speaker Refused to Report
the Rule News from the Capital.

WASHINGTON, April THE debate on
silver will not begin In the senate today as
intended. Mr.. Morgan has ascertained
that number Of senators on both s4des
who intended To speak on the silver bill
are not prepared 10 hegin debate on such
short notice. Accordingly. the resolution
will DO allowed TO rest on the table uatil
Monday.
Representative Bland, speaking Of the
proposition advanced by a large number
OF Democrats TO bring Ia cloture rule TO
enable vote on the silver bill ~ be had.
yesterday said that considerable misun-
derstandinc existed throughout the eoun-
try regarding the proposition. The dif.
fculty, he said, we have with the silver
bill is an apparent Misunderstanding -
to the nature OF the rule that the speaker
had intended to report TO the house. II Ii
not coturc rule, he said, further than it
is In aid of the previous question, aud this,
he said, had been the cloture rule II the
honse for fifiy years The bill propoasd
TO be reported. he said. was simply . ru'o
TO prevent tilibusterins By declaring II out
OF order for the spoaker 60 entertain mo
uons Of a iili1ustering character
The standing haiss
already adopted, he said, gives tho com.
mittce on rules power To stop filibuster-
Ink. That IL to say, he said, the commit.
tee on rules report q rule tn the house pro-
yiding that pending Q proposition ON
which the house wished 20 come to vote,
the speaker is prohibited from entertain.
ing flibustering motions. When this
rule is reported, he said, the house itself
must adopt II or rcject IL, 20 that u 10 the
house which must determine whether or
not IL wishes tp atop filiSGStering The
rules of the lssNcongress, he said, gaeo the
speaker absolute power 10 refuse 10 eotcf-
tain dilstory motions, while tho rules "
this congress vests this !, over in thu house
Itself. but the house carrot act upon II
without the report OF the committee on
rules.
The enemies OF the silver bill, he said. IL
seemed had learned that the speaker In.
tended to report bin 10 prevent filibus-
tering. and bad Immediately rdsed q cry
against ''cloture," and a great many mem
bers being new we're misied as ~ its ac.
tual nature.
Since tho matter was over, Mr.. bland
said that he had learned 20 his satisfac.
tion that the speaker was beset by alargs
number of members who had voted for
free coinage, who told him that they
woula Sot Vots
for such rule. Therefore the speaker
was apprehensive that q majority Of the
party would vote against him, and In vfsw
Of this fact, chsngsd his mind, and refuspi
toreport the rule until a majority had
asked for IT,
Mr. Bland cited case under Mr.. Ran.
dalfs administration AZ speaker, when
filibustcring had become so great that n
became impossible TO pass n bill where
there we're few opponents. " was q
notable fact, Ire said, that General Ander
son of Iowa, then member ~ the house,
acting alone, prevented any business being
transacted Ia the houso for several days,
until the speaker OF tho house and the
country had become disguised with The
scene. The Democrats then, be said
realized the necessity OF rule TO stop ali.
clustering and had the Repu blicans Of last
congre gone no further than our rules
60 now the Democratic could not have
reasonably objected to them