Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-08-12
THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS-,
A Scathing Review of the Record Of
the House
BY HON. THOMAS. b. REED
Especially Contributed ny the eN-
speaker "a the New York Press.

legions. much beaten and discounted.
Everything it ha, tried to do has been
failure. and It's every action Ina, been in eff
feet a disapproval OF all that the Democracy
professed in the last Congress and in the
last campaign.
How Important BiIls Were HailroRdcd.
Instead OF the orderly discussion OF
great questions the time of the House has
been wasted on roll calls and trivial debate
and all the measures of real importance
have passed under suspension of the rules
by sheer force of numbers As specimen
of how these rules operated in the way of
increased delibcration and care let me give
You few examples.
On the 9TH day of June. after session
of six months. MIR. Holman was forced to
rush through the House the legislative.
executive and judicial appropriation bill
carving So. 100000, occupying fifteen
Record columns of the finest type, covering
thousands of items and containing 10000
words. under a 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. under
similar suspension of the rules, bill to adj
mi, Arizona a. state, proposition
hitherto never seriously discussed. Fifteen
minutes were allowed each side. On the
same dav. also. New Mexico had a bill
passed to admit her as a state, with like
limitations as to debate. just think OF il,
fifteen whole minutes to discuss such
question as that, Surely, there never was
such a farce
The question of the admission of New
Mexico Is not at all political question. or,
if it is, the polite, sink into insisnihcanco
compared with the complex question
arising out Of the nature OF the population
and its relation to the rest OF the Union.
ON this question the wisest men of both
partie, even lu New Mexico hesitate. and
this Democratic House illustrates the free
dom of debate and the wisdom OF delibera-
ton by deciding the whole matter in thirty
minutes This is wisdom shod with the
shoe, 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
debate on the anticipation bill in House
of 81 members, Why. one Senator, and he
a new man. took five hours to state his
views and during the time listened 10
him he did not seem to bee wasting words.
Here was bin which may dsarrange the
commerce of the word-a bill on which
hang more hopes and fears than any bill
of the last ten wears. and this bill has
passed the House Oh the theory that the
House has only fifteen minutes OF wisdom
10 be bestowed on either side OF the ques
ton.
Against these bills there had been no
factions opposition, and not even a hint OF
proposed delay. They had never been de-
bated before and attention had never in any
way been called to either of them. No
/ public discussion of them had taken place
/ outside. and the excuse that the subjects
were familiar could not be urged. II was
/ simply wanrou incompetency. The time
/ Of the House had been SO wasted by lack
/ of system and want OF leadership that de-
/ bate was impossible and deliberation un-
/ attainabe The great appropriation bill
/ went its way unexplained and the anti-op-
/ ton bill was hustled through as vote
/ catcher, Notwithstanding the lurid and
strange to say, accurate declaration OF
] Amos j. Cummings (Dem., \. N.,) that II
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 DELHI
Grafton and debate in this. ON another
day bill TO repeal in effect all the careful
work extending over so many years. of
Senator Edmmds and Randolph Tucker
in regard TO Utah. was passed under sus-
pension of rules In fact all the important
bills have been passed that way
Democratic ECONOMY"
With House elected on platform of
economy. with over l4u majority, a
majority larger than the whole opposition.
we naturally expected some reduction of
what Democratic orators call the public
burdens / confess that / was myself as
tonished to ind that not only were the ap-
preparations of the first session of this Con-
gress to exceed the appropriations of the
first session of the last Congress, but they
were to exceed them by the enormous sum
of $50 0O00O Ny surprise was very
much heightened by the fact that day after
day l had seen appropriations manitestly
inadequate carried through the House
against all argument and fact by sheer
force of numbers. The present condition
OF things is an empowering testimony,
not only to the growth OF the country, but
to the integrity and economy of the COM
mittee on appropriations, of which Mr..
Cannon was the head. The debate in the
Senate of July % shows, moreover, that
even the s5l0OOO,OOO appropriated have
not reached the needs of the country.
/ want 10 call your readers attention to
this simple fact, even al the expense of
reiteration and of being tiresome We eN-
pended S462 600, 600 the first session of the
Fifty-hrst Congress. We were abused most
soundly therefor. The lowest figures any
Democrat can now make for his Congress