Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-03-19
rIirmation Also of the Lawful
Chara cter OF Speaker Reeds
Rulings
JUDGMENT of Senators Spooner
and Aldrich Handsomely En-
dorsed by the Court.

The United States supreme court, =
saws the New York Tribune, "has sup,
nrasssd an immense volume of democratic
tlan-.rap by its decisions in relation to the
tariff and worsted acts. For nearly two
Gears the leaders and press of the opposi.
iiop have confidently asserted that both
The procedure and the tariff legislation Of
the last republican congress were unCon.
stitutiOnal, and would be invalidated by
the supreme bench. Democratic senators
have repeatedly stated their reputation as
constitutional lawyers upon the fulhllment
of this prediction, and as the free trade
journals have published elaborate argu-
mepts to demonstrate the unconstitution
aitv Of Speaker Reeds rulings and of the
ugar-bounty provisions and the .reci-
procity clause of the tariff act. AL the
questions at issue have been presented to
the United States supreme court by the
abIest lawyers whose services could be Sc
cured by the importers and democratic
hackers. The result is an unequivocal and
final decision affirming the constitutional
ity of Speaker Reeds method of counting
a Quorum and also of the tariff act with
the bounty and reciprocity clauses.
Justice Brewer, in declaring the united
opinion of the supreme bench on the
validity Of the house rule providing for the
counting Of non.voters present during the
proceedings, analyses it as purely CUES
ton of power. The constitution has EN-
powered the house to make its own rules
for the regulation of legislative business;
and consequently the validity Of a measure
enacted in accordance with rule author
ling the speaker to count d quorum can
not be questioned. This is the opinion of
the court reduced to the simplest terms
The constitution provides that a majority
Of each house shall constitute a quorum to
do business. Rule XIV of the republican
house prescribed a method of ascertaining
the presence OF a majority. The speaker
enforced regulation which the house had
clear and unequivocal right to establish.
Accordingly, any measure passed by a
majority Of votes when the quorum had
been ascertaineG in this way was legally
enacted With three democrats on the
supreme bench this decision has been
reached unanimously. All the partisan
exclamation about "the republican car
and revolutionary methods Of gagging the
minority passes as the wind roaring in
broken chimney-pot.
The eonstituhonaliiy of the tariff act is
affirmed with equal unanimity except on
single point, the reciprocity clause. The
chief justice and Justice Lamar have taken
the ground that the Aldrich amendment
involves a delegation TO legislative power
to the executive, and is therefore uncon-
sttutonal. The majority of the Justices
have not sustained this view, but have in
Tod . l,,,
the president an agent of the awmaking
power Congress prescribed the condl-
TORS under which he was to act, ana
authorized him to execute its will when
ever he should preCeive that these condl'
tened existed. This was the view taken
by Senators AdIich and Spooner when the
clause was adopted, and their judgment
has been fully sustained 10y the supreme
court The objections based upon the sugar
lruUt1 AID the tobacco section omitted
n 'Ee enrolment of the bill after its pas.
sage by til house are 0venuled by the
roll Lerch. The constitutionaity of the
tariff act has been affirmed with sub
duual unanimity, and democratic panic
uuugIs vino have been assuming for
many months that it would be inyalidated
ana lett in state of utter Generalization
and collapse
The reference in the foregoing editorial
lrcm the Tribune to the position Of
Senator Spooner on the reciprocity ques-
hon, shows how firmly aud ably the
Senator stood on the principle of coustitu.
iloual law. His speech delivered during
u memorable debate in the senate on the
Mckinley bib, was ore of the ATTEST of
lts whole series, and it is matter Of pride
To The people Of Wisconsin that Senator
SrolnTs argument on the reciprocity
clause in that bin has been honored by the
highest judicial tribunal on the con
'ment