The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-30
THE RULES.
An Animated Debate Between
Speaker Crisp and Mr.. Reed.
IT WAS A LITTLE PERSONAL.
Each Speaker Received the Plaudits
of His Party Friends.
Reed Criticised the Provisions of the Rule
Reported, and Speaker Crisp Replied
in Very Vigorous Language
Work of the House.

| WASHINGTON, Aug. 29.-In the House
Mr.. Aitkin offered resolution providing
for special committee to investigate the
Fords theatre disaster, and to determine
what action should be taken for the relief
of families of the victims, which was re-
ferred to the committee on rules.
Mr.. Catchings called up the report OF
the committee on rules, and debate fol-
lowed. An animated discussion over the
rules was had between Speaker Crisp and
ex-Speaker Reed, the latter criticising
the report. For the first time this ses-
sion the speaker took the floor, having
called Mr.. Richardson of Tennessee to
the chair, and replied to the criticisms of
the gentleman from Maine. At times
the debate was somewhat personal, and
each speaker received the plaudits of his
party friends
Mr.. Reed argued in favor of the rights
OF the majority as fairly maintained in
the Fifty first Congress. He criticised a
provision of the rules Which he claimed
invested the committee on rules with au-
thority which should be vested in the
speaker. Why not adopt rules giving
the majority control and taking away
from the filibusterer opportunity to stop
consideration OF measure.
Mr.. Crisp said many of the rules of the
Fifty first Congress were to be COM
mended. Many others had been con-
demned by the country. Among the ac-
lions in the Fifty first Congress which
were odious to the country was the ar
bltrary, high handed action on the part
of the speaker without authority of rules
or anything else. The speaker assumed
power to count quorum, and he (Reed)
had claimed that the Supreme Court had
justified his course. This was not so.
1.-The supreme court said the House
had right to make its own rules; but it
never said the speaker should make them.
The system adopted by the Fifty second
Congress and now readopted was to main
tain, not the individual judgment OF the
chair, but the judgment of a majority of
the House. Dilatory motions would be
avoided for the House had due power to
reach that result by report from the
committee on rules. He Crisp pre-
ferred the approval of the people he
represented to the approval of a man who
believed he had the right to exercise all
power and claimed that in so doing he
permitted the majority to rule.'
1.-THE gentleman from Maine (Mr.
Reed arrogantly asserted that the Fifty
trst Congress should be regarded as an
example that should be followed by all
Congresses. He Crisp felt, as the peo-
pie OF the country felt, that the Fifty
first Congress was a usurpation that
ought to be repudiated. :"
Mr.. Reed, in reply, regretted that the
speaker had left his position to take part
In the discussion on the floor, and intro
duce into debate partisanship. This was
public question. He believed the policy
of the Fifty-fr Congress had received
the approval of the supreme court. He
regretted that the Democrats had merely
adopted half of the rules of the Fifty first
Congress but thought they were on the
road to adopting them sll.''
Debate continued by Messrs. Springer,
Boatner, Hooker, Picker, Cummings,
Hepburn and Bryan. Then the subject
was dropped and Mr.. Springer introduced
bill to provide for the coinage of seig-
norage of silver in the treasury, which
was referred. The House then adjourned.