The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-30
IN THE HOUSE.
Chairman Catchings Calls Up the
Committee on Rules Report.

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Washington, Aug. 29-There was a
great falling off in the attendance of both
members and audience this morning, and
the House resumed its routine appear
ance. There were several corrections
made to the journal this morning, conse-
! quent upon the numerous roll calls of yes
| tcrday. Mr.. Catchings called up the re
! port of the committee on rules, reporting
the rules for the present House. After
the reading of the proposed rules
| a discussion of the time to be
| devoted to debate was precipitated The
! outcome of the controversy was that
| Mr.. Catchings conceded that there
! should be general debate, and briefly he
| explained the changes made in the rules
| When speaking in favor Of the rule max
! ing quorum of the committee of the
whole one hundred members, he was in
! terrupted by MIR. Kilgore with the in
! quiry whether a quorum o. the commit
tee of the whole should not be the same
as quorum of the House. In reply Mr..
Catchings said the adoption of this rule
by the fifty-frst Congress was good and
beneficial. [Applause.l
A POINT BY Mr.. REED.
Mr. Reed INVITED the democrats upon
their partial approval of the rules of the
Fifty-tirst congress, but, In a humorous
! vein, contended that they had not gone
far enough. He then. in more serious
manner, argued in favor of the right of
the majority, which rights had been
firmly maintained in the Fifty-irst con-
gress. Now the House was in the habit of
lodging measures instead of meeting
them. He criticised the provision which,
he claimed, vested the committee on rules
with the authority which should be
vested in the speaker. Why not adopt a
system of rules which would give to the
majority control. and take away from the
| tilibuster his opportunity to stop the con-
sideration OF measured 1t was better to
have speaker exercise power in the full
light of public opinion than to exercise it
in the seclusion of the committe room.
THE SPEAKER TAKES THE FLOOR.
Then, for the frst,time this session, the
speaker took the floor, having called Mr.
Richardson, of Tennessee, to the chair,
and replied to the criticisms of the gen
tleman from Maine
He said there were provisions in the
code which were taken substantially from
the rules of the Fifty-first congress.
| Neither himself nor any member of the
| committee on rules would refrain from
reporting rules simply because they were
/ part of the rules OF the Fifty-first con-
| gress. Very much of those rules was
/ to he commended; very much of those
rules had been by the country absolutely
| condemned.
SHARP ARRAIGNMENT OF REED.
The gentleman from Maine, when he
/ stood up before The country and spoke of
/ the rules of the Fifty-first congress,
! failed to speak OF the practices adopted
/ before the rules were adopted which
| were so odiOuS TO the country. Applause.
| The first action in the Fifty-hrst congress
! biab obi II, bo
/ an action under any rule, but it was the
/ arbitrary high-handed action on the
! part of the speaker without authority of
| rules, without authority of any one APP
/ plause. When the charges were made
| against the tifty-tirSt congress, letno one
! forget that the first charge was that
without the authorityo of the House, with
out the authority of the committee on
! rules, the speaker had exercised a power
| that had never been granted to him.
| lApplause. He had assumed upon him
| self the power to count a quorum. The
| question had gone to the supreme court
of the United States, and the gentleman
had never been justified
lie mad heard the gen tieman from
Maine several times say that the supreme
court had just ratified his course. The
supreme court had not touched the Ques-
( ton The supreme court had said that
the House had a right to make rules for
us own government and make its own
provisions for the ascertainment of the
presence of quorum, but it had never
said that tho speaker should make the
rules. Applause
COMPARISON OF THE TWO CODES
The gentleman had referred to the
power lodged in the committee on rules
Let him Crisp call the gentleman's at
tentiOn to the distinction that existed be-
tween the policy of the gentleman from
Maine and the policy of the present com