The morning call., 1893-09-07
Tom Reed Talks to the
Democracy.
THE POWER OF THE HOUSE.
1t Is the Desire of the Gentleman
From Maine to See His Foes
Progress.

effort 10 lead the Democratic majority and
secure the adoption of rule making 100
members quorum in the committee of
the whole. When the House resumed de-
bate on the rules the announcement was
made that the committee, in Difference to
the objections of some prominent Demo
cratic members, had decided to abandon
that rule. Catchings explained that so
many Democratic members were oppo sed
to the proposed rule that the committee
had decided to accept Kyle's amendment,
restoring the size of the quorum to a ma
jority of the House.
The announcement precpitated lively
debate. Dolliver of Iowa said he was just
about to make a speech in favor of the
proposition from which the committee had
just retreated. He was sorry the commit
tee bad surrendered. Dolliver then pro-
ceeded to defend ex-Speaker Reed in his
course as Speaker.
Springer followed with a general as
sault on what he termed the fundamental
usurpaton rules of the Fifty-frst Con-
gress, the power of the Speaker to count a
quorum and his power to determine dia-
tory motions. The power to determine
what was dilatory motion, Springer said,
placed every member of the House in the
power of the Speaker. 1t enabled that
officer to pass on the motions of members
and was revolutionary in character. The
change made by the present Rules Con-
mittee In the interest of suppressing fiji
clustering transferred this power from the
Speaker to the majority Of the House. 1t
gave Republicans as we'll as Democrats an
opportunity to sustain or oppose vote.
Springer then proceeded to discuss the
question of counting a quorum, and when
he concluded, Reed walked down the
aisle. Il would hardly know what to do, d"
began the gentleman from Name SLOWLY
and deliberately, when | find the gentle
man from Illinois and the Supreme Court
in opposition, were it not that have con-
victoDs of my own. 1 am exceedingly
sorry that the Democratic party cannot
understand the fundamental principles of
this question. The average Democratic
mind seems incapable of grasping them.
The, high minds of the Rules Committee
Understand something of their essen tials.
>9st,syeB tlTey are unable to reach the top
Aosit heights. But the truth will finally
Naegail.
i should not reply to these structures
again." continued Reed, "but for the fact
that do not want what has been said to
go into the Record unchallenged. Fill
clustering is a modern invention. You
cannot go back of the disease to look for
the remedy. There was no remedy for
parliamentary filibustering until filibuster-
ing became chronic disease. The power
of the chair is the power of the House.
The gentlemen speak as If the Speaker
were an irresponsible individual. 1t lie i'm
possible for the Speaker to do what the
House does not want him to do. AS soon
as the contrary proposition is stated its ab-
surdity is seen. Therefore, whatever
charges have been made against me as
Speaker of the Fifty-f first House should
properly be lodged against that House,
which uniformly sustained me. The gen.
tlemen speak of the suppression of dla-
tory motions. 1t is the plain duty of the
Speaker under parliamentary law to sup
press dlatory motions. l declare now
and here. defying contradiction, that the
power to rule out dllatory motions never
was exercised until the Speaker and every
man in the House believed and knew that
those motions were used to delay busi-
ness. In time this whole matter will be-
come perfectly plain.
bis arms out in the direction of the Demo-
cratic side, Il bid you godspeed. know
that Bourbonism and conservatism held
you firmly in lis grasp, but the right will
be triumphant Your bonds will be
broken. You will progress as all things
do in time. for after all. does not the world
move" Laughter and applause.J
The Kyle amendment was then agreed
to. and Catchings called for the previous
question on the report and Burrows offered
as a substitute the code Of rules of the
Fifty-first Congress, with an amendment
providing that when call of the House is
had the ayes and noes shall be considered
as ordered. This latter amendment would
prevent the breaking of a quorum. Bur-
rows then entered upon n general argu-
ment on the comparative merits of the two
codes of rules and declared that the rules
about to be adopted were absolutely pow-
erless to prevent filibustering. Those
rules place the power of legislation abso-
lutely in the hands of the Speaker and
two Democratic members OF the Rules
Committee, Catehings and Cultivate.
Bynum of Indiana, ia reply to Burrows,
went at length into the difference between
counting the House to ascertain tho pres
enee of quorum and counting members
to pass laws. II care not whether the
counting of members was declared legal
by the Supreme Court or no" said be.
facing his old anita gonist Reed. and hold
ing his arms threaieniDgly aloft Il ac-
knowledge nobody greater than this House
10 pass upon its rights or privileges.
With reference to the rule cutting off dila-
tory motions in the present code. he said
the word ''dlatory" need not have been
in the rule. The rule of the Fifty-frst
Congress, on the contrary, placed it in the
power OF the Speaker 20 decide what was
dilatory.
At the conclusion OF Bynum's speech a
vote was taken on the adoption OF the code
of rules offered by Burrows, and it was
lost-65 to 143 The rules were then adopted
without division.
At the request of Chairman Wilson of
the Ways and Means Committee, that CON-
mistee wa given leave to sit during ses-
sions of The House, and the House then
adjourned unIi SATURDAY..
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