Morning journal and courier., 1894-04-28
HARVARD WINS THE DEBATE.

The Yale Harvard debate was held IN the
hyperion theater last evening, large and
cultivated audience being present, includ-
ing many ladies, and the boxes were nearly
all filed. Governor Norris and several
ladies' occupied one of the boxes. Dr..
Chauncey n. Dspsw, who presided, made .
short but very felicitous opening address
in which he said he considered it great
privilege and pleasure to preside ct . joint
debate between the two greatest colleges Of
the United States. The question Of de-
bate, he said, ranked with other great
questions Of national Importance. There
il this difference, said he, between tbs
umpire of . baseball game and the presid-
ing officer Of debate, the risks In one case
are not 30 great a. in the other, Is the
only danger to the presiding officer il thst
he IL often sat upon by newspapers only,
while the umpire is more often sat upon
by . coroner. AL old college men are glad
to see debating again becoming an import
ant factor in the two great colleges. For
some years past 1t has received scant at
tention.
Mr.. Depew said that when he first went
to New York city It was full Of men ready
and capable for platform work chief among
whom was William n. Evarts, whose ora
torical powers were to great extent devel-
oped in Yale. n
At the present time in the same city out
of 1000 lawyers, 5000 doctors and q host
of college men not q half dozen can be de-
pended upon for effective work a. platform
speakers or as public speakers.
It is a remarkable fact that great CUES
tions are in danger of falling through lack
them to the public Ia q proper way.
The university has been lacking in one
respect in not training msn to be ready
speakers as it used to do in the old Linonia
and Brothers In Unity debating days.
There are thousand walks Of life where
ready tongue has it's use, in the church,
in reforms and in numberless ways. He
then introduced the representative con-
testants of Howard and Yale, who, he
said, had often met on the football and
other athletic fields, where Thousands had
witnessed their efforts, whereas ut this de-
bate only few hundreds were present.
This shows how contests Of muscle seem
to touch the public more than intellectual
contests.
DR.. Chauncsy Depew then introduced
Gabriel 81. Baum of Camden, 8. O.,
the first speaker for Yale. He said: In
proposing to give the cabinet full member
ship in the house we do not argue for the
violation of the true inherent principle of
| the maxim that "because cabinet and con-
gress hsve.slways been separate they should
always be separate" but by establishing q
decree of cooperation between the depart.
ments to more truly comply with ito real
spirit.
Cabinet membership in the house will
overcome the present costly delay in legis.
| lation resultant upon the non-utiliz
alton Of the resources of congress.
unity and consistency In legislation.
Cabinet officers having membership, being
scattered throughout the important COM
mittees, will help to bring conference and
unity out of confusion and chaos. Csbi-
net membership would check the evolution
of the best talent of the house into the sen.
ate. In this way the house lost Garfield,
Blaine, Morrill,, Frye, Mills, Carlisle and
| many others. This measure will give, We
| contend, to the executive a legitimate In.
fuence in the initiation of legislation.
Ignorance as to the true attitude of the
| executive causes the house to labor and
wrangle for weeks over q measure, only te
have it vetoed in the end. The power Of
| the executive is now In the veto ct the end
of lawmaking and not in the beginning
the initiative would be mere distribution,
an expedient shifting, of this power. The
proposed change would check the growing
evils of local legislation. There is now in
the house predominance of private and
local issues, while the needs of the people
are silenced. The representative from
New Orleans wants q heavy tax on sugar
One from New York violently opposes It
i m Thfoaoa "a uh0oo h
whole New England delegation stands
against it. Unquestionably q great Ater
toward the solution would be cabinet mem
bership in the house.
G. A. Duniway of Harvard then spoke
In the negative, In part as follows:
This resolution would require compli
Gated set of amendments to the eonstitu
ion-s fact Furnishing good index of III
thoroughly revolutionary character. Full
membership in tho house is regulated By
definite provisions in the constitution
among them the requirement that the
house of representatives shall be composed
of members chosen every second year by
/ the people of the several states, and the
prohibition that no person holding any
Office under the United States shall be q
member Of either house during his contin.
uance in Office. The introduction of the
presidents agents into the house of repre-
sentatives thus plainly does violence to the
| theory of governmental organization at the
basis of all our institutions. That theory
insists upon the guaranteed independence
| of executive, legislation and judicial de-
partments, each in his own sphere, coupled
with coordination of powers and such
limited inter action as is necessary to the
working of the government. 1t further
requires The strict localization of rspresen.
tstion In the Legislature. If the proposed
change were put in operation, its first and
certain effect would be an increase Of fric-
ton through the jealousy of the executive
and the legislature, and the jealousy of the
house and its coordinate member, the
senate.
Herbert Humphrey Kellogg of Carthage,
Mo-, was Yale's second speaker. He said:
Cabinet membership In the house will tend
to restore the constitutional balance be.
tween executive and the legislative. It was
executive despotism that the constitutional
convention of 1857 feared. During GEN.
tury's actual practice the situation has
/ Is from legislative usurpation. The re-
moval of certain state interests from legis-
| lation and the fixing of biennial sessions
for state legislatures stands for the fact
that we are becoming apprehensive of leg
islative encroachment. Cabinet member
ship will only add q third legislative
check to the two which have already grown
up and proved 80 successful-the veto and
the federal court decision. There is need
Of cabinet membership, not only to check
legislative usurpation, but to offset the
tremendous power of the speaker.
In onr present cabinet there is no guar
antes of executive talent and still less of
statesmanship. Once make the secretary
q member of the house and you extend his
Office to include q third and important
function.
The cabinet would then become what
every other cabinet In the world is, an
agency In legislation. Then the president
would be compelled to form his cabinet on
other principles than personal favoritism
and party pull. 1t would be formed from
statesmen of high public character. talent
and experience; from statesmen who had
earned public favor, and could command
public confidence. Then the secretary
ahip might once more become the stepping
stone to the presidency and the cabinet
congressman would stand next to the
presidency in the roll of official honor.
William E. Hutton of Harvard then
spoke in the negative, in part as follows:
Simply a. this proposition appears In it's
mere statement Il implies radical change
In the nature of our government. Let US
see what the effect would be on the situa-
ton were We to give members of the csbi-
net full membership In the house. The
/