The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-03-01

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S.-After the call
OF the committees for reports Kilgore
offered resolution which he said ought
to be ma tier of Pr vilege, II it were
not. 1t was read for information. 1t
recited the law referring tho sergeant
alarms to withhold tho salary of a
Representative who was absent except
on account OF sickness OF himself or q
member OF his family; that at this
session OF Congress many msm bers had
been absent; and he called upon the SER
geant-at-arms to report whether or not
the law in this respect hal been obeyed
by him. and IL he bad been derelict
therein, to report why. He was also
asked If, in his opinion, the law could
not b. 'nfo'ce to inform the House the
reasons therefore. The resolution was
declared to be not privileged one and
Kilgore withdrew it.
bland moved that the House 90 into
committee OF the whole upon his seig-
norage bill and that general debate be
closed at O'Clock Thursday On this
motion tho vote by division was 127
to 9
Tracey made the point of no quorum
and the yeas and nays were called
Before the result of the vote was an
nounced Livingston (Dem., Gal said
he desired to submit a motion. Rule
s. he said, required members present,
unless excused. to vote upon every
proposition presented to the House.
The gentleman from New Y ork (rracey)
had refused to vote and he demanded
that he BIO brought before the bar of
the House and explain his refusal to
vote. johnson (Dem., Ohio) said he had
list OF twenty five members who b d
violated the rule, which no offered to
send to the desk.
The chair stated that the rule was
well known. The chair could not en-
force the rule otherwise than BY ap-
pealing to members to observe it. The
chair was but the organ Of tho House,
and would never mako q rule unless
authorized and directed so to do by the
House (Applause.)
Boatner argued in support OF Living.
ston's motion. 1t was, he said, an
effort to bring member to answer to
wilful contempt and violation of the
rules. The House ought to determine
here and now whether or not member
can defy it's rules.
The chair stated that under the rules
1T was his duty to announce the result
of the vote. Tho result was: Yeas,
1863; nays, 5-five short of q quorum
1t was said that five supporters of
Bland failed to get their votes in be-
cause they were not in the hall OF the
House when called. These, in ad.
dition to those recorded, would have
made the quorum.
CLANCY and Magher, of the New York
dQ1pnat uyhn hod b0r O..
from voting, voted in favor OF the prop
osition.
Bland moved a call of the House. On
this motion there were first, viva
voce vote, then vote bv division, third,
vote by tellers, Bland and Reed Off
ciating, and finally vote by yeas and
nays. The latter resulted: Yeas, 1879;
nays, 4. So the roll call was ordered.
1t showed EOS members present and
responding to their names.
Aftor moving to dispense with fur
Their proceedings Bland renewed his
motion and tho yeas and nays were
called AS the roll call proceeded i,
became apparent. to many that
quorum would be obtained and mem
bers keeping tally crowded about The
clerks desk. Tracey (Dem N. ~
occupied the seat at which for two
weeks past he has kept tally on roll
calls, closely following the responses to
the call. When it was determined that
quorum had been obtained on the
second call Of the roll Tracey voted
aye amid slight applause from the
Democratic side, bis purpose being, as
afterwards appeared, to move a recon
sideration
The announcement of the vote of the
Speaker, TT yeas to 7 nays, evoked a
round of hearty applause from the
Democrats and Populists.
Cultivate (Dem o. and Tracey,
(Dem. N. W were on their feet de-
manding recognition, the former to
present an order from the committee on
rules limiting debate on the pending
bill and amendments to two hours, and
the latter TO move reconsideration of
the vote just taken. Cultivate was
given the floor and the Speaker stated,
after putting the question, that Tracey
had lnterposed motion to reconsider.
Cultivate demanded the previous
question on his motion but the yeas and
nays were ordered without 8 division.
After name or two had been called
Reed precipitated an angry discussion,
which for intensity equalled the famous
scenes in the Fifty-flrst Congress when
Speaker Reed was counting quorums.
The gentleman from Maine suggested
that roll call was out of order, mas
much as the last vote did not disclose
the presence of quorum.
The Speaker-By what authority does
the gentleman make that statement?
Reed am informed by the gentle
man from New York Tracey that he
kept tally, and that it did no. show a
quorum voting.
The Speaker-The gentleman from
New York is not the keeper Of tho roll
Of tho House. (Applause)
Tho Clerk will proceed with tho rail-