New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-24
(pY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIDrSE.i


hours OF wrggling and twisting ana pulling, tns
Populist- Democrats who constitute the majority
Of the House Of Representatives to-day succeedeo
in backing out OF the uncomfortable ana rioicu-
lous position in which they placed themselves
last Monday. when. with less than quorum"
voting they passed an order revoksng all leaves
OF absence except on account OF Sickness an"
ordering the arrest Of absentees
The proceedings under this order nave lur'
nished evidence enough to satisfy every intehgehs
observer of the utter incapacty and reckiessness
Of the majority to which the people intrusteu inc
control Of the House Of Representatives. That
q 10 an imnotent as well as a reckless majority
i.s actions to-day clearly proved. After arrest-
ing nv virtue OF a warrant which many OF the
ablest LAWYERS and best paramentarlahs III uio
House declared to be not only ueiecu'c' o1'
absolutely null and void, more than tmrty "eh'-
bers many Of whom were not justly SUBJECT I"
arrest; after sending deputies 10 Alaodiha' ie"-
nessee. Ohio Pennsylvania and Conhecucut !"
arrest other members, and after arraignihg al '"e
bar of the House six members all Oh "non
happened TO be Republicans, and peihs loroeu W
dron the proceedings against two other Re-
publicans who had been unlawfuly arres'eu' .io
majority was as glad to vote for Mr.. Biands
motion to rescnd the obnoxious order aS 'e ""~
of an opportunity TO make It,
II ever a statesman had reason to regret the
/ corseouences of his own acts. Mr.. Bland certainly
has had IL in this case. Members who were IN
/ Washington and ordered In arrest nave reluseo
! 70 obey or recognize the Speakers warrant ana
others have defed it from a distance ino
deputy Sergeant-at-Arms sent TO Cleveiahd' o"o.
! >, oo,,ure "Tom" Johnson, who had declared
that he would not return TO Washington untii no
was pleased to do so, returned to-day ana 'r'-
umphantly exhibited a physicians certihcate i"-
stead of producing a prisoner. Ihe certihca.o
at,as,ed the fact that Mr. Johnson was unable
70 travel.
The deputy who was sent to Killingly, Conn.,
ofter Mr. Russell saw that gentleman. who re.
oa,yad hin, cordially and said that he would re-
,urn IN Washington at his early convenience.
The "early convenience Of the deputy was
earlier than th4t Of the Congressman, ana ne
also has returned to the National Capital with"
out any prisoner.
A, last accounts the deputies who were sens
10 scale the rugged mountains or East IenheS-
see and scour the Gulf coast Of Alabama In ore
| der to find and arrest Messrs. Houk and Clarke
! had not returned.
AN EXPENSIVE PROCEEDING.
II will be observed that the attempt to execute
Mr. Bland's order will entail good deal OF exc
pense besides that caused by the useless "as'e
I ~ time in Washington. That the attempt did
]
the Democrats and that it was resented oy
CON siderable number of them are facts that even
Mr. BLAND must have been forced TO realize.
| During the last two days Democratic family
| ouarres have been iercer and more violent thau
! ever before and the scenes on the Democratic
side Yesterday and to-day were disgracetui anu
significant. No Democrat in Congress ever as
sailed the Republican party more bitterly or ap-
piled harsher epithets to its members tnah Mr'
Bland did to-day in denouncng the Democratic
as we'll as the Republican opponents or the eii-
yer Imitation bill l. was the angriest' mose
venomous speech delivered in the House or rep"
resentatives in many years, and some OF ths
worst passages fairly merited the Kisses and
cries of shame" which were heard from ootn
sides OF the chamber.
II was the speech OF a desperate facuona!
leader. who had cast to the winds whatever OF
caution courtesy, tact and wisdom he possessed
and had started 10 run amuck In the House OK
Representatives. The Mssourian In the bitter.
est terms denounced members Of his own party
who have refused to vote TO make a quorum on
the pending bill. as well as those who resented
the warrant OF arrest, and declared that tney
were virtually Anarchists and revolutionists. and
thar their actions II not reprehensibe, were IN
essence the same as the act OF an +,i,s a .. 80
would be who should cast dynamite bomo upon
the floor of the House of Representatives. ,,,,
IL was no wonder that members gave audible
vent d their disapprObation or Sucn ultetdn.eS
or that Mr. Bland was repeatedly called 20 oruer
ov members OF his party. one or whohA
wanted know who had appointed me Missou
. rian "o1iclal lecturer of the Democratic party.
A good deal that Mr.. Bland said however:
was as true a II unpalataole to the CUCKOO
Democrats He declared that II was dsgracefui
tbat marty which had a majority Of nearly q
hundred in the House could not proceed Win
legislative business.
5 SIGHT FOR GODS AND MEN
What a spectacle we present. he exclaimed.
as he dwelt upon this thought and denounced the
"cuckoos'' for absenting themselves or refusing
to vote when present.
Af,er no had been called to order by MessrA
Rynum and Coombs. Mr.. Bland turned upon the
4 .cuckoos', again The trouble is that am too
much in order to suit you. gentlemen. am teh'
ing some plain wholesome truths. which the
country wants you to hear. You have been
sorting an example here that II persisted In will
encourage anarchy and revolution. You cannot
I afford TO do It. This plain fact stares us IN inc
face; we must go on and redeem our peuses
and proceed with the public business. giving
> tba country the relief IL demands. or we must
Z surrender our power say this as Democrat
n This part OF the speech was delivered WIN
,.abement earnestness and elected many express
siops of approbatO from BANDS ardent sup
e norters and OF dissent from the Democratic op.
ponents of the bill. In fact 1t required the pess
n efforts of Mr. Richardson Of Tennessee. VINO
y acted as Speaker to suppress an incipient rot
. which might soon have become as bad as thas
of yesterday.
That a repetition of yesterdays disgraceful per.
. formance was generally expected was attesteo
. nv the enormous crowd OF people which packed
tho galleries and blocked the doorways ana cor.
rdors as soon as admttance could be obtained
The defeat by vote which divided nearly on
party lines OF Mr. Reeds motion TO discharse
; Mr. Adams OF Pennsylvania. from custody. on
4 the ground that his arrest was unautnoriAe9'
o was sufficient evidence that the Democratic ieao.
: ers had determined 10 retreat from their un.en'
able position as speedily possible. They were
q disagreeably surprised when the Speaker pro
, TEN. ruled Mr.. Band's motion Tor wnoissalo
d. ",au delivery" out OF order which compelled the
i latter 10 move the discharge of Mr. Adams. VINO
: was kept at the bar OF the House. as the event
. proved until after o'clock The attempt or Mr.
: Rland TO smother debate after ne had spoken
2 nearly an hour on his own motion. was thor-
oughly characteristic; but II provoked so strone
= n protest on both sides Of the House that ne wae