The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-11
A LITERARY MANS CRITICISM OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE

OF conducting business in the House of
Representatives. He takes as his text
certain things which he did not find ex-
planned satisfactorily in Speaker Reed s
article in the June North American, and
begins his article with reference to Mr.
Reed, now for the third time Speaker
OF the House of Representatives, an Office
which he has held longer than any other
of his countrymen, with the exception of
Nathaniel Macon, Henry Clay Andrew
stevenson and Samuel J. Randall
This opening statement, not in itself
necessary to the argument, should per-
haps be privileged from criticism,
did not its errors seem to be fairly indi-
cative of the authors practical informa-
| ton on the subject of which he writes.
At the end of this Congress Mr.. Reed
will have served three terms as Speaker.
John g. Carlisle, James G. Blaine and
Schuyler Colfax, all of whom are ig-
nored, each served three terms, and Mr..
Randall, who is mentioned, served only
two full terms and one session of the
third.
Mr.. Hazeltine's argument is that de-
bate is stifled to a greater degree in the
American House thansin the popular as
semblies of Europe, notably the British
House of Commons, and that the great
amount of business and large member
ship Of our House is no justification of
this, since the British House, and in gem
eral the others also, has larger member
ship and much more business. That the
membership of the House of Commons
is nominally larger than that of the
House of Representatives is an unques-
TONED fact. That the House of Commons
has more business is an alleged fact
which Mr.. Hazeltine seeks to support by
pointing out that it has to deal with a
centralized and unified empire of great
and far reaching interests, while our
Congress deals only with certain general
lquestions which are without the jurisdic-
ton of the State legislatures. This is
an assumption at very long range of
something which might puzzle commits
sion Of experts to solve. 1t may be said
in reply that our House has to deal not
only with the general interests of seventy
millions of people, but with questions
arising out of the greatest civil war the
world has ever known, with the disposal
OF public domain which is an empire
of itself in extent, with an interstate
and inter-continental commerce which in
one part of it alone passes through one
of our interior straits annually greater
tonnage than the Suez canal carries in
the same time. Such arguments are
general merely, and can be furnished cas-
lily since they are not of much value. The
main fact, which cannot be disputed, is
that our House of Representatives is con-
fronted with far more work than it can
do. Another leading fact is that under
the changes of methods which Speaker
Reed has introduced the speed of work
| ing has been increased. The record of
the number of bills passed by the House
in the Congresses of the last ten years
will show this ina very noticeable man.
ner. This expedition has been obtained
not by suppressing debate, but by sup
pressing dilatory proceedings like the
useless calling of rolls, etc
| Mr.. Hazeltine dwells at length upon
the fact that our Senate, where debate is
unlimited, passed in the Fifty fourth
| Congress 1859 bills while the House
passed but 1900 Having assumed that
these figures in support of his theory that
the press of business in the House does
not Justify repression, since repression
does not accomplish results. Now if de-
bate is stlfed in the House it must be ey-
ident that it is not debate which prevents
the House from doing as much work as
the Senate. What then does Mr.. Hazel
tine think it ISL There was no tilibuster-
ing in the Fifty fourth Congress, and
never did body of men work more con-
stantly, not resting on Saturdays or even
on holidays. What then could have so
retarded the House as compared with the
Senate? From Mr.. Hazeltine's lurid
characterization it might be inferred by
an inexperienced person that this time
was used in pleasant exercises on men,
bers with gags and handouts. But any
body acquainted with the House or even
with the pages of the Congressional
Record will understand that the time was
taken in debate, and that there was more
debate per measure in the House than in
the Senate, since the House passed nearly
| five hundred less bills, and probably
worked more days than did the Senate,
as that body generally adjourns over Sat
urday Ms well as Sundays. The Senate.
passes more bills than the House because
deliberative body of ninety men can
work quicker than similar body of 357
| Of course debate is restricted in the
House, where there is crowd, Just as a
mans activities are restricted in the
city, where regari for the rights of all
compels him to give up certain pleasurable
| little diversions that are harm less in, tho