The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-03
SENATOR MORGAN'S POINT.
HIS ATTACK ON TIE HOUSE APs
PLIES TO THE SENATE As WELL

- .L
Ir It IL Unconstitutional for the House 70 Aa-
journ from Nay to bay and FOR Three Days
in the Absence or n Quorum, Then the Sens
ate Has Also Violated tho Constellation.
WASHINGTON, Juno 2.-Senator Morgan has
not yet introduced his promised resolution call.
ing upon tho Judiciary Committee TO invostf.
gate and report upon his parliamentary point"
that Congress IL not at present organized In 40.
cordancc with tho provisions of tho Constitu.
ton because of the action of the House in adj
journinR from one day to another when the alb
sence OF u quorum was disclosed, and then, on
that second day, adjourning for three days.
which is the limit Of time that ono house can
adjourn without tho consent of tho other. 1t 10
moro than likely that Senator Morgan, on SEQ
ond thought, will not care to have his ''point"
considered and elaborated by tho Law Commit
tee of tho Senate, and may conclude to let the
subject drop.
There are a few lawyers in Congress, and Sem
ator Lindsay OF Kentucky, a member of tho Sem
ate on the Judiciary, is one OF them,
who think tho point raised by tho Alabama Sem
ator in his dramatic speech last Saturday Bit
tcrly attacking tho House Of Representatives for
its so-callcd policy of non.action, is we'll taken.
But the large majority of those who are we'll
versed in parliamentary proceedings and prcca-
dents are emphatic in the opinion that there ID,
in fact, no ' point - at all In Senator Morgan'u
claim. Indeed, tho Senator is regarded as some
what short-sightod and inconsistent in raising
the point, because his proposition that the
Constitution has been violated by the House OF
REPRESENTATIVE in the adoption OF it's resolu-
Senate OF tho same. unconstitutional behavior.
Al. the precedents Of the distinguished body OF
when Mr.: Morgan Is n distinguished member
No longer ago than Wednesday. May 20. the
charactcrizcs ms unconstitutional on tho Part OF
the House OF Representatives. and did 1t In the
On that day MIR. Chandler moved that when the
Senate adjourn on Thursday tthc next day. 10
ing. The motion was adopted, and on Thursday
the SENATE, pursnant to the orderof Wednesday,
% ,hsonb,sdI until Iio MSGndd" XII by t that act the Senate
the Constitution which another distinguished
A%labamiap, Representative Wheeler. carries
elaborated in the House recently, was that Sun
day was a holiday. and that. therefore. an ad.
until Monday without violating the Constitu.
tion by exceeding the three-day limit. 1t is said
II the Senate can on "Wednesday fix the day to
which the Senate shall adjourn, when It. adj
tourns on Thursday las it did last Wednesday.
1t could have done the same on Tuesday or Mon.
day or a month before: and, IL it can do this
The advocates Of what has been facetiously
termed the Morganatic Constitution argue that
shall have power 10 {! may iSi from day
TO day. the House must. therefore. when there 70
no no quorum W I'D Sdj9 9HdI. until the next day. The.
hbee h-S
right to adjourn from day TO day was a grant OF
power, not a limitations; and that without 1t the
House, when without II quorum, would nave no
right to adjourn. and would have TO remain In
session until a quorum came. This. they say.
might have been found very convenient In
the good old days before steam railroads,
when, Congress would often have been COM
PEELED to remain in a state of suspended anima-
tion for more than a month awaiting the pres
cncc OF q quorum in order that it might adjourn.
One of the parliamentary experts Of the House.
a man whose expert knowledge OF parliamentary
law and precedent is certainly as great as THAI
OF any other member of either house of Congress.
cites a very interesting hypothetical case in dis
cussing this " point OF Senator Morgan's.
Suppose. ter6ely says this high authority.
an order was made In the senate TO adjourn
oyer and then the motion to adjourn was imme-
diately made and the point of no quorum
raised : According to the Morganatic Constitu-
ton the Senate would have to send out it's
Sergcant-nt-Arms to call back members enough
to let the Senate let CO.
The House leaders are unanimous in the opin-
ion that TO justify such a ridiculous but legitf-
mate conclusion the advocates of Senator Nor
gan's point" and OF "a like one raised by some
of the many would-bc leaders of the Popocrats
OF the House, ought to be able to quote some real
constitutional provision that is clear and ex-
plicit. II the parliamentary authorities arc 70
be relied upon. no such provision exists.