The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-17
THE PARLIAMENTARY STRUGGLE IN
AUSTRIA.

Az
The troubles which are taking place in
the A ustrian Parliament have attracted
world wide attention; although to for
eigners they are very difficult to under
stand. The cause of the trouble seems
trivial. Bohemia is inhabited by Czechs
and Germans, and the government has
lately deoreed that all civil servants in
that territory shall know both languages.
The German party have resented this bit
terly and have carried their opposition
| in to the Parliament, where they are in
stituting an obstruction which is defeat
| ing the reenactment of the bills for con-
tinuing the relations of Hungary and
Austria in a dual monarchy. The de-
spatches from Europe give brief and
rather incomplete statement of the forms
which this obstruction is taking. The
sittings are said to be trified away with
personal disputes. long-winded speeches,
and unending roll calls, which the stand
ing orders allow to be employed as a
means OF voting on any trifiing question.
At single sitting twelve or fifteen roll
calls are often ordered, each occupying
about an hour. All these distractions
are made by the minority, and the major
| ity are unable to suppress them,
| although they have had re-
course to sittings twenty five
| hours in length in the vain hope of firing
out the obstruotionists. So hopeless did
the situation become that the President
of the Chamber felt compelled to resign.
The situation is somewhat similar to
that which confronted the United States
House OF Representatives when Mr.. Reed
was elected Speaker in 1890. The mi
nority had gradually. by successive en-
c.oschlnents upon the traditions Of legis.
latire decency, come to the protested be-
| lief that it was it's right to stop legislation
which it did not approve; and the over
throw Off that idea cost long and mem
orahle struggle. In Austria the Presi-
| dent of thu Chamber seems to have
wanted the courage or the opportunities
to undertake the battle.
| The methods of obstruction are not
quite the same as those employed at
| Washington. Long-winded speeches could
not be used as a means of obstruction In
| the House, since for many years the pre-
yious question had given the majority tho
power to determine how much debate
| should be allowed. But the use Of roll
calls was favorite method with our
statesmen and it was apparently more
strongly intrenched with US than in Aus
tria, since our Constitution specifies that
roll call shall be had whenever one-fifth
demand it, while in Austria the roll call
seems to be merely a creation of the rules.
Our Constitution also provides that
quorum shall be majority of the MEM
bership of the body, and this. by making
| it easy to break q quorum, anoroeo
means of obstruction which the Austr-
| ians do not seem to have.
To suppress the flibusters at Washing
! ton Mr.. Reed had to devise a variety OF
rules, suited to deal with situation
complicated by such Constitutional con-
| ditions. In Austria the situation seems
far less complicated, although the Presi-
dent may have been bound by rules which
cannot be changed in the face of an IN
| 0XDeCCeQ - AAAoo 10 IT,
membered that Mr.. Reed foresaw the
battle that was coming and prepared for
If nv having the House administered I'M
der general parliamentary law for time,
the rules not being adopted until the
battle against obstruction had been won.
The remedy for the Austrian difficulty
seems simple if the rules do not specif-
cally forbid its application. The Presi-
dent might decline to hear more speeohe;
and put the question, as did the Speaker
of the Housegof Commons at the end OF
the famous Irish obstruction. Sustained
by determined majority the President
would be as successful as the Speaker was
in England. The obstructive roll calls
could be eliminated by ruling the mo-
lions dilatory, as WAS done by Mr.. Reed
who took the impregnable ground that
the processes of the House could not be
i ,,ca3 %o daFao+ tho obIaaf IF the Hor1aos {