The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-08
THE SPEAKER EXPLAINS.

the North American Review are devoted to
an article by Speaker Reed, entitled How
the House Does Business" which gives an
idea Of the vast amount of work which the
House is called upon to perform and why
it cannot do all of it. If those people who
are interested in some private bill and who
are indignant because it has not been
passed and attribute it to the lack of in
terest on the part of their member, should
read this article they will find that there
are thousands of bills like theirs-so many,
in fact that it is impossible to consider
any considerable part of them. During the
last Congress, in Senate and House, 1850
bills and resolutions were presented of
which 948 were passed. Some were re-
jected, but far the greater part of them
were in the hands of committees on
the calendars when the term expired.
The speaker undertakes to show why GER
tain bills are passed ana others are not
Among the bills passed were those which
raised or attempted to raise revenue, bond
bills, and the great appropriations for the
support Of the government, and, generally
public bills of every description. Most of
these are bills which must be passed. For
that reason, the committee on ways and
means and the committee appropriations
have the right of way in the House. An
other class of bills, those of general i'm
portance, like the immigration bill, the
bankruptcy bill, the labor commission BILL
the postal bill, relating to second-class mall
and the Pacific railway bill, are given
precedence under a rule which authorizes
the committee on rules to submit to the
House a proposition to take up any i'm
portant measure. If the House DESIRES it
sustains the report of the committee
passed are thousands of private claims, pen
sion claims, individual schemes and bills
to remove the charge of desertion
Within a few years the number of bills
presented in the House has greatly in
creased, due chiefly to the great number
of private bills, all tending to connect the
person interested with the public treasury.
During the Congress of 1S63-1S64, only S13
bills were presented-not so many as the
last Congress passed. This number could be
disposed of, but it is impossible to struggle
with the 1886 bills presented in the House.
The speaker says that it is not the fault
of the member that local or private bills
are not considered. He may do his utmost
during the hours set apart for considera-
ton of such measures, and fail because only
a small number can be recognized Expert
ence on the part of the member may count
for something, but the vast number blocks
the way 1t would be we'll for people who
are interested in such measures to recog-
nize this fact. The speaker seems to be
inspired by a desire to convince constit-
uents that failure to get the legislation
inattention of the member, but rather upon
the multitude of constituents demanding
private and local legislation.
The speaker admits that some time is lost
by the desire of members to address the
House, but, with kindly feeling toward
his colleagues, he makes the constituency
responsible, since it judges the member by
his speech, and if he makes none he is
not much of a member. Even the speaking
Mr.. Reed regards as "a part of the educa-
ton of a free people" yet, in closing his in
structive article, he speaks with seeming
reluctance, as follows:
Still there are times when, business
propositions being numerous and the days
few one wishes that eioquence and speak
ing bore a closer resemblance to reasoning
and elaboration. 1t might as we'll be ad-
mitted at once that the faults of legislative
bodies are not the faults of legislators
alone, but in some degree of the people
themselves. So long as we rate oratory
too high and wisdom too low and gauge
our representatives by the number of times
they get into the newspapers and not by
what we ourselves know of their charac-
ters and abilities long we shall con-
tinue the desire for opportunities of display
and fail TO create the deSire for opportuni-
ties TO do service.