The times., 1898-12-15

House did not agree In 1t, under the old
practice the bill Immediately went back
to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union.
So IL this rule, which Is the same as 1t
always has been. was strictly enfoi ced
and lived up to. there cou.d no bill PASS
the House any more than 1t does the Sen
ate without being read through from the
beginning and any and every mtmb r
had an opportunity to offer his amend
ment If he desired to. In Committee of
the Whole House on the state Of the
Union, the old formula in reporting from
that committee was, '.The Committee has
had, according to order, the Union gener-
ally under consideration and par cular-
ly'' bill (naming the number and tit e).
l think the old formula should BE- con-
tinued. 1t means something. Instead II
reporting the Committee of the Who're
House on the state of the Union has hal
under consideration particular bill,
emitting have under cons deration tne
Union generally. VIII. .ch is the highest OBJ
ject of the committee, and the old fol-
mula required 1t to be stated ever me
the report was made by the chairman of
the Committee of the Nho.e House on
the state of the Union.
In the last session, it Will be remem-
bered, we had little asperit!e5 SOM times
when gentlemen were a aidress ng them
selves to subjects not before the House.
ard the rule was attempted to re If ced
strictly, and requiring them to mine
their remarks to the subject before The
House. which Is a rule that has always
been. and always must be enforced II the
House is to proceed orderly and discharge
the business in the House expsditiously.
But, Mr.. Speaker, had no idea of max
ing any speech on bygone questions. 1t
was simply in compliance with the Ie-
quest OF many members of the House,
after that little discussion at the last ses-
sion that l promised that l would av II
myself of some opportunity to explain
more fully the reason why this general
debate existed in one committee of tie
House and did not exist anywhere Sc.
L did not see any good opportunity to
trespass upon .he time of the House in
the last session, and would not now only
there seems to be a little lul in the bust
ness not requiring immediate action. /
thank the House for its attention and
courtesy. (Applause.)
At the conclusion of Mr.. Grows re-
marks, Mr.. De Almond took the floor and
said
Mr.. Speaker, I shall detain the House
but very briefly. / have listened with
very much interest to the remarks of the
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Crow, who has
just taken his seat. 1t seemed to me as
he talked of freedom OF debate" that he
must have referred to debate outside of
the halls of the House of Representatives
or was referring to the history of ancient
times rather than to current history.
Uaughter)
1 quite agree with very much of what
the gentleman said. l quite agree with
IN tf 80 l. l.. a.
proceedings of the House. 1 quite agree
that there has been that method by
which the business of this House might
be kept out of the arena of free discus
sion or any other kind of discussion upon
the floor of the House
How instructive 1t was, Mr.. Speaker
for the members of this House to hear the
"reminiscences in which the gentleman in
dulged. How instructive that in the his
tory OF the old slavery discussion. in the
times of excitement throughout the
Union. in a time when sentiment was
overwhelmingly on the one side, even
then there never were so few advocates
of any doctrine, there never were so few
Representatives of any party, but that
they had the fullest opportunity for de-
bate. and the views which they enter
tained, by reason of their discussion here
through that instrumentality, We're pre-
sented in full to the people of the country
L have no disposition to say a word
that possibly could CRATE upon the fee,--
ings of my friend from Iowa (Air. Hen
derson), a member of the Committee on
Rules.
l will not refer-it is needless to do So
to what happened at the time when the
rules of the Fifty-fourth Congress were
adopted temporarily as the rules of the
Fifty-fifth Congress. l am very glad to
learn that we have not been deprived of
the opportunity to consider what rules
shall govern us-through The instrumen-
tality of the gentleman from Iowa. In
fact, l never have suspected that our
deprivation is traceable to that agency.
Knowing that gentleman as one always
ready to meet any issue as 1T comes. and
to take care of himself in the rough and
tumble of debate, l never for a moment
supposed that it was on account of any
agency of his, or any dereiction of his,
that the House, almost to the hour of
the closing of Congress. has been forced
to get along with the rules of the Fifty
fourth Congress, instead of being given
to adopt its own rules for
its own government. The fact remains,
however, that the House. in the early
days of the first session of this Congress,
did expect from what then transpired.
that in a short time-in a reasonable time
there would be reported to the House
from the Committee on Rules code of
rules for the consideration of the House,
and that the House itself would nave an
to adopt such rules as it
might choose to adopt for its own guild
ance. .sr
There has not been much said about it
in the meantime. There certainly has
Inn cir m
upon any side, to indulge in meaningless
criticisms about it. Yet we have the fact
that now, within a few months of the
closing days, not of the session, but Of
the Congress; not of the first session, but
of the third session of Congress, the
rules adopted temporarily are still the
only rules that we have. Why this is a
fact is not for me to say. l do not as
sumo to know. The Committee on Rules
is made UP, as we are all very well in
formed, of five members-the Speaker
and two members in political sympathy
with him, and two from the minority.
In fact, as has been known by a great
many, and as it has been commented on
by few, the Committee on Rules con-
sists of the Speaker. When n report is
made from the Committee on Rules 1t is
made because the Speaker desires to have
it made When a report is not made from
the Committee on Rules, 1t is because the
Speaker desires that there snail be no
report, and so desiring, there Is none
Then the fact is-and 1 say it without
any meaning to reflect upon anybody or
to be harsh-the fact Is that the Speaker
himself has determined that 1t was bet
ter Cor IL not better, that it more COM
ported with his own idea OF things), that
no rules should be reported to the House,
but that the House should get along with
the rules of the preceding House
Now, L am not going to indulge In
harsh criticism of that matter, realizing
that the criticism, If I were to indulge in
it, would be harmless in comparison with
a simnla statement of the fact and har-