Evening journal., 1898-03-16


ponent of Gag Law-John Sharp wiz
liams' One Minute Srasterpiece-A De-
fense OF the Scholar In Politics.
Especial Washington Letter.l
At precisely 16 minutes past 8 o'clock
p. M, Monday, March z, in the year Of
our Lord and Master 1898, Speaker
Thomas Brackett Reed "raised" him
self at his own game and made a new
record as squelcher Of the house Of rep.
resentatives-out Reeding Reed, to coin
a new phrase. The exact date should
Sbe carefully noted, as it marks an epoch
| |in parliamentary affairs in America.
Mr.. Bailey made the point of ''no
Aquorum, thereby asserting a ooustitu-
'tional right, whereupon the speaker,
quick as a fash Of lightning and with
out going through the performance Of
counting the members present, replied
bright off the reel, "There being evident
Hly a quorum present, the chair is obliged
to overrule the point" The irate Texan
shouted, 81 appeal from the decision Of
the chair" The speaker said, 1.-THE
chair does not entertain the appeal, +"
and it was not entertained. Thus was
taken another long step in converting
the house Of representatives from de-
< liberative assembly into what he is
pleased to denominate ga business
body"
This performance isbeooming thing
#intolerable, and while am neither a
prophet nor the son Of a prophet 1 pre-
dict that in a few years it will end in a
parliamentary revolution-that is to
say, the house will, as it has a perfect
right to do, deprive the speaker Of the
power Of appointing committees and
elect them itself, as the senate now
does, for, after all is said about the
rules that can be said, it is the power
of appointing committees which gives q
resolute and able speaker his masterful
grasp on legislation. So long as he can
do that he practically holds the power
of political life and death over members.
At the extra session Mr.. Reed stated
very truly and luoidly that the speaker
was the creature of the house-that be
possessed no power not conferred upon
him by the house-and that when tine
house grew weary of the exercise of
those powers it could ourtail them to its
own satisfaction. He stated the situa.
tion with great exactness. But at that
very time he was holding committee as
signments in terrorem over the heads o.
Republican members to force them Il
do his will, and they did it right up t.
the handle, some of them, however &C
oompanying their action by curses nof
loud but deep, while others smackeC
their lips as though they liked the dose
He could not control Democrats, Pop
ulists and Silver Republicans that way
for according to precedent they had t
60 to the foot of the committees.
I have no personal grievance what
ever against Mr.. Reed. He gave me a.
good committee assignments as could
hope for and has always treated m'
kindly. It's the system Of eliminating
or effacing the members that objeo
to.
Simple minded people who entertain
the delusion that this is a country o
free speech will be loath to believe tn
foregoing statement Of the manner il
which it is being suppressed, but
speak by the record-The Congressiona
Record of March z, 1898.
Let no man think that this is q triv
ial matter, magnified and exploite
merely for partisan advantage. 1t is 0
vital Importance as affecting the dig
nifty of the house, the integrity of legis
lation, perhaps the perpetuity Of the re
public. Bailey was oontending for con
stitutional right, and defending a consti
tutional principle, for the constitutio
makes the presence of a quorum a sin
qua non to legislation. Raising 18th
point of no quorum is one of the MOI
effective ways of defeating the passag
of bad bills. So this was a performanC
Of the most serious import TO the whol
American people, for if the question {
to whether a quorum is present can |
unceremoniously shunted out of IL
way on one occasion it can be done q
all occasions, and the provision of Il
constitution as to the necessity for
quorum is only SO much waste paper.
Handy's Triumph.
Another astounding thing happent
recently which demonstrates how repr
sentatives of the people are being d
e prived of their rights under the Repu
lican regime The house was in COZ
mittee of the whole considering a bi
making a small appropriation to pay
priyate claim, Hon. Serene Payne
New York, who wears the largest siz
hat of all congressman, being in L
chair.
1t was the 4th of March-the fiji
anniversary Of President Mckinley
Inauguration. Hon. Levin Irving Ham
of Delaware addressed the commit
and was proceeding to fight the bill
the ground Of economy and the depict
condition of the treasury produced p
marily by the Mckinley bill and secon
arily by the Dingley monstrosity.
Il strengthen his position he began
quote from McKinley's inaugural
6 dress. when, mirabile dictu, some /
~ publican member made the point Il
@ il was not in order for Handy to out
as Mckinley. Still more wonderful to