The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1902-07-18

anated from a congressman whose
experience in public life had been
more extended and diversified.
Congressman Morris, of Minnesota,
speaks from six years of experience,
as against six months of the New
York representative, and he says that
the rules of the house of representa-
tives simply reduce that body to an
aggregation of pitiful followers of
the man in the chair" He further
says: There will be no national dan
ger in these rules, so long as there
shall be a speaker whose patriotism
is bigger than his egotism. But there
is likely to come a day when a man
in the chair will WELD the power of
the position for his own aggrandize-
ment. Then you will see a dictator
whose antics may produce anarchy"
Congressman Hepburn, of Iowa,
who is accredited with great abil-
tiles, natural and acquired, and who
has been in the house of representa-
tives for 20 years, says: ''The rules
of the house make every member
look like a little midget bowling and
scraping to some other midget, who
is magnified by the obsequiousness of
the midgets who have enthroned him.
Under the existing rules there may
be an ass in the chair, and giants on
the floor, but the ass will be the
master of them all. The rules make
the speaker master of his fellow rep
resentatives; whereas, the constitu-
ton declared that all of the repre-
sentatives should be equal. There is
no reason why one man should be
selected from the majority and unto
him be given all of the rights of the
other representatives. But that is
the condition of the popular body un-
der the existing rules
Those are words spoken from the
brain of experience and from the
heart of an honest man. The great
est absurdity of the existing rules IS
the committee on rules. That COM
mittee consists of two republicans.
two democrats, and the speaker; at
least that is the way it looks on pa
per. AS a matter of fact, the COM
mittee on rules consists of two mem
bers of the majority party and the
speaker; because the two members
of the minority party are always out
voted, and usually do not attend
meetings of the committee. Now the
absurdity of having such committee
lies right here.
The speaker appoints the chairmen
and members of all committees. He
is chairman of the committee CD
rules, and appoints two members of
his own party on the committee, who
do exactly what he tells them to do;
or else he can turn them out and ap-
point two others who will not hest
ate to "crook the pregnant hinges Of
the knee that thrift may follow fawr-
ing" So, after you analyze the COM
mittee on rules, you see that it is a
mere makeshift to fool the people.
1t is no committee at all, but merely
a .gauzy attempt to hide the one-men
power of the speaker himself.
No matter what the rules of the
house may be, it is left to this al
legged committee on rules to decide
what bills shall be taken up, how
long they shall be debated, and when
vote shall be taken. The speaker
n1nSelI QeC1ueS all tneSe important
matters, and then calls meeting of
the committee on rules. That seems
big. The speaker tells his two fol-
lowers what he wants done, and then
one of the two majority members adj
dresses the house and says: 81 have
to report a rule from the committee
on rules, deciding thus and so.'' It
is then in the power of the house
to. vote against the order of the
speaker, thus thinly disguised; but.
because of his power in all other mat
tiers, the majority party always sus-
tains the speaker in this by-play by
sustaining the alleged report of the
committee on rules Thus the house
is governed by one man, under the
Reed rules, and it is about time for
the people to understand the play
for all it is worth.
The people have very little TO do
with their government. Yer, little
indeed. SMITH d. FRY.