Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-12-12
DEATH OF THOMAS B. REED.


Washington, D. c.-Was Congress-
man % Years and Speaker of the
House Six Years.
Thomas Bracket Reed. whose critical
Illness was noted last week died at 1910
Sunday morning from uraemic poisoning
~ the ARLINGTON hotel in Washington d.
Mr.. Reed was sneaker Of the House
of REPRESENTATIVES for six wears and n
CONGRESSMAN from the Portland district
Of Maine from 1877 until 1899 for many
years of which he was leader of the Re
puhicane in the House As Sneaker he
made his great renutation. for nv his
parliamentary methods which became
known ms the Reed Rules" he was able
20 make the will of the maiorltv effec-
tive.
He was horn in Portland Nc where
his ancestors had lived for eight genera
tiors. on oct. IS 1929. attended the pub
lc schools and worked his way through
college bv teaching In vacation time. He
was graduated from Bowdoin College in
1850. ranking among the six honor men
Of his class. and spent the next two
wears I'm teaching and in the study of
law
Gen. Francis Fessenden became inter-
estcd in Reed and had him placed In the
law Office of Judge Strout But before
Reed finished his study Of law he went
to California. spent year there and
was admitted to the bar.
Early I'm 1864 Mr.. Reed returned to
Portland and in April he entered the
navy as an assistant paymaster. He
was assigned to duty on the "tin-clad'
Svhil which did duty on the Tennessee.
Cumberland and Mississippi rivers. hut
the service was not exciting and later Mr..
Reed referred to the experience as the
time when he kept n grocery store on
gunboat" He received an honorable
discharge from the navy in 1865 and re-
turned TO Portland. where he was admit
ed to the bar and practised law.
Within three years his ability as
stump speaker and his shrewdness in de-
bate took him into the political field and
made him n member of the Maine house
of representatives. From that time until
1899 he was out of politics only one year.
In 1870 he went from the lower to the
upper house of the state legislature, and
before the close of the year he became
attorneygeneral of the state. an Office
which he held for three years During
the next three years he was city solicitor
of Portland Then in 1877 he was elect
ed to Congress and until 1899 the First
district had no other representative there.
At the first all of Mr.. Reeds nomi-
nations for Congress were unanimous
and the only hard fight he had for re-
election was in 1880 when the Greenback
craze swept over the country and de-
feated the Republican state ticket. He
won by III votes. Two of the other
Maine Congress districts elected Demo-
cratic Greenback representatives that
| year.
AS early as 1881 Mr.. Reed began to be
talked of for the speakership, though he
| had been in Congress only four years
| In 1886 and 1887 he was the Republican
| nominee. but the House was Democratic
He was the recognized leader of the
minority during those years and in 1888
| a Republican House elected him to the
| speakership of the Fifty-first Congress.
| When he entered upon his duties as
| speaker he found himself at the head
of narrow majority with a strong min
| GRITTY trying in every way to obstruct the
| will of the Republicans. In order to
complete the quorum on a yea and nay
vote he ordered that the names of a num-
| Der of Democrats who had refused to
| respond when their names were called
should be recorded. BY that move the
| doctrine which gave the minority power
to rule was shattered
That ruling was repeated many times.
| Mr. Reed was styled a Gear and was
| subjected to much denunciation in the
violent scenes that followed his rulings,
| but he paid little attention to the abuse.
| Four years later the Democrats, in con-
troll of the House, adopted the quorum
| counting rule. The principle of the ac-
ton had previously been sustained by the
| Supreme Court.
In the Fifty-second and Fifty-third
Congresses the Democrats were in power
and Reed was again the leader OF the
minority, as well as chairman OF the
committee on ways and means. In 1896
as speaker he prevented the passage OF
the free silver coinage bill in the House
and again, three years later, held the
minority solidly against any attempt to
put the country on a silver basis.
Mr.. Reed was elected speaker again
in 1895, the Republican caucus giving him
its unanimous vote. and again his firm
ness showed itself. At the end of the
session Democrats as well as Republi-
cans said that he had done his work
we'll and Democrats We'd with one anoth
er to offer the customary vote of thanks
to the speaker, In 1891 at the close of thu
first session of which Mr. Reed wa:
speaker. not a Democrat would vote fol
the resolution.
In 1896 Mr. Reed was a candidate fo
the Republican nomination for the presi
dency. but was defeated. At the SAM
time he threw himself into the campaign
with all his energy, delivering speeche
in many states.
The Fifty-ffth Congress was again Re
publican and again Mr.. Reed was re
elected speaker. He held the post unit
August, 1899, when he resigned from tn
House and a short time afterwards h
began the practise of law in New Yor
as a member of the firm of Reed Simp
son, Thatcher & Barnum. His last pub
lie speech was made two weeks ago, a
the birthday dinner of Mark Twain.
Mr. Reed was the author of Reed
Rules, published in 1894. and editor c
"Modern Eoquence," published in tie
volumes in 1901. He was also cor
tributor to the magazines. He was
member of the Twilight club. the Ger
fury and Bar associations and the alumr
association of Bowdoin College. II
leaves a wife and daughter.