The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-03-10
MsJoRIrY's RIGHT TO RULE.
ann on Makes Notable Speech Foreshadoving
Contest cheered to the Echo.
(By the Associated Press.)

CONTEST. Gu66IcO W tAS GCAo'
(Bv the Associated Press.)
Washington, D. c., March 4.-The
speech Of Representative Cannon, chair
man of the Appropriations committee,
delivered after $3.50 o'clock this morning
in the House on the conference report on
the General Deficiency Appropriation bill
protesting against Legislative blackmail'
and insisting on the rigth of a majority to
rule in the Senate, in view of the fact that
House, is regarded as foreshadowing a
contest on this question. The scene
when Mr.. Cannon delivered this speech
was the most remarkable of this Con-
gress in the House. Late as the hour
was, the weary members were set on
FIRE with enthusiasm and they cheered his
u~tterances until the great hall resound-
ed with their shouts. MIR. Cannon said:
"Gentlemen know that under the prac-
tice of the House and under the rules
Of the Senate, the great money bills can
contain nothing but appropriations IN
pursuance Of existing law, unless by
unanimous consent of both bodies. II
any of these bills contains legislation,
it must be by unanimous consent OF the
two bodies; and the uniform practice has
een-sO far as | knOW-the lnvarlable
practice mas been with the exception of
one amendment upon this bill, that when
one body objected to legislation proposed
by the other upon an appropriation bill,
the body proposing the legislation re
cedes.
In this case the trouble in arriving
at an agreement all clustered about one
amendment. There were many amend
nlents Of a legislative character proposed
by the Senate; there were many amend
ments covering hundreds OF thousands or
dollars Of claims pure and simple, pro-
posed by the Senate. One by one the leg
islative provisions and the claims dis
appeared as the Senate receded, until we
came to an amendment to pay the State
of South Carolina $4,000.
THE House conferees objected, and the
whole long delay has been over that one
item. In the House of Representatives,
without criticising either side Or any
individual member, we have rules, some
times INVOKED by our Democratic friends
and sometimes by ourselves-each re-
sponsible to the people after all said and
done-by which a majority, right or
! wrong, mistaken or otherwise, can legls-
late. In another body there are no
such rules. In another body legislation
is had by unanimous consent. In an
other body an individual member of that
body can rise in his place and talk for
one hour two hours, ten hours, twelve
hours. It is a matter of history that a
Senator on the Republican side, in a
former Congress, talked to death a River
and Harbor' bill. There comes a tim
constantly in the settling of bills when
you must do so and so or SO and so,
else your bill cannot pass, and this, with
reference to the great money bills. In
my opinion such a condition existed as to
this bill, and clustered about this one
amendment. There was also an amend
ment put on to the bill in another body
| which involved Legislation to the extent
of granting to the State of Vermont one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars in
adjustment of her war claims. The Sen
ate receded, but your conferees were
unable to get the Senate to recede upon
this gift from the Treasury, against the
law, to the State of South Carolina,
BY unanimous consent another body
legislates, and in the expiring hours OF
the session we are pOWerleSS without
that unanimous consent. Help me
! Cassius, or l sink" Unanimous consent
| comes to the center of the dome. Unani-
NOUS consent comes through Statuary
! Hall and to the House doors and comes
practically to the House. We can have
| no legislation without the approval OF
both bodies, and one body, in my opin-
ion, cannot legislate without unanimous
/ consent. There was the alternative, in
my opinion this applied not only to the
Deficiency bill. but to the Naval bill
or an agreement as to the Naval bill
Your conferees had the alternative, OF
submitting to legislative blackmail al
the demand, in my opinion, of one in
! dividual-I shall not say WHEREOF OF
letting these great money bills fail
Now, what are we going to do about it
This bill contains many important mat
ters-your appropriations for public
buildings. Legislation lately had al
along the line of the public service tc
the extent Of $40. 900. 900.
Gentlemen, I lave made my protest
l do it in sorrow and in humiliation, but
there it is; and in nv opinion another
body under these methods must change
its methods Of procedure or our body
backed up by the people, will compel the
change, else this body. close to the PEG
pie, shall become a mere tender, a mere
bender OF the pregnant hinges of to-
knee to submit to what any one member
or another body LAY demand of this body
as a price for legislation" CProlonget
applause and cheers.)