The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-10

SO1I4hOSQ 4 1O1Il GA1CNC11lA dS0s
ways" and inquired Of this order is
tolerated without protest by the house,
what power Is there that the execu-
tive order cannot usurp? What frag-
ment of control over the country's
purse?" He said: ''This pretense Of
low mockery and a play of words. 1t is
known by the man who wrote it as
shown by the order itself"
After attacking what he declared to
be the presidents usurpation Of power
Of Interpretation when he said the or
der should not be retroactive, Mr..
Cochran appealed to members on be
sides of the house ito consider the
enormity Of this proposal" which, he
said, affected the liberty and safety Of
the government.
Decline of the House.
In his opinion the steady decline in
the dignity of the house had attracted
much attention. He declared that the
president allowed congress the privi-
lege of declaring war, and he was loud
ly applauded by the Democrats when
he added: but the president makes
war when he chooses to-"
IF this condition was hopeless" he
said, amid more Democratic applause,
II We cannot rescue ourselves from
the degradation and decrepitude into
which we seem to be lowering, then
we would better leave the condition to
be Iamented rather than to de discuss
ed" Tears, he said, belonged to Wom-
en- for conditions which were helpless,
while discussion belonged to men. The
dignity and power of the house, he
maintained, were within the control of
Its own members, land 1t needs but
loyalty on our part to restore us not
merely to an important, but to a DOM
inant position" The congress had so
lost caste that today there was not
paper outside of Washington that gave
more than one or two para graphs about
It's proceedings. In stentorian tone he
demanded to know why has this de-
cline come upon us? Why has this de-
crepitude overtaken us?"
He inquired If 1t was possible that
the house must confess now that its
last entrenchment has been made "by
a subordinate executive officer" and
said that the contempt which had been
extended to the house and the violation
Of It's rights, constituted the measure of
respect, attention and submission
which it deserved. Amid an outburst
Of Democratic applause he declared
that when the house shall stand on it's
rights ''the greater will be the security
of liberty and the wider the progress
of humanity"
Flags the Congressman.
He then fiayed the members for per-
hitting the senate to grow up at the
expense of the house, by persistently
asserting its rights. He charged that
the house had been remiss in it's duty
in not asserting it's rights. He received
Unnif0rnI1C q nnl9ucn from hnfh cidoc ~
the chamber when he declared, not
withstanding Speaker Cannon's utter
ances that public opinion must come
to the rescue of congress, "the public
opinion of the United States Is here,
we are it's agents, its creation" Rails
ing his voice to high pitch, he said
that the house us the sanctuary of
our constitutional temple. We are the
priests to whom it is intrusted," and
he added, pointing his finger at the
speaker, You, sir, are the high priest,
responsible for the method in which
that trust shall be discharged"
He referred to attempts made in Eng
land to usurp the legislative authority,
and declared that the presidents order
| was the usurpation of power, mot by
appropriation, but by Interpretation"
which he attributed to the "pusillani-
nous failure of congress to do it's duty
to ITSELF" Congress had control of the
purse, and If 1t would exercise that
control every privilege that belonged
to it will come back. He dwelt on the
inalienable right of the house to orig
mate revenue bills and urged the men,
| bers to assert that right. He attacked
the rules Of the house, and said that
| If the members were not to be trusted
1--WE ought to be abolished" He also
spoke of the system in vogue Of In
PRODUCING bills and petitions by silently
| dropping them into basket, as If you
were performing an act of doubtful
propriety, to be carried on surrepti-
tiously." He further attacked the rules
Of the house. which. he said, forced
members to rise and discuss questions
having no reference to the bill undo