Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-02-07
HON. JOHN NJ. NELSON
ATTACKS HOUSE RULES
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THIS
DISTRICT MAKES A HIT.
Also Takes Rap at the Speaker
Representative is in the Right
and is ChdmpiOning the Cause
of the PeOple-AII Parties Should
Sustain Him in Course.

from this congressional district to
attack the speaker of the House of /
Representatives and the committee |
on rules. He bearded the lion IN
his den and like David the rosy
checked son Ut Jesse, WAS not afraid
to attack the Goliath of the House
Wednesday. He is in the right and
is championing the cause Of the
people in demanding radical change
of the rules of that body so that 1t
will be possible for the people to Sc
cure needed legislation and the recon-
mendations of the president be carried
into effect-and the people, irrespec-
tive ot party will sustain him in the
fight which he has inaugurated against
Czarism in the House.
Mr.. Nelson said in part:
''None Of President RoOsevelt's pol
icies are as important as reform in the
rules of this house. " he shouted. "Such
a reform is precedent to all other re-
forms. We must remove the barri
ers. I say to you men who believe
that Taft IL the man to carry forth
this reform, look to the rules of the
house. | say to the men who think
Hughes should carry out the policies
of the president, look rather to the
rules of the house. -
''There is Speaker Cannon. l re-
fer to him with all reverence. He
was member of this house when |
was child in swaddling clothes. |
am of different generation. Per
haps he does not like President Roose-
velt's policies as | do. Cannon is
too old to be elected president of the
United States. Again people do not
like arbitrary power, but what an
opportunity there is for Speaker Can
non. Let him surrender that power.
Let him give back to the membership
of this house the right to represent
their constituencies.
"When | came here it Was with
the idea that the Reed rules, in their
development, had served the useful
purpose to kill the filibuster and re-
store the right of the majority to
rule. | have found instead that they
are the instrument of arbitrary dom
nation
81 used to imagine that to revise
the rules would be to lestore oppor-
tunity to prevent business by the
filibuster. In the one term | have
been here | have learned the truth,
and | have marveled at the meek
submission of the members of this
body
He elaborated his objections to the
rules. cit is all wrong to have the
speaker name the committees. 1t
gives him too much power. 1t would
be right to have the house name its
own committees as the senate does.
The political leader of the majority
in the house should be on the floor as
Leaders are In other bodies of like
character all over the world.
''The speaker would better be
judicially minded person, not a mem
Der Of the body, its servant rather
than its master. This is the system
IN the English house Of commons,
where a speaker serves in the chair OF
many years at time, though the
complexion of the house changes
repeatedly. The same is true OF other
great parliaments.
"The committee on rules is the
last great error of the parliamentary
system of the house. 1t controls all |
business. 1t can write the legisla-
tion that shall pass, down to the eros
sing of the 't' and the dotting of the |
IL 1t holds in the hollow of its hand
the legislative fate of every mem
Der. And last is the caucus. de- |
vice for coercion. There Is no chance, |
as matters stand, TO get the rules |
changed
''They are adopted while the COM
mittee appointments for the session
are pending. That is an impossible |
time to organize opposition within
the dominant party to such system. |
The only accomplishment that is pos
sible must be effected by cooperation
of determined and independent mi !
nority of Republicans, with the Demo
Gratis, and, though himself a lifelong |
Republican, he would strongly advo
cate that cooperation. For practical |
purposes less than fifty men hold all |
the power of the house, and these may
be shrunk to three-the Republican |
membership of the rules committee.
As the speaker names these, it may
be said at last to narrow down to the !
speaker himself. His party associates
on the rule committee always repre-
sent him.
eff we fail to accomplish tn. things |
the president demands and the country |
favors" he said. "there will appar-
emily be an issue between the country
and congress, but it is not true. The
! Ssua is hatwaan the eounrrv and fra