Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1908-09-25
LAWMAKERS AT WORK
The Necessity For Systematic
Methods.
FOR BUSINESS EXPEDITION.

1
From time to time there is a Demo
cratic outburst against the method Of
legislation in the house of represent
atives. The speaker is called a car,
and the majority of the committee on
rules IL held up as a trio of tyranny.
Or course If the Democrats were in
power the same system would be OBJ
served, and an idea of the situation
may be of interest.
All business and all legislation,
whether national, state or municipal,
must be conducted on a systematic
oasis and In systematic manner. The
| house of representatives Is composed
OF 396 members from forty-six states
or the Union. Every one OF these men,
pers has ideas as to legislation upon
various national and local conditions
Every one of these 1906 members is de-
sirous Of getting an appropriation that
Will help his particular district. Every
one of these 396 members would like to
tell the speaker and his colleagues and
MS constituents and the people of the
country at large just what he wants
and his views upon public questions.
IT is therefore necessary that the
house be so organized that business
can be attended to systematically and
without confusion, else there would be
no legislation whatever.
1t must not only be necessary to have
presiding officer, but 1t must be neces-
sary to have rules and regulations for
the presentation and consideration of
bills; It must be necessary to follow
parliamentary usage-in fact, 1t must
pc necessary to do just what is being
done In the United States house of rep
resentatives, the greatest and In every
way the most model parliamentary |
body on earth. For the third time now |
the majority have unanimously elected |
as speaker the Hon. Joseph G. Cannon
or Illinois. Mr.. Cannon has not only
served seventeen terms In congress.
longer than any other member of that
body, but he has done such good work
on committees, and conspicuously as
chairman of the committee on appro-
priations, as to make him worthy of
every confidence and honor that could
be given him by the majority.
1t devolves upon the speaker to ap-
point the various committees and their
chairmen, and no speaker of the house
Of representatives In our entire his
tory has made committee appoint
ments that have been acknowledged
to be fairer and more appropriate In
any case than have those of the present
speaker. In fact, II has been the sub
iect of newspaper comment since De
cember, when the committees were an.
pointed, that Speaker Cannon had gone
further than any of his predecessors 10
appointing chairmen of committees be-
cause or their fitness and without re-
gard as to whether they agree with the |
speaker or not.
Now, as has been before intimated.
legislation must be the result OF sys-
tenn and regularity. There will prob j
ably be more than $4,000 bills intro
1uced In the present congress. Only
few hundred of them can be consid-
cred and enacted into law. There
must, then, be method for considering
-hese bills and for their presentation
o the entire house for rejection or pas !
|
committees, and there the majority
must rule, as the majority should rule
n every assemblage, however large or
small.
When bill Is up for consideration )
before a committee there should be [
hearings on both sides of the question,
md such Is the usual procedure. Just I
lere can be cited an instance of what |
before a certain committee Ia +
he last congress. Mr.. Gompers, the !
president OF the American Federation :
II Labor, and other labor leaders have
1een very insistent that there should
De what is called certain anti-injunc- l
ion legislation. This matter came up
n due course In the first session OF |
he Fffty-ninth congress before the ju- I
iiciary committee, which was consid- {
,ring some three or four or more diff
'erent bills which had been prepared.
Days and weeks we're consumed In I
hearings upon this subject. 1t was
'ound that the SO called labor people
themselves could not agree upon the
Tort of bill they wished passed. Mr..
1ompers desired one form of Iegisla-
lon, and other prominent leaders de-
tired another, and still another a still
iinerent form, and SO on until Il YVES
'een that 1t would be impossible for
he committee to frame any blll what
'yer that would be satisfactory 20 any \
number OF those desiring :
uch legislation. The result was that q
here was no action taken, and the t
committee and the speaker ana tine Re G
publican majority were criticised ~ ?
icing hostile to labor because they had
Tot granted what the labor leaders
themselves could not agree upon.
There is much the same condition to-
lay regarding various important sub
ects. But legislation must necessarily
De slow. There must be no mistake
made. there must be no waste Of pub
ic money, there must be no acton
aiken that is unconstitutional. and
when a bill is once framed and pass
Id IL must be such one az will mat |