Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-16
AN URGENT NEED


I vision of the rules and a remodel
" ing on lines that will not permit
the business of the nation to be inter-
fered with and it's will to be thwarted
is the national program. The common
ers of the United Kingdom can intro
duce income tax bills, old age pension
bills and all kinds of drastic reform
measures, with q reasonable certainty
they will be passed, for the house of
lords seldom ventures to refuse pressing
popular legislation, and there is no one
man veto power in the United King
dom. The last ruler" to attempt
veto of popular legislation was Charles
I, who was promptly indicted on the
charge of treason to the common peo-
pie. and was condemned to death and
executed.
In the United States, we have two
men who possess power greater than
| that welded by any individual in the
British empire. One is the president;
the other is the speaker of the mousse
Under the Cannon rules the speaker is
not one whit less powerful than the
president, because while the president
may veto legislative measures, the
speaker may choke them off at an
early stage. In other words, the presi-
dent MAY veto measure. but the
speaker HAS vetoed the CONSIDERA-
TION of measures.
One example of this veto power
which is likely to cause considerable
comment, and perhaps a national
storm, is the Concentration. of meas
ure which, in the eyes of many good
| Americans, was one of the most inn
portant ever introduced. We refer to
! the Littlefield bill, the passage of
which was asked by the prohibition
| states. Apart altogether from the
merits or dement's of prohibition, the
case affords an instance of an exercise
of power by the speaker which was
fully as effective as any presidential
veto could be. Prohibition states asked
that railroads and express companies
should be forbidden to ship original
packages of liquor into the dry
regions.
On December 5, 1907, the bill was
|
1t is still 'in committee" The COM
mittee on judiciary was appointed by
Cannon, and every Republican appoint
ment was made with the distinct I'M
derstandng on the part of the ap5
pointee that he would consider favor
ably only the bills Cannon approved.
1t is obvious that in the suppression
/ ;s. m the
safety, we'll being, rights, liberties and
domestic peace of the United States.
Here is what Thomas p. Reed had to
say regarding our modern travesty of
! legislation "by the people, of the peo-
pie, for the people:
"In the United States there are many
interests which are concerned to per-
petuate the rule of the few. Z.
The same may be said of all vested
interests and vested wrongs. They are
! all enlisted on the side of repression.
. But the great immediate power
which has for so many years kept the
| control in the hands of the few is the
combination or concert of old mem
bers who, knowing the rules and being
| skilled in all the arts of killing bills
without being caught and of depriving
the community of what it wants, while
exhibiting zeal the other way, are
enabled to govern the house and per-
petuate their own rule"
There are 219 Republican members Of
the new house and 172 Democratic mem
bers, .391 in all, consequently 1876 mem
bers constitute a majority. BY it's last
national platform the Democratic party
| is committed to the policy of revising
the rules of the house, so as to take
from the speaker the autocratic control
of legislation. If the Democrats stand
fast, only twenty-four Republican
votes are needed to make the change.
Results of a campaign of inquiry con-
| Quoted by Success Magazine show pop