The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-08-13
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES A NON-REPRESEN
TATIVE BODY.

When the makers of the American
constitution were weaving the wool OF
that immortal document. they divided
the papers of government under three
general heads. Legislatures, executive
and judicial 1t says, "All legislative
powers herein granted shall be vested
in a congress Of the United States,
which shall consist of a senate and a
house of representatives" 1t then pro-
members and duties of the house, pc
culiar to itself, one of which is to
choose its speaker and "Other officers
and another to have the sole power Of
impeachment: also limiting to this
house the power to originate legislation
providing for the raising of the reve-
nues required for the maintenance OF
the government. ,,
1t was evidently the intent of those
farseeing constructive statesmen
that the lower house of congress should
be directly representative of and re-
sponsible to the people of the states
from which they should come; also that
this body should be in the strictest
sense an anonymous body was evil
IDENTITY intended, for it says that they
shall not only choose their own speakA
p,. ly,f off oil
as the presiding officer of the senate,
the v.ce-president, is chosen by the
people for a full term of four years.
his relation to the senate being only an
ex-officio relation
1t seems surprising that, after a pc
riod of one hundred twenty years,
this evidently wise ideal that was ever
before the members Of the constitution
should have been practically nullified
until the socalled house of representa-
tives should have. become a house o.
representatives. dominated and
Controlled by one man and that man
the speaker. AS matter of fact. the
most important officers of the house
.tIe the members of the committees, to
whom are referred the different items
Il legislation proposed and who have
t"c power to kill any and all legisla-
ton not in accord with their own
hands by refusing to report them out
OF the committee; and yet, as matters
now stand, the house has absolutely
no voice. directly or indirectly, in de-
termining the personnel of these COM
mittees, the appointment being made
directly by. the speaker. Even the
committee on rules, which provides
the manner of introducing and pro-
noting legislation. the conditions un-
der which members may be allowed the
privilege of the floor to speak to a
given question and all others apper-
tanning to the government of the
house, is appointed by the speaker
who may place thereon such men as
he believes to be best qualified 10 rep
te0eAl 1lle peopie OF only Sucn as are
willing to carry out the, behests of the
appointing power.
Such concentration of power in
the hands Of one man is. hazardous
whether that man be broad minded
constructive statesman or a narrow
minded, hard headed consummate
eSotist such as the present incumbent
Uncle Jee' Cannon, is believed b,
many good republicans and all goot
democrats TO be. Not only has the
present incumbent used the trenend.
oIs influence of his official position tc
control legislation and make il con.
form TO his own conception of things
but he has gone so far as to use thi:
power for the utter humiliation OF
every member. particularly of his own
party faith. who does not acQuiesce il
his program of procedure Having alb
splute power in the appointment O
committees. he places those who ar,
"ililng TO work with him on the mos
influential committees and in the mos