Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-20

WASHINGTON, March 19.-Speaker
Cannoa's announcement of the result
of his deliberations came at the con-
clusion of a typewriter statement Civ
ing the reasons for his position.
Reading slowly and deliberately, Mr..
Cannon began his presentation of the
matter by referring to the fact that he
had been criticised for being slow to
rule on the point, but he explained this
was due to the circumstances under
which the question had been brought
so unexpectedly upon the attention of
the house. This, he said, had been done
lin a revolutionary manner" render
ing it of 'such transcendent import
ance to the future procedure of the
house that the fullest, even the most
protracted discussion, seemed justi-
fable"
In 10 other manner could the most
complete information be brought to the
consideration of the question, and in
no other way could the largest partici-
patton of the membership of the house
he assured.
He said the question of individual
privilege in the public business had
not been reviewed, and the principles
governing it had not been questioned
for many years. Those principles, he
said, were relatively simple.
on, that the ordinary legislative duties
and functions of the house, exercised
by the authority of the constitution,
must proceed according to the order
prescribed by the rules. The fact that
the constitution says that the "house
shall have power to lay taxes, regulate
commerce, make naturalization laws,
coin money, establish postoffices, create
courts, support armies and navy. etc,
Io Oh ii ttyba
bodied in bills any right to disturb the
order of business provided by the rules.
The very object of the rules is to pro-
vide in an orderly way for considering
those and other subjects entrusted to
the houses judgment. TO give all
those subjects constitutional privilege
would be to establish constitutional
chaos in the house."
There were, however, certain func-
tions which tile constitution enjoins
congress to do and for the doing of
which it fixes the time, Among those
requirements was one that congress
should provide for a census OF the pop
ulation and an apportionment of rep
resentatives. Whether that construc-
tion proceeded too far when the con-
situation gave a year within which to
perform the duty, is a matter as to
which there might be doubt. But for
thirty years IllS plehSblSC iletu pSSAA I'll
varying. Hence, when confronted with
the question this week, he said, the
chair had followed the practice of the
house, as he would obey every other
rules without questioning the wisdom
that originally created it. He then
proceeded:
To-day, however, the chair is asked
to permit a proposition for a new rule
to come in, although the rules pre-
scribing the order of business require
us to proceed to other matters, and
it is claimed that the chair would be
justified in doing this because the con-
stitution says that each house may de-
termine the rules of its own proceed
ing Whether the word may means
shall or not the chair will not stop
to examine.
1.-THE constitution fixes no time when
if shall be done, and as the house may,
and has in one notable instance, pro-
ceed without rules, 1t does not seem to
the chair that there is here given any
constitutional mandate which would
Justify the overriding of the rules.
| Fortunately, in this crisis, the chair