Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-14
Moral Quality of a Nation.

the moral quality of nation is by
no means always commensurate with its
size. and that moral quality depends
chiefly upon the average of it's citizen
ship. If that average is high It should re-
fleet itself in the only national office thai
Is filed directly by the choice of the
people, and filled, too, in constituencies
that are not so vast but that the indi-
vldual voters may know pretty we'll the
character of the man for whom they are
voting. The candidate for President they
see only through the telescope, If indeed
they see him at all: but the candidate for
the House of Representatives is a men,
Der of the community in which they live,
and they may know him as they know
one OF their own neighbors.
If body of ignorant. sordd and pusil-
luminous representatives are chosen I'M
der such favorable conditions, it is
scarcely possible 10 make very decided
inference that the constituencies are. on
the whole, of very different character
If, on the other hand, YOU find among the
representatives a high average standard
of manhood and capacity you will be
justified in reaching conclusion favor
able to the character Of the people who
have chosen them. ! have Ii notion that
there IS some degree of correspondence
between tie size and the quality Of the
ia ti"a, j'iGsing simply from the character
Of IL House of Representatives. 1t is,
- tic whole. a great body, fairly repre-
sentative of the American people, and it
reflects the best qualities that have been
imputed to them. 1t certainly has those
prime characteristics of the nation
spirit and courage: and no body Of men
could have any degree of either and be- SO
completely the slave of one man, as the
representatives must be of the Speaker.
If there IS any substance of truth in the
charge usually conveyed by Cannonism.
Approaching the subject, therefore, some
what after the priori fashion, we can
not refrain from indulging in skepticism.
The existence of Cannonsm would re-
qnire us to draw differences far from
complimentary to the American people. :"
Tribute to Speaker.
After sketching Mr.. Cannons life and
his services to his country in Congress.
in which Mr.. Mccall pays him high trib-
ute, the article continues:
"Rut Cannonism as an indictment of an
individual is of secondary consequence.
1t is, however, OF prime importance as
an impeachment Of the rules OF the House.
and IL Is we'll to inquire what hsis 1t has
as applied to them. In a large legislative
cody there must, of course. be organ
ization. since II is impossible to CON
slider dll matters of legislation. there
must be way of discriminating between
measures SO that those that are neceS-
sary to keep the government moving may
ne pfo1SffeO over JnOSe tndt are nut
And Wink. there should be as much free.
dom to the Individual member as is con-
sistent with the general efficiency of the
House as a great organ OF the nation. the
notion apparently prevailing in some
quarters that the individual representa-
tive should have the right Of way when
ever he may see At to claim the atten-
ton Of the House by delivering an ora
ton or by calling up some bill Of his
own to the exclusion Of other bills would,
Of course, make the House an impossible
legislative bocy and one radically unlike
any numerous legislative assembly in the
world
obviously, four hundred members,
each entertaining important views of his
own, with the power Of expression some
times developed to a formidable degree
and with th. passion not merely for
speech but for regulating the conduct of
his fe.low-tiGZens by all sorts OF stat
utes, and each introducing on the aver
age over fifty bills in a single Congress
of two Years, would find some difficulty
In operating under the notion to which
have just referred. Since 1t Is clear that
all the members cannot have all the
time they want, provision must. i'll any
rational procedure. first be made for mat
tiers of general and pressing concern.