Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-02-22
EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY
SCHEMES TO PASS APPRo.
PRlATloN BILLS.
NEW RULES PREVENT
DEFEAT OF MEASURES
Petty Raids on United States Treasury
Possible and Sentiment in Congress
Grows in Favor of Change in System
Log Rolling Made Possible
Other News.

OF representatives get more than it was
bargaining for when it amended the
house rules last year, securing the I'M
Wednesday provisions? And are those
rules going to work in the interest
of desirable legislation, and expedite
| the business of the house?
Several of the best men of the house,
regardless Of insurgent or regular af-
fiiliations, are on the point Of answer
ing those questions in way showing
that the amended rules are not what
folks thought they would be, and that
in actual practice they work unsatis-
facorily.
BY way of actually showing what is
meant. it will be interesting to point
out the way in which these two
| amendments to the house rules are
working.
| There was a complaint on the part
of the public that the speaker under
the old rules had too much power of
recognition, and that this power gave
him an opportunity to recognize favor
! ties, 10 force legislation favored by
4 him, and to prevent the consideration
of legislation to which he was opposed
The calendar Wednesday rule and the
unanimous consent calendar, provided
for in the Fitzgerald amendment to the
rules last spring, obviated the neces-
sity of going to the speaker, and made
sure that every bill on the house calen-
dar would be considered during every
session of congress.
Curbs Power of Speaker.
In these respects it is now being said
! that the amended rules have worked
more successfully than was expected.
So far during the present session Of
congress there have been two complete
calls of the house calendar, and there
will probably be two more before the
session closes. The calendar is no longer
morgue, for a bill, reaching it, is
certain to be considered by the house,
and put upon it's passage, if its author
is really in favor of it, which latter
under the old rules was not always
the case
ignoring the speaker entirely, mem
Der may now, when the committees are
called in their order, bring up the bill
he is most interested in. The speaker
| has nothing to do but to recognize the
| member in charge of the bill.
All this works beautifully so far as
the enactment of the legislation is con-
i cerned, and it also curbs the despotic
! power of the speaker. But now for the
other side of tie picture, and the one
I now receiving a good deal of attention
here.
/ The opinion OF some of the best men
I in the house is that the calendar We'd
nesday rule is likely to cost the gov
eminent between s25,00o,0e) and $780,
100000 in cash at every session of con-
gress, in excess of the cost of the aver
age session under the old rules 1t is
noted with much interest that every
! bill on the house calendar carrying an
appropriation, is passed as soon as
reached under the calendar Wednesday
or unanimous consent rules. 1t is just
as impossible to defeat one of these
bills in the house, under the new rules,
as it for years has been in the SEN
ate.
Appropriation Bills Reported.
| 1t was the hope of members favoring
the new rules that house committees
would appreciate the increased respon-
sibility for economy placed upon them
by those rules, and avoid reporting
bills carrying appropriations, except in
absolutely necessary cases. But this
has not been the case, particularly with
| the smaller committees Of the house
committees which hitherto have had
nothing to do, like the committees to
consider expenditures in the several
executive departments.
! These small committees have been
getting very busy under the amended
rules. but instead of reporting bills to
curtail expenditures, they report bills
| increasing salaries, making new posi-
tons and generally increasing expenses
all under the calendar Wednesday
rule.
| Everybody familiar with congress
sional procedure knows that any mem
Der of the senate, thru the operation
| Of what is known as Senatorial cour-
tesy." is always able to pass bills car
rying appropriations. In very many in
stances, the senator thus passing bill
has in fact desired it's defeat, and he
has relied upon the house for this pur-
pose. Meanwhile, the senator would be
able to make grandstand play at
home by pointing out that he had put
the bill thru the senate, but could not
control it in the house.
| Under the calendar Wednesday rule,
a member of the house is just as able
as a member of the senate to pass a
bill carrying an appropriation, and the
result is that in neither house is there
any longer any restraining influence.
The bars are down, and bills appro-
priating money have been passed on
calendar Wednesday just as freely as
such bills for years have been passing
the senate.
Expenditures Piiing Up.
For the past twenty years it has
been the duty of the speaker of the
house-and this goes back to the time
of Reed and Crisp-to scrutinize all
bills on the calendar, and to refuse to
recognize members desiring to bring up
for passage such of those bills as were
unworthy, or carried too much money.
That power, however, has been so criti-
cized that it has been taken away by
the calendar Wednesday and the unan-
imous consent rules until the result is,
at the present critical time, when the
treasury balances are diminishing, con-
gress is piling up public expenditures
in a way never dreamed of before.
If at some future time the house
iruIes should he made ulIiSc!.:: ..,ore liner
al than at present, in accordance with
the demands Of some OF the radical
house insurgents, nobody can tell what
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