Evening star., 1915-12-26
CLOTURE.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

sions over it. the democratic senatorial
caucus finally decided to refer the
question of cloture to a non-partisan
committee. There it will probably re-
pose for long time, but sooner or
later it is sure to come up again. for it
always has few ardent supporters in
the Senate.
Now that senators are elected by
popular vote, these agitators are as
serting that they will make a national
issue of cloture and appeal to the COM
mon sense of the people. This being
the case the people might like to know
what cloture is.
Cloture means the act of shutting,
and in this country it refers to the
mouths of senators. 1t would not smut
them arbitrarily or abruptly, or in any
undignified way, but 1T would set some
limit of time upon their speaking.
The United States Senate is one OF
the few parliamentary bodies in the
world which has absolute freedom OF
debate, SO called. In the House of Rep
an end at any time by moving the pre-
vious question. Nearly all parliamentary
bodies, including most Of our state and
municipal legislatures, have some simi-
lar rule. The British parliament for
merly had unlimited debate, which was
finally brought to an end by the efforts
of Mr. Gladstone. In the French parlia-
ment the closing of the debate is moved
by one or more OF the members crying
out, La Cloture" The question is then
put by the president and voted upon
Immediately. In the German reichstag
a vote upon cloture may be had upon
the demand of thirty members. In Aus
tria- Hungary cloture must be put to
ber. Belgium, Denmark. the Net/er-
lands, Portugal. Spain and Switzerland
are other countries whose parliaments
make use of cloture upon the demand
of anywhere from one to ten members.
Cloture is opposed in the Senate upon
the grounds that absolute freedom of
debate should be
Cause of Opposition retained in one
to Senate Cloture. 1ress and that
it strengthens the minority. which is
an effective check upon the tyranny of
the majority. In the Senate every
one may have his full say, every jot of
material and information is brought to
bear upon the subject; it cannot be
"steam-rollered," no matter how strong
the preponderant party.
The senators who have demanded
cloture point out with some ind1gna-
ton that so-called freedom of debate
is somewhat less beneficent in practice
than in theory. Instead of insuring
careful deliberation and discussion. 1t
has given rise to the notorious hli-
buster which enables few senators
to defeat a measure by simply talk
ing until Congress adjourns or every
one gives up in disgust. By talking IN
relays. moving to adjourn or a.,,, take q
and other dilatory tactics very few
and long-winded senators
can hold out against all the rest
The filibuster is a truly heroic ex-
ercise and one surrounded by many
glorious legends. Senators have been
known to talk for eleven or twelve
hours with only an occasional pause
for a cup of tea. They have been known
to read Huckleberry Finn and the
Pickwick Papers and to tel the storo
les of their lives and describe the
beauties of their native land from end
to end All of which shows that our
senators are robust crew. but does
not seem to have much to do with real
freedom of speech. Instead of promot-
ing fair discussion it makes 1T dan
gerous for the majority to start de-
bate lest it never end. 1t has enabled
minority senators to secure the pas
sage of an undesirable amendment by
the threat OF a HllUuStcT lHstcdu VI
mature deliberation, it has
brought into being a parliamentary
tactic about as intellectual as stopping
a freight train by piling bricks on the
track.
The evils and absurdities of the fill
buster can scarcely be denied by any
one, but those who are opposed to an
unlimited majority rule declare that
freedom of debate in the Senate must
be preserved at any cost. measure
may be rushed through as far as the
Senate, they say, but there it must re-
ceive a very thorough overhauling, in
deed The Senate, according to this
theory, is a sort of check upon the
ruthless, impetuous speed with which
the House does business.
* :;
1t should be remembered in this con-
uection, however. that the journey of
bill from
Long Road for Bills the brain of
Before They Are Laws. gre ssman
to the statute book is long and haZ-
ardous one in any case. First, it must