Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-07-07
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names are reached on the second roll call. They go
right on studying pension claims dispatchng garden
seeds and year of the department of agriculture
drafting laws to condemned for the city
park Podunk, permitting John Jones to build
bridge across Frog creek IN summersQuasn county
Missouri appropriatng $4,000 to erect postoce
at Watertank, New.
The congressman do these things in order
to then jobs The great majority of them spend
the great majority doing little things for
individuals counties and towns. They give small
fraction of their time to national affairs The leaders
who really give of their time to national legisla
ton spend great deal more than the government
allows them for clerk hire; and they Of
many experience, whose seats
There is young congressman who says that he
misses session of the house He explains that
he dictates all of his letters at home night. All
morning he spends in the departments prosecuting the
numerous claims for which every congressman is the
unwilling advocate This leaves him from when
the house until evening for attendance to the
of the nation He works about sixteen hours
a day. There few others who do it. and still
fewer who will So congress is literally becoming
gathering of preoccupied agents, who line up well
enough on party votes but by force of circumstance
give the country less less of the independent
thought upon national questions. which is the life OF
legislation.
The Brobof electrical voting machine may work q
considerable modification of this tendency by eompek
ing the congressman be close Is going
to vote at ALL and by saving month time for
him out of every session
Two other changes have been suggested accom-
panments of the electrical device One is the abolish
ment of the electrical bells which every
and disturb everybody Capitol HILL The other
is the restoration desks, which replaced
long by long benches much like those in
railway waiting room 1t is argued that IL the con-
gresham place in the Legislative hall where he
can work. he is apt TO remain there 1t is
tanly that the benches in offer the
gresham the way of either comfort oppor
tunity for work
One somewhat revolutionary effect of the electrical
This consists delaying business by repeatedly max
ing the point of quorum necessitatng calling
of the roll, and delaying the business of the house
forty minutes. Them before much progress is made
the point repeated. In this way member can
interfere with the work of the house, while minority
may even a compromise from the majority.
Notwithstanding that the hlibuster is terrible
of time, it has generally been regarded
of the rights of the minority The hearing the
Howard bill brought out some rIterestng side lights
marked that "a man who makes a point of order does
it out of some pique."
"a who wants to sneak is allowed speak,
and then he makes the house pay for II, and he
do it readily he explained That generally
gist of hlibuster in the house The flibusterer
the little boy the lot baseball game who
wants to pitch, and isn't allowed to- he runs off
with the catcher's mitt
The Brobof device if installed would consist simply
in big board, perhaps two of them, much like
electrical board, where congressmans
appear. with red bulb and white one after it.
At each congressman's elbow would be a couple of
buttons which could be pressed only with the aid Of
key in his possession When the vote had been
nounced he would press his yea nay button any
time within the specified period also change
would then automatically add the vote and show the
result.