The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-05-07
CLARK WARNS OF
 SCHEME TO CUT
 DEBATE ON BONUS
Former Speaker Favors the Grant, But Wants Chance
 for Amendments

Washington, D. C., May Recall
 ing the rules fight in 1910, which
 curbed the power of the Speaker and
 the then Republican committee on
 Rules, former Speaker Champ Clark
 has warned the c. O. P. majority of
 the House that unless they change
 their ways they will ride to another fall
 Representative Clark spoke in con- nectfon with reports that the Rules Committee would bring in a ''gag' rule to put through soldier bonus legislation without giving the mem bership of the House an opportunity to amend the bill in any way. The former Speaker declared he was em- phaticaIIy in favor of the bonus, but was as strongly opposed as ever to special rules that shut off debate and opportunity of amendment.
 MT. Clark said the Republicans had been considering two plans, one for bringing the bill in under suspension of the rules, which meant no oppor- tunity to amend and no motion to re- commit; the other under a special
 rule which also would limit debate and forbid amendment.
 Under a suspension of the -rules,''
 he said, 'you have got to have a two- thirds vote. You cannot amend the bill; you cannot discuss it beyond 40 minutes, and you cannot offer a mo- ton to recommit. You are abso- lutely at the mercy of the men who are running the affairs over on the Republican side of the House. q want to refresh the memories of some of you newer members. We had a. great parliamentary revolution | here on the 18th day of March, 1910. at T it on the 18th day of March, 1903, and got a bloody licking, but on the l 18th day of March, 1910, We upset | the machine here.
 we could not have done that l without some reason for upsetting I it and sending you Republican people l wandering in the wilderness for eight years. One of the things that upset i the machine was the continual itera- | ton and reiteration that the Rules 1 committee abused its powers contin- uouSly and constantly by bringing in 1 these rules here that do not permit l of amendment. That was one of the
 main things they did.
 q am not going to say anything | unkind about men on the other side
 of the chamber, but that is one o1 | the things that did. it. will give
 you a general warning. Human na' | ture has not changed one particle l since Adam and Eve were driven witt 1 flaming swords from Paradise an6
 never will change until the grea | Judgment day. You are entering or | identicauy the same course of con
 duct that enabled me and my col gues to upset. the machine here il
 March, 1910.
 'FThree-fourths of the rules brough 
 amendment except that one motio1
 to recomnnit, and you cannot do ava:
 with it because the general rules O the House of Representatives forbit the Rules committee to report a, spe cial rule trying to cut out that mo tfon to recommit. You Republican are going back to your old habits o
 bringing in rules to cut off amend mentS to bills.
 ''A1l we want is a chance to offe amendments. I do not think tn
 House is in the habit of running wild What the Democrats want, and good many Republicans as I under stand it-and I am not going to tai
 any politics-is an opportunity to de bate the bill in here and to offe i amendments to it. !%
 "I am warning you The break CTS are ahead of you, and you wi get trounced on account of thos rules that the present temporary ma jor1ty of the House Rules coInmitte a is continually bringing in here. Napoleon said: The Bourbon learn nothing and forget nothing a The great E1nperor's saying applies t ] the Republican leaders in the House ! Former Speaker Champ Clark sai s he and the majority of his Democra- 2 ic colleagues were in favor of soldie ; bonus, or adjusted compensation les s islation, on the theory that nothin q was too good for the men who wo ! the war against Germany. Howeve 5 he said, the Democrats of the Hous a and himself were as much oppose S to ttgag rules as in 1910, and T majority of the Rules committee ha the right to bring in an importal S bill, involving more than a billie < dollars in taxes, without giving tf < House a chance to amend it if thi H body thinks best