Evening star., 1940-02-11
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
Speaker Thomas B. Reeds method of
Hc0Infinp q nunr11r,nn Ia hle thu Hoalso

counting quorum" to enable the House
of Representatives to
'Peo~e transact legislative busi-
Reeds ness so wears ago led to
New Rules a reform of far-reaching
Importance in the parliamentary history
of the United States. The Star of Feb
ruary 6, 1890, says:
THE House rules have been SO defec-
tive for many years past that pretty
nearly everybody has favored some
changes by which the public business
could be better transacted. There has
never beer. however, any concert of ac-
ton. Politics and other things have pro-
duced differences and prevented any
agreement upon a workable set of rules.
The straw that broke the camel's back
was the excessive fubustering at the last
House, filibustering by party and fdbus-
tering by single individuals. The country
could stand little of this sort OF thing,
because the rights Of a minority were
somehow believed to be involved and for
q long time Ihe vindication of those rights
were supposed to be of more consequence
than the orderly progress OF business.
But the tactics of obstruction were car
ried to the EXTREMIST extreme when one
man or mere handful of men could in
qualification of whim check entirely the
public business and deprive the House of
all power to act. It was seen that If this
was parliamentary right, then in the in
terest OF the public parliamentary right
had to be curtailed. Various plans have
been considered and precedents from
State Legislatures and the British Par
lament have been adduced. At last the
Committee on Rules of the present House
have agreed upon new code OF rules
which entirely cut of the filibuster, wip-
ing out all dilatory motions whatever,
pronounced by the Speaker to be such.
radical one way as the last was radical
another, by just the code best adapted
for the purpose. All such things are
tentative, necessarily. The Democrats
will, of course, fight these new rules with
all the power left to them under Speaker
Reeds construction of his duties as pre-
siding officer. Their hostility cannot
avail if the Republicans have a quorum
present when the question is finally set
tied The people will be glad that rules
are to be adopted and the public desire
for House of Representatives that has
not voluntarily relinquished its legislative
functions is sufficiently strong to prevent
any general protest against even very
radical rules that tend to enable the
House to do business"
The future of the Chesapeake g. Ohio
Canal was matter of considerable local
rr interest half a century
a.e'so " ago. The Star of Febru-
Sono' ary 8, 1890, says:
discussed THE question of what
shall be done with the ruin of the Chesa-
peake g. Ohio Canal is always of interest
to citizens of Washington, to whom the
existence Of some mode of conveyance
over the abandoned canal is of vital i'm
portance. The proposal of the Washing
ton & Cumberland Railroad Co. to lease
the canal and use its bed for railroad
has renewed discussion of the future OF
the canal. Receivers for the waterway
have already been granted by Judge Cox
for the District and the proceedings so
far in Hagerstown make it almost certain
that the same thing will be done for
Maryland within few days. In talks
with several gentlemen closely connected
with the Baltimore g. Ohio road Star
reporter learned today that they are
waiting for the decision of Hagerstown.
The idea expressed by these gentlemen is
that the canal should be established on
firm basis as waterway and that no
scheme for railroad should be lis
tened to.
There are several sides to the ques-
tion,' says prominent Baltimore & Ohio
official. Notwithstanding the great i'm
provements in the way Of causeways, ETC.,
which would fall into the hands Of the
proposed railroad down the canal, the
engineering difnculties would be tre-
mendous and would entail the greatest
expense. The land on the line Of the
canal for long distances Is entirely
marshy and It Is . different proposition
running canal, the plant Of which Is