Show FL looking in on congress from r the house gallery A CONGRESS MANS DAY by congressman GUY U HARDY copyright 12 western when I 1 was a hoy boy r heard a story etory of three blind wen inca wag wh were nofe to se in ele WL were re led w nea 6 the ain nal I 1 mal tod each felt the flatt pa part rt he catada la contact W with end and went away in describing I 1 Z it qt afterward erward one of the blind men told bald that an was was like a rope be having fett the toll tall another said it waa more like a palm wt leaf fan he having felt its ear and the third sala said it did not resemble either but was a big flat object something ulee uka a stone wall covered with a leathery skin with some hair on it each was sp speaking pak from his own point of view una telling only of what lit h had seen been or rather felt it Is that way with many things in life we see sec only a very small purt part yet having seen that we think that we fire are competent to judge describe and criticise criticism critic ise an hour or two in the gallery would certainly give one a very lopsided view of congress yet many come look on for or a few moments and go away to tell of congress its as they have seen scon it et a good deal as the blind men told of the elephant and with fully as much accuracy it if jou were a casual caller in the gallery you might find the house full of members or only halt half full fall or even with only a few dozen present you might find it doing routine business and as quiet and placid as a stammer calm or excited to fever heat by a partisan discussion between party leaders or in astora of agitation over a question of personal privilege or the exercise of personal rights the house has its varying moods as human bl ings have sometimes it works along doing business rapidly and as smoothly as clock work and sometimes everything seems to be on edge and everybody on his nerves when one could hardly get an amendment through to to lot dot an 1 I 1 or cross a t without a fight and a roll call cannot always be on the floor members need not sit on the floor all the time they have much to do besides much of the business of con gross gress Is transacted in the the major committees are composed of from 21 to 35 members each some of the committee meetings are as important and formal as the meeting of a state senate and with about equal membership committees are arc frequently meeting while the house Is in session there Is also much office work to be done and members take advantage of every lull in proceedings to catch up with their office work there Is always departmental work to be taken care of out but members as a rule do not go d down own town in the afternoon when the house Is in session most members abers stay within reach of the roll call signals whether your member Is on the floor or not you may depend upon it that he knows pretty well what la Is going on and can easily be reached when his presence Is required the greatest safeguard Is thrown about legislation to keep anyone from putting something over much Is done by unanimous consent when a single member can object and stop or stay proceedings A member may at any time question the presence of a quorum and if the speaker does not find a quorum present by actual count the roll Is called signal bells ring in the corridors restaurant and house office building so that members may appear and answer to their names whenever evar a member Is fearful that something will be done which he want done except by consideration of the whole house lie he can raise the question of a quorum and a quorum must be secured before business Is further conI considered dered A quorum in the houss house consists of a 1 majo majority rity of its membership there are members when all are alive and there are no vacancies altho although there are often two or three vacancies on account of death or resignation so it usually requires or in members embers to make a quorum when the house Is doing business as the committee of the whole members make a quorum reasons for demanding a quorum the point of no quorum is raised often otheir because a member wants s a full hen the question before the house housa Is considered it Is raised sometimes because some one pre present icat wants a good audience for an important speech it is raised occasionally merely in order to delay the game and Is resorted to by the minority to use up the time and postpone or defeat legislation that cannot be defeated def rated by a majority vote it Is frequently used when a filibuster is in progress and sometimes the roll Is called six or eight times a day As an it requires 35 or 10 minutes to cull cell the roll it can be seen bow a few roll calls will mode block the business of the day occasionally the point of no quorum I 1 will be raised out of spite A member may desire som some e time to speak and 1 those in charge of the time may feel that they have none nt at their disposal jor for some bome reason do not wish to yield the gentleman time the gentleman with a grievance may conclude that lie he will block the business of the house for a time by causing a roll call I 1 have seen a member state frankly on oil the floor that if he cannot get tte tle time desired lie he will feel it his duty to raise the question of a quorum some times the gentleman in control of the time will give in and yield the time desired and sometimes lie he will 1111 cell call the other gent lemans bluff these theae incidents do not occur very often once in a while a little filibuster la Is resorted to by the minority or by an obstreperous member who wants to force consideration of some borne special matter laatt cr then the roll calls come thick and fast fact one day the committee on rules roles tried to get a rule adopted giving four hours for debate on a certain bill the minority took a notion to block the game and it took a day end a halt half of roll calls to get the rule passed some bills are passed by the majority of those present without a roll call but any member can always demand a quorum and if a quorum Is not present a roll call on the bill automatically mati cally follows and even it if a quorum Is present twenty henty per cent of those present can always demand and secure a roll call on any proposition too much talking of course there Is much unnecessary talking in the house nobody realizes that so much as aa those who have to be present and listen to much of it the S same allie thing la is true wherever men and women congregate especially where they meet to consider matters of public conc concern erm As a reporter I 1 have sat up past ast midnight listening to rambling unnecessary talk over some soine trivial matter at a small town council meeting where only eight or nine members had bad to agree own on a policy some freedom must be given to those who want to talk some opportunity roust must be given tor for oil all sides to be heard it requires consideration and explanation and talk sometimes to get many minds to look at the subject in the same way there Is too much unnecessary talk in the bouse but I 1 do not see how it could be eliminated who Is to say eay what talk may be made and what talk shall not be made fiade W who it 0 Is so wise that he may be set up as aa it a censor it Is not so had bad in the house as in the senate in the senate there Is no limit on debate in the house debate Is always limited usually to one or two hours occasionally to four hours and perhaps twice in recent years to 12 hours on very important measures congress Is often criticised criticized for being slow in doing business of course tt it la Is slow it is made up of human b beings ll 11 of many minds they come f from ro nil all parts of a great country stretching from the atlantic to the pacific the representatives represent peoples and ad communities as and us as far apart in thoughts and interests as they are in distance it requires time for these representatives of these various minds and interests to weigh and consider and amend and whip into I 1 shape and finally agree upon pro proposed posea legislation that is to be written for a hundred and ten millions of people and may run for all time it necessarily taxes time for a majority ot of men igers to be brought to see things alike this Is one of the necessary y results of a republican form of government it Is not so in nn an autocracy it is not so in russia there you get aul quick action by a decree from the autocrats the lands are confiscated by a decree anything can be done quickly but by parliamentary procedure it takes time tor for just and due consideration I 1 but after all congress la is not so slow as compared with other governing bodies in a republic consider your our own city council yur your own board of county corn comm in your own state legislature who has not tried for years and years to ket get a certain street light placed a street crossing fixed up a city street cut through a city park established the city streets Iii paved ived a country road de fined or a bridge built or this or that law amended changed rel repealed aled or passed let that individual who has never seen these long delays an in getting worthy propositions put through the governing body at home where every member knows the conditions like it book throw the first rock at congress |