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Show THE RULES IN THE HOUSES. i:-Senitor Thurston of Nebraska Is out In a plea for the modification of the rules of Congress, both In Senato nnd House Ho urges Hint tho liberty of debate In tho upper housn Is too grcnt, that unler tho practice which prevails In Hint body no niensuie can bo brought to vote as long as nny Seintor wishes to discuss It, that this is liable at nnj tlmo to Imperii the processes of the CSnv eminent, by some member Insisting In-sisting on discussion tint will defeat the uppropilatlon bills, It Is practically Impossible to come to a vole on nn incisure except by unanimous consent, theie is no limit tn debitc. no previous previ-ous question, no power In the muJorll tn expedite business, but tho mlnorlt) hna equal power nnd can obstrurt Indeilnltc'lj and defeat nny legislation tn which It objects. All this Is true, and Mr Tnurston must be voicing n reul public sentiment when he says that the need of a change In this practice iri generall) lecognlsed If the Senato would guard against a disaster before It ha huppened On the other hand, the House not only restricts and represses debute, but frequentls forbids It altogether. When a bill Is reported, the chairman of the commlttco In charge of the bill agrees with the leader of tho opposition oa to the time that shall be t ikcu for debate upon It, and these two allow such iiimii-her iiimii-her as the) choose to do the speaking, no one else Is or can be recognised, savo by wu oi Intenuptlon or qtieiles No member can obtain the floor against the will of tho committees, which always al-ways stand together for their privileges, privi-leges, so that legislation by the House Is practlrall) legislation by the com-mlttees com-mlttees of the House Neither can u member expect to be recognised by the chair unless he has previously arranged with the Speaker for such recognition, and If a member rises and catches the Speaker's eye, It Is the pi actios for the Speaker to ask him for what purpose he desires to be recognised, and If the pin pose Is not approved by the Speaker, tho member is ordcied to take his seat There Is a rower huk of alt this, however, how-ever, which Is not refeired to by Mr Thurston thut is tho Committee en Rules which slfis out the bills thut In Its Judccment ought In be consldeied, and fioin whose decision there Is no appeal. Tho Bpeiaker mav be overruled, at laic. Intel. uls he Is but the Houso is nut on i eord as rebelling rebell-ing -.u e.sxiuliv at Hi i Hon of the t oniimit en I ul s Mr Thuis ton argue i that tho Houso prac tice In these matters needs correction as much as the Senate practice needs It, but In the opposite dlr-it'on, so that something like freedom of debate may be restored and members be accorded their rightful IndtUd'uil privileges It Is hard to see that much can be done In this direction, however, with such a large membership as the House has With three hundred and fifty-seven members, nil statesmen and orators, all at liberty to claim tho attention of the chair nnd of tho Houe ut any time nnd for any purpose they choose, tho House would be a bear garden" Indeed; In-deed; It would be out of the question tor any business nt all to be don. The situation fully bears out the conclusion con-clusion of Mr. Thurston that whereas the Senate wns supposed to be the con-servallvo con-servallvo and deliberative body, representing repre-senting the States us such, and the Houso th", popular branch, wheie the people would find their exponents and forum, tho oaso has been exactly reversed, re-versed, for it Is In the House thst the popular voice Is stringled, and In the Senate there Is unbridled llbity. It Is hard to see how there can be any change, either, unless It be In the restriction re-striction of tho w Ide latitude now pre-v pre-v ailing In the Ser.ate |
