People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 April 1894 — BY A BIG MAJORITY. [ARTICLE]

BY A BIG MAJORITY.

The House Adopts the Rule for Counting a Quorum. Every Member Preaenf Will Be Counted Whether He Vote* or Not The Practice of Filibustering Probably at an End. THE PROCEEDINGS. Washington, April 19. —By a vote of 212 to 47, the republicans voting 1 for it, the house adopted the quorumcounting rule There was a very large attendance on both sides of the house when it met in anticipation of the fight over the adoption of the new quorum counting rule, and the galleries were also unusually well filled. Without a single preliminary the house plunged into the contest In order to prevent parliamentary complications Mr. Catchings, from the committee on rules, secured recognition before the journal was read, and after withdrawing the rule reported from that committee last Thursday, be immediately presented the report agreed upon just before the house convened. The report was read from the clerk's desk as follows: “Amend rule 15 by inserting between clauses 1 and 2 the following as clause 2 and change the number of clause 2 to clause 3:

“Upon every rollcall and before thebeginning thereof the speaker shall name two members, one from each side ot the pending question if practicable, who shall take their places at the clerk's desk, to tell the names of at least enough members who are in the hall of the hou-« during the rollcall who do not respond, when added to those responding, to make a quorum. If a quorum does not respond on the rollcall. then the names of these so noted as present shall be reported to the speaker, who shall cause the list to be called from the clerk s desk and recorded in the journal, and in determining the presence of a quorum to do business, those who voted, those who ansevered present and those so reported present shall be considered. Members noted may. when their names are called, record their votes, notwithstanding the provisions of clause 1 of this rule. “Amend clause 1 of rule 8 by adding the follow ing words: ‘And on rollcall, should he not vote, he shall answer present,’ so as to read: ‘Every member shall be present within the hall of the house during its sittings, unless excused or necessarily prevented, and shall vote on each question put, unless he has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question, and on a rollcail shall he not vote he shall answer present.’ ”

The struggle was short, sharp and decisive. There was a half-hour’s talk on both sides. The vote on the new rule was then taken and resulted —yeas, 212; nays, 47. Immediately the vote was announced the republican members crowded into Reed’s aisle and as they passed him warmly shook his hand, while Speaker Crisp pounded for order. Just as the last man in the line passed Mr. Kilgore (Tex.), the great filibuster, walked over and congratulated Reed Thereupon the house set up a yell, even Speaker Crisp’s stern countenance relaxed for a momentary smile, and the business of the house was resumed. It was thought that Mr. Reed would make a long speech; instead, he Spoke for only two minutes in a semi-humor-ous vein, ending just before the vote, with this sentence: “I congratulate the Fifty-third congress upon the wise decision which it is about to make.” His face showed his gratification, however.

After the adoption of the new rule the parliamentary wheels again began to move. Mr. Reed said a grave question of parliamentary procedure was involved in the order of arrest of members, and in order to have the law investigated he submitted a resolution reciting that the order of arrest was void. He asked that it be sent to the judiciary or rules committee, in order that the rightof arrest might be authoritatively determined and a careful' precedent established. The speaker ruled out the resolution on the ground that the first business was to discharge members now under arrest before taking up general principles. On the motion to discharge the ser-geant-at-arms a yea and nay vote was secured, and this gave the first practical illustration of the operation of the new rule. The speaker named Messrs. Dockery (dem.) and Cogswell (rep.) as tellers to watch the count, and if necessary count members present, but not voting. They took their places at the side of the clerk, each keeping a separate tally of the vote. In order to force the recording of members as present but not vetting in accordance with the provisions of the new rule, the republicans declined to vote on the first roll call, but finding that a quorum had voted they changed their tactics on the.second call and answered to their names. As the result of the vote, 220 to 5, showed that a quorum was present the tellers made no report Messrs. Dalzell (rep., Pa.) and Johnson (dem., O.) instead of voting responded “present.” This discharged the warrant issued to the ser-geant-at-arms under date of March 21. A regular gorge of committee reports, blocked by the filibustering of last week, were presented under the call of the committees.