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The Commoner
JANUARY, 1914
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great propositions of improvement of govern
ment Were pledged by the recent democratic
platform, and almost a like number were
pledged by other party platforms. We have
work to do that means the preservation, the con-
servation, and the development of human life,
of human energy, of human health. We have
before us the great problems which mean the de
velopment of. this vast country, and we should
have the machinery of government by which to
respond with reasonable promptitude to mature
public opinion, but the rules of the senate have
been such as to prevent action, to. put the power
in the hands of a small faction or of a single
Individual to obstruct, without reason, and to
prevent action by congress. I favor the right
of the majority of the senate to control the sen
ate after giving every reasonable 'freedom of
debate to tho opposition, so that the people of
the country may have both sides' of every propd
sitibn. But I am strongly "opposed to the
minority' Veto, or to a single senator obstructing
and preventing the control of the senate by the
resp6nsiblo majority.
In a short session of congress the senate will
appropriate a thousand million dollars in less
than 350 working hours. Each working Jaour
means the appropriation of $3,000,000 of the
hard-earned -taxes taken from the labor of the
American peQple. Every two minutes the senate
averages an appropriation of $100,000 of taxes,
and yet, instead of addressing itself to a compre
hension of the necessity for such taxeB, for such
expenditure, a single senator, or a small faction
or a minority, may Retain tho senate for "hours
and for days and, for weeks while great questions
of 'public policy wait, leaving the senate to be
thus'' distracted by filibustering tactics, discus
sions of immaterial or trivial matters, reading
of 'worthless papers and statistics, last year's
almanac in a deliberate obstruction of the ma
jority by tho minority.
EXTREME DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING
' LEGISLATION .THAT IS CONFESSED- ,
k. to :.. o.BUSTEfc ,. t. .,,, , .
.fMr. President,-Obfef ore a bill can be passed that
is desired by the American people, no- matter
how worthy, it must fir.st.be carefully drawn,
submitted to the house of representatives and by
the house submitted to a committee, And almost
invariably such a bill is sent from the' committee
of "the house, to the executive department for a
report; and when the report comes in it is con
sid6red in the committee, and finally and usually,
where the majority desires the bill passed, it will
be reported back to the house abundant oppor
tunity having been thus given to discover its
weak points or defects.
When It goes to the house it takes its place
upon the calendar and awaits the time with
patience when it can be taken up on the calendar.
.It. must be read three times- in the house, it
must be printed, it is discussed in the house, and,
finally, if after having passed every criticism and
scrutiny it- be approved by the majority of. the
house, it is signed by the speaker and finds its
way to the United States senate. When It reaches
the senate it is again sent to a committee, the
committee further, considers it, and, finally, if a
majority favor,, it. is rpported back to the senate
to take its place upon the calendar. And many
a good bill has died on the calendar in the sen
ate because of a single objection to it what
might be called the private right of veto by an
Individual senator. If at last it is permitted, by
consent, to come before the senate and does nbt
excite any prolonged debate, it may become a
law by reason of a majority vote of 'those pres
ent. But if anywhere along the line of this slow,
deliberate procedure any serious objection is
raised by a minority, or by a senator, either can
-by dilatory motions, by insisting upon hearings,
by making, the point of "no quorum," by using a
senator's right to- object and demand the regular
order, by using his position to ask reconsidera
tion and a rehearing, or, perhaps, an additional
Teport from the executive department, and then
demanding hearings in the executive department
while the report is delayed, and in a thousand
other Ingenious ways a single senator, much less
a fectipn or willful minority, can make it almost
impossible to pass a bill o great merit. For
three years I have been trying to pass a bill to
establish an improved organization of the bureau
of public health and have been unable to get any
action, for or against, by congress. I only refer
to this as an example of many meritorious meas
ures which have never "been acted upon, and for
which there is a powerful matured public Senti
ment urgently insisting upon action,
The senate of the United States has rules for
its conduct that make it almost impossible to get
a bill through, except by unanimous consent,
where a resolute minority Is opposed to the pas
sage of the bill. Under tho so-called privilege of
"freedom of debate," & group of senators can
hold up any measure indefinitely by endless talk
in relays and by the use of dilatory motions,
moving "no quorum," moving to "adjourn,'!
moving to "take a recess," moving to "adjourn
to a day certain," reading for an hour or so from
Martin Chuzzlewitt or Pickwick papers, moving
a point of "no quorum," moving to "adjourn,"
moving "no quorum," moving to "adjourn to a
day certain," moving to "take a recess," moving
to go into "executive session," and reading a few
chapters of Huckleberry Finn and this puerile
conduct is dignified by the false pretense of bolng
"freedom of debate," when, in point of fact, it is
nothing of the kind. It is the minority veto
Under the false pretense of freedom of debate,
under tho ridiculous pretenso of freedom of
debate, under the contemptible and odious pre
tenso of freedom of debate.
It is not freedom of debate. The minority
veto is a deniaL of freedom of debate. A man in
charge of an important bill is driven to refrain
from debating the bill, becaut? he would be
playing into the hands of the opponents of the
bill who are trying to kill the bill by exhausting
the patience of the senate by endless volubility
and unending dilatory mptions.
This thoughtless rule of unlimited freedom of
debate was adopted in 1806, when there wero 84
senators, who met together to discuss their'
common affairs in courtesy and good faith, when
only a very fow bills were brought before the
senate. They had no conception that unlimited
freedom of debate really meant a minority veto.
Now that the senate has 96 members, represent
ing 90,000,000 people, when its interests are of
tho most gigantic importance, when its modern
problems of stupendous consequence are demand
ing prompt and virile action, when hundreds of
important 'bills are. pending, this hoary-headed -reprobate
rises up and strikes a posture of in
scrutable wisdom and admonishes the world not
to touch tbio. sacred pr4nciplo of unlimited ".free
dom of. debate." The venerable' age of this
foolish .precedent shall not save it from the just
charge 6 imbecility and legislative vice.
- The power to obstruct tho will of the people
by the senate.rules is the last ditch of privileged
In the . house of representatives tho party in
power with its majority is! carrying out the will
of the majority, permitting reasonable debate
and wide publicity to the views of all members.
But in the senate, while we have reorganized the
committees and have made important improve
ments in the rules, there still remains the point
of unlimited debate, of irrelevant debate, of dila
tory motions, whereby the minority can still pre
vent the action of the majority placed in power
by, the people. The United States senate is the
only place where -the people's will can be suc
cessfully thwarted, and here it can be obstructed
and denied by delays, by dilatory motions, by
irrelevant debate, and unlimited discussion.
The new majority of the senate is honestly
pledged to the people's cause, and 'they must
carry out their pledges if they wish to retain the
approval of the people of the United' States.
I am in favor of majority rule.
I am in favor of making the national will im
mediately effective.
I am in favor of the senate of the United States
having the opportunity to do the things required
by our great nation.
I am opposed to the minority veto.
I am opposed to the discouragement of honest
discussion by the invitation to minority filibuster
which this rule of unlimited debate invites.
I am opposed to legislative blackmail, which
th'is rule of unlimited debate encourages, for we
have all4 seen the senate consent to appropria
tions and important amendments to impprtant
bills which ought not to hay been made, but
which were made rather than jeopardize the bill
by the endless debate of a senator proposing and
insisting on an amendment.
The minority veto permits the majority to be
blackmailed on the most important measures In
order to conciliate the unjust demands' of the
minority. The time has come to end this sort of
unwise parliamentary procedure with its train
of evil consequences.
I believe in the freedom of debate. I invite
the freedom of debate, .but liberty is one thing
and gross abuse of liberty is another thing.
Freedom of debate is a valuable principle,
worthy of careful preservation, for the majority
is often instructed by 'the minority; but freedom
of debate is one Ihjng, and uncontrolled time
killing talk and unrestrained verbosity used to
enforce a factional veto is another thing.
Tho amendment to Rule XIX which I have pro
posed does not prevent reasonable debate by any
sonator, but it does pormlt tho majority, after
duo notice, to bring a matter to a conclusion
whenever it has become obvious that tho debate
is not sincere, but is intonded to enforce a
minority veto.
Sonator Vest, December 5, 1894, well said:
That these rules ''coprco the senators. In,
chargo of a bill into silence."
That "with the people of the United States de--mandlng
action wo haye jrules hero tliatabso
lutoly prevent it." . ...
That these rules "facilitate parliamentary
blackmail."
That the history of the. senate Is full of Im
portant amendments being put upon Important
bills, '.'under tho threat that unless placed there
the debate would bo indefinite and almost in-,
terminable."
This ruje has brought the senate of the United
States into disrepute, has greatly diminished its
influence, has given it the reputation of being an
obstructivp body; and many men have, been led
to believe that the, senate was coerced and con-,
trolled by a corrupt minority. Certain it is that
if a minority can exercise the veto, the corrupt
interests of tho cbuntry could well afford com
mercially td promote the election of men to trie,
floor of the senate, so as to obstruct legislation
to which they objected.
It is the result, of these very rules which 'has
led tbo dpodIo of the United States to demand by
a unanimous voice the direct election of senators,
so as to bring public pressure of the sovereign
people on individual members of the senate, and
compel them to respect the wishes of tho people,
under penalty of retirement from public life.
And I venture now, Mr. President, to seriously
and solemnly romind every senator upon this
floor, who votes againot this provision, who vote
against majority rule in the senate, who votes5
against a reasonable control by the senate itself
ot s own deliberations, that he will have to
answer for-such vote before tho people 'of' his
state, who will In tho future elect tho fienatora
by direct vote of the people and who will nomi
nate them by direct vote of the people. And the
senator who by virtue of any precedent or proju-
dice opposes in this body the free. right .of f. the
majority to rule will invite defeat by the? mar,
jority of the people in his own state who. surely
believe in majority rule and -will resent the sup
port of minority rule by their senators- on, this
floor.
I have no fear of majority rule. I never have
been afraid of majority rule. The only thing we
need to fear is tho rule of the minority by. arti
fice and by wrongdoing. And I say frankly to
my colleagues from the south that the black-and-white
scarecrow of the force bill is a ghpst.for
which I have no respect. We aro entering, a
new era of majority rule, which will deal justly,
and generously to rich and to poor alike, and
with equal generosity, justice, and mercy to men
of the black race, as well as to the men of the
white race, or to any other race. We nepd have
no fear of majority rule.
Mr. President, I wish it to be clearly under
stood that my demand for a chu-je of the rules
of the senate is not at all due to the idea that
the adoption of such a rule is necessary in order
to pass the tariff bill or any other particular bill
pending or to bo brought forward. My reason
for this demand is that I think the welfare of the
nation requires it; that the right of the American
people to a prompt redemption of party promises
is involved. The right of the American people
to have their will expressed at the Jolts promptly
carried out T regard as an Imperative mandate
from a nation of 90,000,000 people, and I think
that a senator who stands in the way of that
mandate fails to perceive his duty to our great
nation, and that he should not be surprised If
the majority, who will in future nominate sen
ators and elect senators, will hold him to' a strict
account for a denial of the right of the majority
to rule.
I remind the senate that In three years over
30 living senators who opposed the wishes of the
American people for the direct election of sen
ators have been retired by the people.
PARTY PLEDGES
The democratic .party makes certain pledges to
the people and appeals to the people for their sup
port upon these pledges and promises to be per
formed; the republican party does likewise; yet
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