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DKCEMBER 23, 1M
The Commoner.
3
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SCCU KR6NT X?OPCSOT
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ONE of the strongest, most ironclad of political
machines, according to the Washington cor
respondent for the New York .Times, is compar
atively unknown except by name. The Times cor
respondent says: "Not Tammany Hall itself is
such a close corporation as the house machine
at Washington. Nowhere in the laud is any body
of men ruled with so despotic a hand by so small
a governing body. In Tammany Hall the boss has
a cabinet arid the district leaders have a voice but
the rulers of the house .of representatives are a
law unto themselves. There are just four of them,
and they hold their sway not by any of the forces
that lift men to the control of other machinesnot
by graft, not by force of character, not by patron
age. They hold it by virtue, of the official positions
they occupy in the house. They are the speaker, the
two majority members ofthe committee on rules,
and the chairman of the 'ways and means com
mittee, who is by Reason of his office the iloor
leader of the majority. I this congress they are
Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois,' Charles -H. Grosve
nor of Ohio, John Dalzell of Pennsylvania, and
Sereno E. Payne of i;ew York.
ACCORDING to this spme authority the house
machine can be whittled down still finer; it
resolves itself into the speaker and the two ma
jority members of the committee on rules. The
Times correspondent explains: "If the chairman
of the ways and means committee should fall out
with his colleagues they would run over him like
a steam roller. The same power by which they
reduce other congressmen to' obedience would be
equally efficacious' with him. The only real power
he has is by their consent. Personality enters
into the matter very little. It is not by the force
of an irresistible genius for leadership that
Dalzell and Grosvenor, for-example, have climbed
to a position where they practically legislate
for the country, sd far as the lower house is con
cerned. They are able men a3 congressmen go,
but do not overtop many men who might be men
tioned among their republican colleagues. Put
any one of these in the place held by Dalzell cr
Grosvenor or Payne, and he would straightway
become an equally towering despot. The proof is
that the omnipotent boss of the house, the chief of
the house machine, Speaker Cannon, was utterly
powerless to oppose the house machine when he
was on the floor. He was just as able then as
now, just as much of a natural leader, but when
ever he opposed his -will to theirs, as he some
times did, they tossed him out of their way as
they would a new congressman just learning his
way about the streets."
NEWSPAPER readers may be" interested in
knowing the source of power, and how the
house machinja .establishes its rule. The -Times, cor
respondent provides the following explanation:
''The average newspaper reader is likely to attach
little significance to the name "Committee on
Rules." He probably thinks It Is a committee to
establish or revise rules of procedure a sort of
parliamentary Committee. When a bill is reported
in the houBe a 'rule' is reported, too. The rule
dennes the scope, not only of the discussion, but
if necessary- of the conditions under which the
bill can be passed. For example, if the committee
on rules chooses, it can prohibit amendments. It
can have the bill made to suit its preferences, and
then prevent the house from changing it. In other
words it can absolutely precsribe the form of tne
legislation to be enacted. The power to amend
is as much a part of the legislative power as any
thing else but the committee on rules can shear
the house of that power. Theoretically of course,
the rule can be beaten, tut in practice It in to
difficult as to be virtually impossible. Thy two
democratic members o the committee natural y
count for nothing in the machine. They are merely
informed of jyhat is to be done after the speaker,
Mr. Dalzell, and Gen. Grosvenor have agreed upon
it The committee on rules and the speaker can
prevent the consideration of any bill. Suppose the
case of a new congressman, just elected, who as
only a few mon.th in wHich to 'make good with
Ws constituents, ancL. secure a r&"nSin . Jr
f'appropriSSonTfor: eejieBtaHit .crtekwHe-
knows perfectly well, oven if ho Is the nowest of
new congressmen, that both theso propositions will
die if ho antngnolzes that measure the committee
on rules is now bringing in. Of courso ho votes
for the measure, whatever may bo his convictions
on the subject Revolt? How can he revolt? Ho Is
tied hand and foot with political ruin at tho hands
of his enraged constituents staring him in tho face
if ho does not hasten to comply with tho lightest
wish of tho house machine."
AN INTERESTING story is told by the Times
correspondent showing the manner in which
one representative grappM with tho machine. Tho
story follows: "One of th notable figures of thta
congress and of past ci ngresses is James A.
Tawney of Minnesota, a man of power and forco.
When the house machine brought all its power ro
bear for the passage rf tho Cuban Reciprocity bill
In 1902, this man was the leader of tho beet sugar
insurgents. Ho was supposed to bo too big a man
to como under the ban of tho houso machine. One
day, after tho fight had been going on for some
time, Tawney went to tho speaker's desk and asked
what had become of a bill In which he was Inter
ested. Mr. Henderson's jaws camo to with a
snap; ho spoke straight at Tawnoy from under hl3
heavy brown and growled: 'You'll have to sco tho
committee on rules about that.' When tho news of
this spread among Tawney'e supporters it carried
panic; it did more to take the heart of the insur
gents than anything else. If tho mighty Tawney,
the republican whip of the houso and a friend of
the leaders, could be thus treated, what hopo was
there for the rank and file? In that fight Tawney
snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat and
routed tho houso machine at the last moment, by
sheer force of his own indomitable powers. But
the exception proves tho rule. For once tbat the
house machine has been beaten it has been success
ful a thousand times. Yet Tawney's victory weak
ened the control of the machine, for in addition to
its real and tremendous powers It had an asset
of immense value fear, coupled with a supersti
tious belief in the hopelessness of opposition.
When the house machine had been beaten once,
this asset was depreciated. It was based mainly
on tho actual fact that resistance was hopeelss In
Reed's day. But Henderson was a different man
from Reed, nothing like so strong, and once his
prestige was damaged by defeat his power waned."
THROUGHOUT tho last session of the 57th con
gress signs of revolt multiplied and what
would have happened had Henderson remained
speaker can only be surmised. Tho Times corres
pondent says, however, that the advent of Speaker
Cannon settled all that nd today tho power of
tho house machine Is to ail appearance moro
strongly entrenched than ever. This correspondent
concludes: "The final seat of power in the
machine is with tho speaker. A revolt of the com
mittee on rules against him would supply an excit
ing fight, but the resulti would not bo long in
doubt, of which no stronger proof can be found
than that the fight of houso against senate in the
early days of the 48th congress was a complete
reversal of the old policy of Payne, Grosvenor, and
Dalzell When they wro co-leaders with Hender
son ' they never fought the senate, and tho houso
was a mere appendage of the other body. They
had to fall in lino with tLs new speaker's policy.
What Payne and Dalzell thought of it cannot be
said but it was highly distasteful to Grosvenor.
The' old man seemed not only worried, but lost
He felt that he had fallen on evil days, and that
all the habits of mind of years were being torn
un by an Iconoclastic .and. But ho had to follow
hfs leader This, then, is the explanation of why
the lower house is a onpact body which can be
rnnvp?i this way and that at a touch, while the
senate despko Its coterie of bosses Is often un
ron?roilable It explains equally the past tanc
abort th degeneracy of the house and the present
talk : about ; the house's regaining its old position,
w 5 Srftaf body of representatives are puppets,
moveyTe irSSsttble Wd the machine and
mIrT thp chief of that machine, the speaker, Is
WSmJ tnfei hi .branch, of. JBbngrew be degraded
willing toJS WB Dyagg Tpenatelthe house ma:.
.umblbutf o, MAV&
is the case with Cannon, nan higher ambitions for
tho house and has tho wllllngncaa to flght, tho
roprcaontatlvca must follow him again. With.
Joseph G. Cannon as the chief of tho machine, tho
real legislator of tho popular branch, there aro
brighter days In storo for tho house, and it
seems coming to its own again."
THERE has been somo nowspapcr discussion
concerning tho "dog's cold nooe." "A Sailor'
in tho New York Times says: "Tho truo story of
tho dog's cold nose hfis been handed down to ua
sailors from tho log book of the Ark, and wo gen
erally get things pretty correct when tho log book
13 tho authority. Tho truo vorslon of tho story
is that Mrs. Noah went down ono morning to tho
potato bin in tho lower hold for tho vegetables
required for tho noon-day meal. Her favorite
collie dog, 'Nip,' followed hor, as was his dnlly
custom. Whllo Mrs. Noah was sorting out tho
tubers tho Ark collided with a small snag, which
punctured a small holo in hor uldocloao to whero
the lady stood. Seeing that lmmedlato action wa.1
necessity, she took off her woolen potticoat and
apron and stuffed them Into tho hole; but tho
pressuro of tho water was so great that It forced
tho things out, and so sho put them back again
and sat on them, calling loudly for some ono to
como to her assistance; but no ono seined to hear
hor, as the animals between decks wero making
such a noise. In her position sho loaned back so
that the backs of her arms were pressed up against
the cold sides of tho vessel henco tho backs of
womon's arms aro always cold. Tho water waa
coming in fast, and she began to fear for .the
safety of the ark and her precious cargo, So sho
jumped up and grabbing 'Nip,' thrust his nose Into
tho holo and bado him stay thcro until sho went
to the fore hatch and shouted for help. A car
penter's mate heard her and came down Into tho
hold with a soft plno plug, released poor 'Nip and
stopped tho leak. Tho water outside was very cold,
and Nip got a cold noso, aud henco all healthy
dogs havo a cold nose."
REPLYING to tho question: "What is meant
by r. historical reference to tho Boston mob
oi 1835," Tho Des Moines Register and Leader
says: "On October 21, 1835, a mob of several
thousand peoplo attempted to break up a meeting
of the Female Anti-Slavery society in Boston. Tho
demonstration was tho result of an announcement
that one Geo. Thompson would address tho meeting.
Thompson was very unpopular, principally be
cuso he was an Englishman and because ho had
advocated arming tho slaves and othorwlso en
couraging them to rebel against their masters.
Tho fact of tho matte: was that Thompson had
left tho city on tho day previous to tho meeting,
foarlng the very kind of an uprising which oc
curred. When tho mob gathered around the build
ing in which tho meeting -was held and their ac
tions became very threatening, the mayor waa
called upon to officially announce that Thompson
was not present. Tho frenzied horde then turned
their attention to William Lloyd Garrison, who
was in tho office of the Liberator, an anti-slavery
paper near by. He espaped to a carpenter shop,
but tho mob followed, rope in hand with the
avowed Intention of dragging him through the
streets by the neck. Two stalwart friends of Mr.
Garrison saved him from the fate Intended, but
not until his clothing had been literally torn to
shreds and his body and face scratched and cut
In several places.. No ono was killed, but the dis
graceful demonstration caused intense exclteme&t
throughout tho land."
SOME life insurance companies are proposing
to offer a reduced rate to men who are total
abstainers. Referring to this proposition, the Saa
Antonio, (Texas,) Express says: "It may prove
to be some inducement to total abstainers to
insure against death when the Insurance com
panies make a specially low rate for the teeto
talers, and it may be an inducement, also to total
abstainers from strong drink by those who may
reap their reward In the lessened cost of. life
insurance. But aboje and bfeypnd,itall mar be
'threimbral'.effectrotdbirovlns by vwrripK, atopa-
tic t.hjJlowwtUkcy. that. moderate Icdglieiiii .,
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