History of the United States from the earliest discovery of America to the end of 1902 . lunatic, idiot, orunable to take care of himself. This law,like the supplementary one of March 3, 1887,proved, inadequate. In 1888 Americanconsuls represented that transatlanticsteamship companies were employing un- 52 EXPANSION [1888 scrupulous brokers to procure emigrants forAmerica, the brokerage being from threeto five dollars per head, and that most emi-grants were of a class utterly unfitted for citizenship. The Presidents ur-gency in this matterhad little effect, theattention of Congressbeing early
History of the United States from the earliest discovery of America to the end of 1902 . lunatic, idiot, orunable to take care of himself. This law,like the supplementary one of March 3, 1887,proved, inadequate. In 1888 Americanconsuls represented that transatlanticsteamship companies were employing un- 52 EXPANSION [1888 scrupulous brokers to procure emigrants forAmerica, the brokerage being from threeto five dollars per head, and that most emi-grants were of a class utterly unfitted for citizenship. The Presidents ur-gency in this matterhad little effect, theattention of Congressbeing early divertedto other great measuresmainly embodied theRepublican policy—the Federal ElectionsBill, the McKinley Tariff Bill, and the De-pendent Pensions Bill. As Speaker of the House, Hon. ThomasB. Reed, of Maine, put through certainparliamentary innovations necessary to en-act the partys will. He declined to enter-tain dilatory motions. More important, heordered the clerk to register as presentand not voting, those whom he saw en-deavoring by stubborn silence to break a. Thomas B. Reed. i888] MR. HARRISONS ADMINISTRATION 53 quorum. A majority being the constitu-tional quorum, theretofore, unless a ma-jority answered to their names upon roll-call,no majority appeared of record, althoughthe sergeant-at-arms was empowered tocompel the presence of every member. Asthe traditional safeguard of minorities andas a compressed airbrake on majorityaction, silence became more powerful thanwords. Under the Reed theory, sinceadopted, that the House may, through itsSpeaker, determine in its own way thepresence of a quorum, the Speakers or theclerks eye was substituted for the voice ofany member in demonstrating such mem-bers presence. Many, not all Democrats, opposed theReed policy as arbitrary. Mr. Evarts issaid to have remarked, Reed, you seemto think a deliberative body like a woman ;if it deliberates, it is lost. On the yeasand nays or at any roll-call some woulddodge out of
Size: 1410px × 1772px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyorkcscribnerss
