136 



Melville Bull, R. 



CONGRESS. (ORGANIZATION.) 



Rhode Island. 



Adin B. Capron, R. 



South Carolina. 



D. E. Finley, E. 



William Elliott, D. ----- , , 



W. .). Talbert, D. James Norton D. 



AC I-atimer, D. J. William Stokes, D. 



stan\ arne Wilson, D. 



South Dakota. 

 Charles H. Burke, At large, R.Robt. J. Gamble, At large, R. 



W. P. Brownlow, R. 

 Henry R. Gibson, R. 

 John A. Moon, D. 

 Charles E. Snodgrass, D. 

 J. D. Richardson, D. 



Tennessee. 



John W. Gaines, D. 

 Nicholas N. Cox, D. 

 Thetus W. Sims, D. 

 Rice A. Pierce, D. 

 E. W. Carmack, D. 



Texas. 



S. W. T. Lanham, D. 

 Albert S. Burleson, D. 

 R. B. Hawley, R. 

 Rudolph Kleberg, D. 

 James L. Slayden, D. 

 John H. Stephens, D. 



Thomas H. Ball, D. 

 Samuel H. Cooper, D. 

 R. V. I>e Graffenreid, D. 

 .I.ihn I.. Sheppard, I). 

 .1 .-,-]ili W. Hailey, D. 

 Robert K. Burke, D. 

 Robert L. Henry, D. 



Utah. 



Brigbam H. Roberts, D. 



Vermont. 



I i . Henry Powers, R. William W. Grout, R. 



Virginia. 



Peter J. Otey, D. 

 James Hay, D. 

 John F. Rixey, D. 

 William F. Rhea, D. 

 Julian M. Quarles, D. 



William A. Jones, D. 

 William A. Young, D. 

 John Lamb, D. 

 Sydney P. Epes, D. 

 Claude A. Swanson, D. 



Washington. 



F. W. Cushman, At large, R. W. L. Jones, At large, R. 

 West Virginia. 



David E. Johnston, D. 

 Romeo H. Freer, R. 



Wisconsin. 



B. B. Dovener, R. 

 Alston G. Dayton, R. 



Henry A. Cooper, R. 

 Herman B. Dahle, R. 

 Joseph W. Babcock. R. 

 Theobold Otjen, R. 

 Samuel S. Barney, R. 



J. H. Davidson, R. 

 John J. Esch, R. 

 Edward S. Minor, R. 

 Alexander Stewart, R. 

 John J. Jenkins, R. 



Wyoming. 

 Frank W. Mondell, R. 



Territorial Delegates. 

 Arizona John F. Wilson, D. 

 New MexicoPedro Perea, R. 

 Oklahoma Dennis T. Flynn, R. 



Amos L. Allen, Maine, was elected in place of 

 Thomas H. Reed, who resigned; William F. Al- 

 ilrich, Alabama, took his seat March 8, 1900; 

 Charles A. Chickering, New York, died Feb. 9, 

 1900; W. T. Crawford, North Carolina, was un- 

 seated May 10, 1900; S. P. Epes, Virginia, died 

 March 3, 1900; Alfred C. Harmer, Pennsylvania, 

 died March 0, 1900; Smith McPherson, Iowa, re- 

 signed June 6, 1900 ; G. A. Bobbins, Alabama, was 

 u 11 -rated March 8, 1900; B. H. Roberts, Utah, was 

 refuel :i.linission Jan. 25, 1900; J. W. Smith, 

 Maryland, resigned Jan. 12, 1900; W. A. Young, 

 Virginia, was unseated March 12, 1900; June W. 

 <;uyle. Kentucky, was elected in place of E. E. 

 Settle, deceased; Joseph J. Gill, Ohio, in place 

 of Lorenzo Danford, deceased; Henry D. Green, 

 Pennsylvania, in place of Daniel Ermentrout, 

 dei-ra-ed ; Francis R. Lassiter, in place of Sydney 

 P. Epes, Virginia, deceased ; C. E. Littfefield, 

 Maine, in place of Nelson Dingley, deceased; 

 William Neville, Nebraska, in place of W. L. 

 Greene, deceased; 1). W. Shackle-ford, Missouri, in 

 place of Richard P. Bland, deceased; E. B. Vree- 

 land. in place of Warren B. Hooker, resigned. 



The first business of the House of Representa- 

 tives after mil call was the election of a Speaker. 

 David B. Henderson, of Iowa, was chosen, receiv- 

 ing 181 votes, to 156 for James D. Richardson, of 

 Tennessee, 4 votes for John C. Bell, of Colorado, 



and 2 votes for Francis G. Newlands, of Nevada. 

 There were 12 members not voting. The organ- 

 ization of the House was completed by adopting 

 the following resolution, offered by Mr. Gros- 

 venor, of Ohio: 



"Resolved, That Alexander McDowell, of the 

 State of Pennsylvania, be, and he is hereby, chosen 

 clerk of the House of Representatives; 



" That Henry Casson, of the State of Wisconsin, 

 be, and he is hereby, chosen sergeant-at-arms of 

 the House of Representatives; 



" That William J. Glenn, of the State of New 

 York, be, and he is hereby, chosen doorkeeper of 

 the House of Representatives; 



" That Joseph C. McElroy, of the State of Ohio, 

 be, and he is hereby, chosen postmaster of the 

 House of Representatives ; and 



" That Henry N. Couden, of the State of Michi- 

 gan, be, and he is hereby, chosen chaplain of the 

 House of Representatives." . 



The rules of the Fifty-fifth Congress were then 

 adopted by a vote of 178 to 159. In opposition 

 to that course Mr. Richardson, of Tennessee, said : 



" I feel certain that either the power of the 

 Committee on Rules could be curtailed or the 

 membership of that committee could be enlarged. 

 I remember that the first time I ever had the 

 honor to address this House it was in opposition 

 to the powers of the Committee on Rules in the 

 Fifty-second Congress, and I predicted that the 

 three members who constitute a majority of that 

 committee would in time become a legislative tri- 

 umvirate. Under these rules the Committee on 

 Rules not only decides what business the House 

 must transact, but also what business the House 

 shall not transact. 



" It is enough to clothe the Speaker with the 

 power of recognition and to supplement that by 

 adding the power to appoint the committees of the 

 House; but to add to those powers, great almost 

 to the point of being dangerous, the absolute con- 

 trol of the House through its Committee on Rules 

 is giving greater power to the Speaker of this 

 House than any one man in this free republic 

 ought to possess. To say that the power still re- 

 mains with the House is a subterfuge, because the 

 House can never pass upon a question until the 

 Committee on Rules see fit to report. To say that 

 the committee can be controlled by the majority 

 is not candid, because that committee is consid- 

 ered the Speaker's official family, and no g<>n tie- 

 man of the Speaker's party would serve upon it 

 unless he could support the Speaker's policy. If 

 a Democrat were the Speaker of this House, and 

 I could not cordially and loyally support his policy 

 in that committee, I would* resign my membership 

 upon it. 



" I respect the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and 

 no man on this side of the Chamber respects the 

 gentleman from Iowa, now the honorable Speaker 

 of this House, more than I do ; and yet I divulge no 

 secrets of the committee room when I say that 

 with these gentlemen on it the Speaker of the 

 Fifty-fifth Congress, with their help, absolutely 

 controlled the Committee on Rules. I know that 

 the Speaker of the Fifty-third and the l''ift y-se;- 

 ond Congresses a great and splendid Democrat. 

 whom we mourn even until this day completely 

 dominated the Committee on Rules when the 

 House was Democratic. I know that the honor- 

 able Speaker of this House, under these rules, if 

 they are adopted, will be practically the Com- 

 mittee on Rules; and the Committee on Rules is 

 practically the House of Representatives. In 

 view of that it does seem to me that if you will 

 not curtail the power of that committee, certainly 

 its membership ought to be enlarged." 



