have them fulfilled. . . . There is no rule or combination of rules in the House that can stifle the will of the majority. The rules have been developed through many years to the end that the minority shall be protected in every right, but that a loud, determined, and belligerent minority shall not be able to overturn the will of the majority. . . . The real trouble in Congress is the great volume of business laid before it at every session, much of it clearly out of place there. No body of men can consider 40,000 bills in the present life of a Congress. It is physically impossible; and yet there is an increase rather than a diminution in the number of bills introduced year after year. The members feel compelled to introduce every bill offered by their constituents, and these bills burden the committees and fill the calendar to the embarrassment of the really important legislation." 1 The Committee System of the House.-The House had, in 1908, sixty-six standing committees. The most important committee is that of Ways and Means, since here bills for raising revenue, such as new tariff measures, income tax laws, and the like, must originate. Nineteen States were represented on this committee in 1908. All bills introduced in either house of Congress go to the appropriate committees for detailed consideration. It is in the committee that nearly every bill "dies," and this must be so, owing to the overwhelming number of bills introduced. Thus in the five months of the first session of the 60th Congress (Dec., 1907, to May, 1908), 22,000 bills were introduced in the House. "The Power of the Speaker," by Joseph G. Cannon, Century, Vol. 78, p. 306, June, 1909. The Committee on Rules. So many committees at work on so many thousands of bills gives rise to the need of yet another committee, namely, the Committee on Rules. This committee has control of the daily business or program of the House. It can prescribe by rule when a measure shall be in order; how it shall be voted upon, with or without amendment or debate. The House elects this committee. The committee system of the House must be examined .in connection with that of the Senate, and it is discussed therefore in the following chapter on Congress. In that chapter will be given the criticisms of our marvelously developed, modern committee system. QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 1. How is the House of Representatives made up? 2. Explain the term "congressional district." 3. What is the salary of the Speaker of the House? 4. How soon does a newly-elected Representative take his seat in the House? 5. How are contested elections to the House judged? 6. Name three powers peculiar to the House. 7. What does Bryce say of the Speaker's power? 8. What are the Speaker's duties? In practice, how does he perform them? 9. Name the advantages and disadvantages of the present great powers of the Speaker. 10. What is the Committee on Rules? Explain its functions. 11. Can the Speaker control the majority? The minority? 12. What is Cannon's criticism of the work of Congress? 13. Which is the most important committee of the House? Why? QUESTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE TEXT On what 1. What is the present membership of the House of Representatives? Name the members from North Dakota. committees do they serve? 2. Are women qualified to become members of the House? 3. Who is the Speaker of the House? Name the members of the Committee of Ways and Means. (See "Congressional Directory.") 4. Debate: Resolved, that the protection of the majority justifies the present rules of Congress investing the Speaker with great power. 5. Give a list of all the committees of the House at present. (See "Congressional Directory.") 6. Explain the "Committee on Rules," and illustrate its workings. GENERAL REFERENCES Reinsch, "American Legislatures and Legislative Methods." McConachie, "Congressional Committees." Follett, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives." REFERENCES ON THE POWER OF THE SPEAKER Cannon, Speaker Joseph G., Century, Vol. 78, p. 306. June, 1909. Reed, Speaker Thos. B., "The Rules of the House of Representatives," Century, Vol. 37, p. 792. March, 1889. Murdock, Representative V., "A Congressman's First Speech," American Magazine, August, 1908; also, "A Congressman's First Bill," American Magazine, October, 1908. ... CHAPTER X CONGRESS "Next to the Speaker, the most powerful influence in Congress is the committee system, which is strongly intrenched in both the Senate and the House. The committees are a sifting machinery, without which both houses would be simply buried under bills. The result, however, lacks unity; the Speaker appoints the committees but he cannot remove members because they do not follow his advice; the committees act independently of each other and often oppose each other. . . . The committee system, with all its drawbacks, disposes of and kills off many undesirable measures. The gradual establishment of the power and responsibility of the Speaker, and the unwritten influence of the steering committee, make the House still a legislative body; and the House and Senate are kept in reasonable adjustment with each other. Congress is a more efficient body than almost any State legislature, is less subject to personal influences, and is less controlled by a few political leaders acting for personal ends. The main trouble in Congress is lack of time, and that is due partly to private-bill legislation, and partly to the pressure on the time of members to obtain office for constituents and supporters." HART, "Actual Government," pp. 233, 236, 257. Long and Short Sessions.-The term of a Representative is two years, and the life of a Congress is therefore two years. Thus the 61st Congress lasts from March 4, 1909, to March 4, 1911. Each Congress has two regular sittings or sessions, as they are called, the long session and the short session. Each session begins on the first Monday in December. Since the second session must end on March 4, it is the short session. The first session commonly lasts till May or June, and, indeed, sometimes till July or later. The Powers of Congress. Some powers of Congress are clearly stated or expressed in the Constitution; others are only suggested or implied. Hence it is that Congress has two distinct classes of powers-express and implied. The extent of the implied powers is a matter for the highest courts to determine. The rule now followed by Congress, when it comes to legislate on a subject not mentioned in the Constitution (like a national bank, for instance) is this one, stated so clearly in 1819 by Chief Justice John Marshall of the Supreme Court of the United States: “We admit, as all must admit, that the powers of the government are limited, and that its limits are not to be transcended. But we think the sound construction of the Constitution must allow to the national legislature that discretion, with respect to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution, which will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it, in the manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited but consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional." The express powers of Congress have been already enumerated in Chapter V, and it will not be necessary to enumerate them again here. We may classify the powers of Congress as follows: Taxing power, Commercial powers, Territorial powers, Miscellaneous powers. Taxing Power. "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general |