Speech #610081540

This deprives the House of the power. acting by a majority. to work its will touching the public business for consideration of the bills on the House and Union calendars. To illustrate. as the Chair recollects. the -gentleman from Illinois sought on last calendar Wednesday to get up for consideration the socalled "whiteslave bill." reported from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. so that it would be unfinished business. and the Chair Is inclined to believe. in the anxiety of the House to -legislate touching the whiteslave bills. that he would have succeeded. as it seemed to be patent to those of us who were present. had it not been. as the Chair recollects. that the gentleman from New York made the point of no quorum. So that consideration of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committees whiteslave bill. in order that it might be called up as unfinished business. was not begun. and on this calendar Wednesday the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. on call. called up its bill and the House passed the bill. Now. the object of calendar Wednesday. in the opinion of the Chair. was not to use the Wednesday in contest between committees. but it was to insure that on one day of the week. unless there were twothirds of the Members to antagonize iton Wednesday each weekthere should be a call of committees. It seems to the Chair. under the provisions of the old rule touching the call of committees and the rule which gives power to the House to take up a bill on the Union Calendar after sixty minutes of the morning hour for call of committees. that the orderly transaction and the prompt disposition of business would .be best secured by construing these two rules together. Either construction begets seeming hardship to this committee or to that committee. The gentleman from New York . :representing the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. could not have called up this bill. called the " whiteslave bill." had the Ilouse considered it under the construction of the rule as contended for by the gentleman from Ohio. But that bill having been disposed of. the gentleman is entitled to the remainder of the day if he has business for it. But after the bill is completed the gentleman from Ohio makes his point of order.