Under this practice, the majority is able, with only slight delays due to the length of time required for roll calls, to force the transaction of business according to the will of the majority of the House. The limitation of free debate and parliamentary tactics has been drawn still closer by the operation of a system of special rules which may be presented to the House by the Committee on Rules and carried by the majority vote and which are given the effect of stopping or preventing debate by moving the previous question thus requiring an immediate vote on the proposition involved. These are colloquially known as "gag" rules and the power of the Speaker and of the managing majority of the majority party is only limited by the possibility of serious revolt against any portion of the procedure.

When the Speaker of the House is a strong man, well versed in the procedure of the House and fortified by its confidence, the measures before described operate to give him almost autocratic control of the details of legislation. If, however, he is dominated by any men or set of men on the floor of the House, such a coterie would be able to exercise the power over the acts of the lower branch of the national legislature which is somewhat loosely flying about, subject to seizure by the strongest force in its membership. The conditions which have been described, not being based on statute law, and, indeed, being practically based on sufferance and the supposed party necessities of the present majority party in the House, are subject to change, although it is doubtful if business could now be transacted in the volume required without a similar system.

The Speaker of the House signs all acts, resolutions and other evidences of the action of the House as well as all subpoenas issued by order of the House. As presiding officer, he, of course, decides all points of order arising in the sessions of the House and is required to rise when putting a question. It is regarded as a breach of order if he refuses to put a question when it is in order. The Speaker cannot be deprived of his Constitutional right to vote in the proceedings of the House as the representative of a district, but he is not required to vote in the ordinary

legislative proceedings except when his vote would be a decisive one when the House is voting by ballot. The decisive effects of a vote by the Speaker would be, in an ordinary vote, to break a tie, or to make a tie should the majority be a single vote. In the latter case the effect of the Speaker's vote would be to decide the question in the negative as in case of a tie vote it is provided that the question shall be lost. In such extraordinary votes as those which require a two-thirds vote, the Speaker's vote might complete the two-thirds required. When, formerly, the determination of a quorum depended on the enumeration of a vote, the Speaker's vote was sometimes required to complete the quorum, but this is no longer the case.

The Speaker of the House is elected by the spoken vote of the members of the House immediately after it has been called to order by the clerk. He may appoint a member to perform the duties of Speaker temporarily, but the appointment cannot extend beyond the adjournment for the day, except it is made in writing with the approval of the House. In such case an appointment may be made by the Speaker for not exceeding ten days. When the House goes into Committee of the Whole the Speaker names the member who shall take the chair, and if the Speaker desires to speak from the floor during sessions of the House he names a member to take his place. The prerogative of the Speaker of speaking from the floor is, however, seldom exercised. In case no speaker pro tempore is named by the Speaker, one is elected by the House, generally by affirmative vote on a resolution, to serve until the Speaker is able to resume his duties.

The disciplinary power of the Speaker over the members of the House refers to any proceeding that may be necessary to obtain order. If a member persist in disorderly conduct, the Speaker is empowered to call the member by his name, force being given to the unusual proceeding by the fact that the Speaker generally calls on members en masse for order or distinguishes a member by the name of his State. If the member is named in full by the Speaker, he may be required by the House to withdraw and the Speaker then stating the nature of the member's offense, the

House prescribes his punishment. In case of confusion and persistent disorder among a group of members or in case it becomes necessary for the House to enforce the withdrawal of a member, the sergeant-at-arms takes the mace and proceeds to the scene of confusion The Speaker must call a member using unparliamentary language to order in connection with his general duty of preserving order and decorum of debate, but the matter of calling offensive language to the attention of the House is not exclusively that of the Speaker, but any member may take the initiative in proceedings of this sort.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, as is the case with the presiding officers of similar legislative bodies in the States, has exclusive powers in connection with the composition of the various committees of the House. It is the practice at the opening of a Congress for the Speaker to receive applications. from the less important members and intimations from the more prominent ones as to congenial committee assignments. Beginning with the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Appropriations, the importance of the committees dwindles. with considerable rapidity after those committees are passed which have to do with making up appropriation bills and at the tail end are a considerable number of committees which are desirable only as affording chairmanships and committee rooms. To assign not only the chairmen, but the members of the committees in their appropriate ranks is a difficult and delicate matter. Although each Congress is a new proposition, as to committee memberships, members who are re-elected expect to hold their places on committees and to be advanced when ranking members retire from Congress. The task of the Speaker is to select men who can carry on the work of the important committees successfully and at the same time satisfy the political conditions and the demands of members based on their political importance and their service in previous Congresses. The representation of the minority on the different committees, being the minority of each committee, is generally suggested by the minority leader in the House, but in case of a disagreement between the

minority leader and his supporters, it is the task of the Speaker to decide the difference. The coveted positions are either chairmanships or membership on the Committee on Ways and Means or Appropriations, and members having one are not generally assigned to the other. The work of making up the committees, although started by the Speaker at the opening of a new Congress, is generally not completed until after the holiday recess and the first days of the session are extremely busy ones for the presiding officer of the House and frequently constitute a time of extreme perplexity. When vacancies occur in committee assignments during a Congress the Speaker generally makes a series of promotions, moving up the ranking member in each case, but it sometimes occurs that selections are made outside of the committee in which the vacancy occurs, in which case, also, the Speaker has his troubles

SUBORDINATE OFFICIALS OF THE CONGRESS.

The Capitol of the United States is like a self-contained and selfsupporting little village. Within its walls a small army of employees conduct operations necessary for the conduct of legislative business and for the comfort of the members of the two Houses. There is, also, nothing within the walls of the Capitol which answers to the restrictive system under which other employees of the United States are selected and retained in office. That is to say, there is no civil service reform legislation affecting the employees of the Senate and House of Representatives. The principal officers are elected by the vote of the respective Houses, and the subordinates are selected in accordance with the legislative importance of the various members. It is the theory that the appointments are distributed as equally as may be among the members of the Congress, but in practice the more assiduous of the place-hunters, especially if they have secured a chairmanship or a membership on an important committee, are the recipients of the largest share of the patronage favors which are dispensed by the elective officers of the two houses. This is more especially true of the House of Representatives for

the reason that arrangements are made so that Senators within their rank and with due regard to whether they belong to the majority or to the minority party are given about equally proportionate consideration in the appointments. On the House side, however, the legislative and political importance of a member has much to do with the number of persons he has secured to be placed on the various rolls.

The chief subordinate official of the Senate is the Secretary, elected by the members of that body, but holding his position in practical permanence since it is the tradition of the Senate to retain employees practically during good behavior and satisfactory performance of their duties, although a change in the majority party might break some from their anchorages. The contrary is true in the House, where the tenure of office depends strictly upon the continuance of the membership of the Representative at whose request the appointment was made. No formalities are used in connection with the separation from the service of the House of Representatives of an official whose member has retired from Congress. He is expected to consider himself by reason of the non-existence of his "influence" as officially dead and to retire from his position and the pay-roll as promptly as may be practicable. The fact that he may have been an efficient public servant is of no moment, and unless he can secure the backing of equally influential membership, he has no alternative but to retire to the joys and privileges of private life.

The Secretary of the Senate, who is also the disbursing officer of the Senate and of the salaries of Senators, receives $5,000.00 per year, with $396.00 additional in the last named capacity. He supervises all matters relative to the conduct of the legislative operations of the Senate and also pays all bills and disburses all salaries. As the Senate is a continuing body, the Secretary has no function similar to that of the Clerk of the House, who calls the House of Representatives to order at the beginning of each Congress. The corresponding officer to the Secretary of the Senate, who performs similar functions for the House is the Clerk of the House of Representatives. This official is elected by the viva voce vote of the House and receives a salary of $5,000.00 per year. As he has the