ny consideration any measure to
which it was opposed, but it could also dictate to the House the
shape in which its own bills should be enacted. While the form of full
consideration and amendment is preserved, the terms of a bill are
really decided by a conference committee appointed to adjust differences
between the House and the Senate. John H. Reagan of Texas stated that
"a conference committee, made up of three members of the appropriations
committee, acting in conjunction with a similar conference committee
on the part of the Senate, does substantially our legislation upon this
subject of appropriations." In theory, the House was free to accept or
reject the conference committee's report. Practically the choice lay
between the bill as fixed by the conference committee or no bill at all
during that session. Mr. Reagan stated the case exactly when he said
that it meant "letting six men settle what the terms are to be,
beyond our power of control, unless we consent to a called session of
Congress."

To deal with this situation, the House had refused to adopt the rules of
the preceding Congress; and after electing John G. Carlisle as Speaker
and authorizing the appointment of a committee on rules, it deferred the
appointment of the usual legislative committees until after a new set
of rules had been adopted. The action of the Speaker in constituting the
Rules Committee was scrupulously fair to the contending interests. It
consisted of himself, Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania, and William
R. Morrison of Illinois from the Democratic side of the House; and
of Thomas B. Reed of Maine and Frank Hiscock of New York from the
Republican side. On the 14th of December, the committee made two
reports: a majority report presented by Mr. Morrison and a minority
report presented by Mr. Randall and signed by him alone.

These reports and the debates which followed are most disappointing.
What was needed was a penetrating discussion of the means by which
the House could establish its authority and perform its constitutional
functions. But it is a remarkable circumstance that at no time was any
reference made to the only way in which the House can regain freedom of
action--namely, by having the Administration submit its budget demands
and its legislative proposals directly to the committee of the whole
House. The preparatory stages could then be completed before the opening
of the legislative session. Congress would thus save the mo