the national political hierarchy is the
House of Representatives, controlling the pursestrings, which have been
the deadly noose of many executive measures. The House is elected every
two years, so that it may ever be "near to the people"! This produces a
reflex not anticipated by the Fathers of the Constitution. It gives the
representative brief respite from the necessities of politics, and hence
little time for the necessities of the State.

The House attained the zenith of its power when it arraigned President
Johnson at the bar of the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in
office. It had shackled his appointing power by the Tenure of Office
Act; it had forced its plan of reconstruction over his veto; and now it
led him, dogged and defiant, to a political trial. Within a few years
the character of the House changed. A new generation interested in the
issues of prosperity, rather than those of the war, entered public life.
The House grew unwieldy in size and its business increased alarmingly.
The minority, meanwhile, retained the power, through filibustering, to
hold up the business of the country.

It was under such conditions that Speaker Reed, in 1890, crowned himself
"Czar" by compelling a quorum. This he did by counting as actually
present all members whom the clerk reported as "present but not voting."
The minority fought desperately for its last privilege and even took a
case to the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of a law passed
by a Reed-made quorum. The court concurred with the sensible opinion
of the country that "when the quorum is present, it is there for the
purpose of doing business," an opinion that was completely vindicated
when the Democratic minority became a majority and adopted the rule for
its own advantage.

By this ruling, the Speakership was lifted to a new eminence. The
party caucus, which nominated the Speaker, and to which momentous party
questions were referred, gave solidarity to the party. But the influence
of the Speaker, through his power of appointing committees, of referring
bills, of recognizing members who wished to participate in debate,
insured that discipline and centralized authority which makes mass
action effective. The power of the Speaker was further enlarged by the
creation of the Rules Committee, composed of the Speaker and two members
from each party designated by him. This committee formed a triumvirate
(the minority members were merely formal members)