"The Chair is unable to find in the whole history of the government that any dilatory motions have ever been made or entertained to prevent the consideration or disposition of a contested-election case until this Congress. The point of order has not yet been made against obstructive motions to prevent the consideration of a contested-election case, and the Chair is not now called on to decide whether such motions are in order or not where they would prevent a complete organization of the House. The principle here involved will suffice to indicate the opinion of the Chair on that question.
"The question here decided the Chair understands to be an important one, because it comprehends the complete organization of the House to do business, but it feels that on principle and sound precedents the point of order made by the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Reed) must be sustained to the extent of holding that the motion made by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Randall), which is in effect a dilatory motion, is not at this time in order.
"It has been, in debate, claimed that on January 11, 1882, the present occupant of the chair made a different holding. The question then made and decided arose on a matter of reference of a proposition to amend the rules to an appropriate committee as provided for under the rules, and not on the consideration of a report when properly brought before the House for its action. The two things are so plainly distinguishable as to require nothing further to be said about them.
"Mr. Randall. From your decision, Mr. Speaker, just announced, I appeal to the House, whose officer you are.
"Mr. Reed. I move to lay the appeal on the table.
"The Speaker. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Randall) appeals from the decision of the Chair, and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Reed) moves that the appeal be laid upon the table.
"The question was taken; and there were—yeas 150, nays 0, not voting 141.
"So the appeal was laid on the table."(19)
There was much clamor and undue excitement over this decision of the Speaker cutting off the, always to me, foolish and unjustifiable, though time-honored, practice of allowing a turbulent minority to stop business indefinitely, by purely dilatory, though in form, privileged motions. This holding, however, received the commendation of sober, learned men of this country, and in Europe it was quoted approvingly by Gladstone in the House of Commons of England, and was followed, in principle, by its Speaker in upholding the rule of clôture against violent filibustering of the Irish party. Such dilatory methods have been little resorted to since.
At the end of this Congress a resolution was adopted, on the motion of Mr. Randall, thanking "the Speaker for the ability and courtesy with which he has presided over the deliberations of the House during the Forty-seventh Congress."