been disclosed that he had made up his mind
to resign the Speakership and retire from public life had his party
failed to support him. For three days, the House was a bedlam, but the
Speaker bore himself throughout with unflinching courage and unruffled
composure. Eventually he had his way. New rules were adopted, and the
power to count a quorum was established.* When in later Congresses a
Democratic majority returned to the former practice, Reed gave them such
a dose of their own medicine that for weeks the House was unable to keep
a quorum. Finally, the House was forced to return to the "Reed rules"
which have since then been permanently retained. As a result of
congressional example, they have been generally adopted by American
legislative bodies, with a marked improvement in their capacity to do
business.

* The rule that "no dilatory motion shall be entertained by the
Speaker" was also adopted at this time.

With the facilities of action which they now possessed, the Republican
leaders had no difficulty in getting rid of the surplus in the Treasury.
Indeed, in this particular they could count on Democratic aid. The
main conduit which they used was an increase of pension expenditures.
President Harrison encouraged a spirit of broad liberality toward
veterans of the Civil War. During the campaign he said that it "was
no time to be weighing the claims of old soldiers with apothecary's
scales," and he put this principle of generous recognition into effect
by appointing as commissioner of pensions a robust partisan known as
"Corporal" Tanner. The report went abroad that on taking office he had
gleefully declared, "God help the surplus," and upon that maxim he acted
with unflinching vigor. It seemed, indeed, as if any claim could count
upon being allowed so long as it purported to come from an old soldier.
But Tanner's ambition was not satisfied with an indulgent consideration
of applications pending during his time; he reopened old cases,
rerated a large number of pensioners, and increased the amount of their
allowance. In some cases, large sums were granted as arrears due on the
basis of the new rate. A number of officers of the pension bureau
were thus favored, for a man might receive a pension on the score of
disability though still able to hold office and draw its salary and
emoluments. For example, the sum of $4300 in arrears was declared to
be due to a member of the United States Senate, Charles F. Man