RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 105 of the House, shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the Clerk.-November 13, 1794. 9. In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, the Speaker (or chairman of the Committee of the Whole House) shall have power to order the same to be cleared.— March 14, 1794. OF THE CLERK AND OTHER OFFICERS. 10. There shall be elected at the commencement of each Congress, to continue in office until their successors are appointed, a Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Doorkeeper, and Postmaster, each of whom shall take an oath for the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his office, to the best of his knowledge and abilities, and to keep the secrets of the House; and the appointees of the Doorkeeper and Postmaster shall be subject to the approval of the Speaker; and, in all cases of election by the House of its officers, the vote shall be taken viva voce.-March 16, 1860. [Until the adoption of this rule there was no law, resolution, rule, or oiuer directing the appointment of the Clerk of the House. On the 1st of April, 1789, being the first day that a quorum of the House assembled under the new Constitution, the House immediately elected a Clerk by ballot, without a previous order having been passed for that purpose; although in the case of a Speaker, who was chosen on the same day, an order was previously adopted. A Clerk has been regularly chosen at the commencement of every Congress since. By the rules adopted in 1789, provision was made for the appointment of a Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper. Immediately after the organization of the government under the present Constitution, a room was set apart in the Capitol for the reception and distribution of letters and packets to and from members of the House, without an order for that purpose, and was called the post-office; it was superintended by the Doorkeeper and his assistants. On the 9th of April, 1814, a special allowance was made to the Doorkeeper to meet the expenses of this office, and he was authorized to appoint a Postmaster. The office continued on this footing till April 4, 1838, when an order was passed for the appointment of a Postmaster by the House itself. The provision for the election of all the officers of the House by a viva voce vote was adopted December 10, 1839.] 11. In all cases where other than members of the House may be eligible to an office by the election of the House, there shall be a previous nomination.-April 7, 1789. 12. In all other cases of ballot than for committees, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election; and where there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballots shall be repeated until a majority be obtained.-April 7, 1789. And in all ballotings blanks shall be rejected, and not taken into the count in enumeration of votes, or reported by the tellers.-September 15, 1837. 13. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to make, and cause to be printed, and delivered to each member, at the commencement of every session of Congress, a list of the reports which it is the duty of any officer or department of the government to make to Congress; referring to the act or resolution, and page of the volume of the laws or Journal, in which it may be contained; and placing under the name of each officer the list of reports required of him to be made, and the time when the report may be expected.-March 13, 1822. 14. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the House, at the end of each session, to send a printed copy of the Journals thereof to the executive and to each branch of the legislature of every State.November 13, 1794. 15. All questions of order shall be noted by the Clerk, with the decision, and put together at the end of the Journal of every session. December 23, 1811. 16. The Clerk shall, within thirty days after the close of each ses sion of Congress, cause to be completed the printing and primary distribution, to Members and Delegates, of the Journal of the House, together with an accurate index to the same.-June 18, 1832. 17. There shall be retained in the library of the Clerk's office, for the use of the members there, and not to be withdrawn therefrom, two copies of all the books and printed documents deposited in the library.—December 22, 1826. 18. The Clerk shall have preserved for each member of the House an extra copy, in good binding, of all the documents printed by order of either house at each future session of Congress.-February 9, 1831. 19. The Clerk shall make a weekly statement of the resolutions and bills (Senate bills inclusive) upon the Speaker's table, accompanied with a brief reference to the orders and proceedings of the House upon each, and the date of such orders and proceedings; which statement shall be printed for the use of the members.-April 21, 1836. RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 107 20. The Clerk shall cause an index to be prepared to the acts passed at every session of Congress, and to be printed and bound with the acts.-July 4, 1832. [The Clerk was relieved of this duty by the joint resolution of September 28, 1850, which authorized Little & Brown to furnish their Annual Statutes at Large instead of the edition formerly issued by the order of the Secretary of State, and by the act of June 20, 1874, this duty was again devolved upon the Secretary of State.] 21. All contracts, bargains, or agreements, relative to the furnishing any matter or thing, or for the performance of any labor, for the House of Representatives, shall be made with the Clerk, or approved by him, before any allowance shall be made therefor by the Committee of Accounts.-January 30, 1846. 22. It shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms to attend the House during its sittings; to aid in the enforcement of order, under the direction of the Speaker-March 16, 1860; and, pending the election of a Speaker, under the direction of the Clerk-March 3, 1877; to execute the commands of the House from time to time; together with all such process, issued by authority thereof, as shall be directed to him by the Speaker.-April 14, 1789. 23. The symbol of his office (the mace) shall be borne by the Sergeant-at-Arms when in the execution of his office.-April 14, 1789. 24. The fees of the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be, for every arrest, the sum of two dollars; for each day's custody and releasement, one dollar; and for traveling expenses for himself or a special messenger, going and returning, one-tenth of a dollar for each mileApril 14, 1789—necessarily and actually traveled by such officer or other person in the execution of such precept or summons.-March 19, 1860. [But by R. S. sec. 53, and the act of June 20, 1874 (Sess. Laws, 1, 43, p. 87), it is provided that (in addition to his regular salary) he shall receive, directly or indirectly, no fees, other compensation, or emolument whatever for performing the duties of his office, or in connection therewith.] 25. It shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms to keep the accounts for the pay and mileage of members, to prepare checks, and, if required to do so, to draw the money on such checks for the members (the same being previously signed by the Speaker, and indorsed by the member), and pay over the same to the member entitled thereto.-April 4, 1838. 26. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall give bond, with surety, to the United States, in a sum not less than five nor more than ten thousand dollars, at the discretion of the Speaker, and with such surety as the Speaker may approve, faithfully to account for the money coming into his hands for the pay of members.-April 4, 1838. 27. The Doorkeeper shall execute strictly the 134th and 135th rules, relative to the privilege of the hall.-March 1, 1838. And he shall be required at the commencement and close of each session of Congress to take an inventory of all the furniture, books, and other public property in the several committee and other rooms under his charge, and shall report the same to the House; which report shall be referred to the Committee on Accounts, who shall determine the amount for which he shall be held liable for missing articles.March 2, 1865. It is the duty of the Doorkeeper, ten minutes before the hour for the meeting of the House each day, to see that the floor is cleared of all persons except those privileged to remain during the sessions of the House.-March 31, 1869. 28. The Postmaster shall superintend the post-office kept in the Capitol for the accommodation of the members.-April 4, 1838. OF THE MEMBERS. 29. No member shall vote on any question in the event of which he is immediately and particularly interested, or in any case where he was not within the bar of the House when the question was put.-April 17, 1789. When the roll-call is completed, the Speaker shall state that any member offering to vote does so upon the assurance that he was within the bar before the last name on the roll was called.-March 19, 1869. Provided, however, that any member who was absent by leave of the House may vote at any time before the result is announced.-March 2, 1865. It is not in order for the Speaker to entertain any request for a member to change his vote on any question after the result shall have been declared, nor shall any member be allowed to record his vote on any question, if he was not present when such vote was taken.-May 27, 1870. [Differences of opinion have arisen as to the kind of interest alluded to in this rule. It has been contended to apply to members who were merchants or manufacturers, or engaged in other business to be affected by tariffs or other bills touching rates of duties, &c. This construction has never been sustained by the House. The original construction, and the only true one, RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 109 is direct personal or pecuniary interest. See also Journal, first session Fortythird Congress, pp. 771, 772.] [As originally adopted, the word present was used in this rule where the words "within the bar of the House" now appear. The alteration was made on the 14th September, 1837. By a decision of the House, at the first session of the Thirty-fifth Congress (see Journal, p. 337), soon after its occupancy of the present hall, the "bar of the House" was defined to be " upon the floor of the hall, and not outside of any of the doors leading into it." And when interrogated as to his presence, every member must answer the question for himself.] 30. Upon a division and count of the House on any question, no member without the bar shall be counted.-November 13, 1794. 31. Every member who shall be in the House when the question is put shall give his vote, unless the House shall excuse him.—April 7, 1789. All motions to excuse a member from voting shall be made before the House divides, or before the call of the yeas and nays is commenced; and the question shall then be taken without debate.— September 14, 1837. [By Rule 30, the date of which is subsequent in date to this, a member who may be "in the House" is not allowed to vote, unless he be "within the bar,” upon a division or count of the House.] [That portion of Rule 31 which permitted a brief verbal statement of reasons to be given by any member for requesting to be excused from voting was rescinded January 2, 1847.] 32. The name of a member who presents a petition or memorial, or who offers a resolution to the consideration of the House, shall be inserted on the journals.-March 22, 1806. 33. No member shall absent himself from the service of the House, unless he have leave, or be sick, or unable to attend.-April 13, 1789. OF CALLS OF THE HOUSE. 34. Any fifteen members (including the Speaker, if there be one) shall be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members.— April 7, 1789. 35. Upon calls of the House, or in taking the yeas and nays on any question, the names of the members shall be called alphabetically.-April 7, 1789. 36. Upon the call of the House, the names of the members shall be called over by the Clerk, and the absentees noted; after which the names of the absentees shall again be called over; the doors shall |