Consideration of Bills.—­(4) In the next step, the bill is brought before the house for consideration.  How is it determined which bills shall be thus favored?  In some measure this depends upon the importance and the merits of the bill; but it depends more upon the skill and influence of the member (generally the chairman of the committee reporting the bill) who is particularly interested in seeing it enacted into law.  In the House of Representatives this important matter is most often decided by the Committee on Rules, which is composed of ten members, six being of the party that has a majority in the House.  In most cases this committee decides which bills shall be considered, and how much time shall be given to the discussion of each one.  So it is necessary for the chairman of a committee to make a previous arrangement with the speaker to be recognized before he can bring up his bill.  But on Wednesday of each week the chairmen of committees may call up their bills in the order in which they secure recognition.  And the Committee on Rules does not control the bills which the House takes out of the hands of committees.

II. The Power of the Speaker.—­The speaker is the executive officer who sees that the decisions of the Committee on Rules are carried out.  In most important matters it is necessary for a member to make an arrangement with the speaker in order to secure recognition when he wishes to address the House.

In exercising the power of recognition, the speaker will, of course, give both the sides a fair opportunity to debate upon important measures.  He will not permit members to make motions or lengthy speeches merely for the sake of delaying some action to which they are opposed.  Such actions are called obstructive tactics, or filibustering.

The Lobby, Log-rolling, and Patronage.—­Not all the bills that come before Congress are passed or rejected because they are wise or unwise.  The influences that determine the course of legislation at Washington are very numerous and complicated.  Some of these influences are to a greater or less extent legitimate, and others are totally bad.  The lobby, in its broadest sense, is composed of all those persons who go to Washington in order to exert pressure upon Congressmen in favor of or against certain measures.  Some of the best laws and some of the worst are enacted through the influence of the lobbyist. Log-rolling is an important influence in determining legislation; a member votes for the pet measure of his fellow Congressman on condition that the latter will vote for the bill in which he is particularly interested.  Political patronage is a great factor in determining votes in Congress; the power of members to recommend appointments, and the influences exerted in their favor by the appointees, often determine the question of their continuance in office.  Consequently, there is a great temptation