of the house. interest by general david johnson. >> this week, it james grant with a biography of the man who established majority rule in the house and senate. his name was thomas agreed. he served from 1893 to 1891. -- thomas agreed. he served from 1893 to 1891. >> why do think the public would be interesting and reading a book about the life and times of thomas reid? >> i have no idea about the public.

i would be delighted to spend three or four years in the company of this man. this person never leaves and has the job and stays for the weekend. you have to live with him or her. instantly i knew that we would be friends. i know is delighted to welcome him into my house. -- did you knowintensel instantly? >> in this book we read a chapter. it was a fabulous sketch of this most interesting and sadly of scare figure. it turned out to is instrumental from turning something into a talking shop that was engaged in active

legislation. here is a full participant in all of the drama of monetary debates. he was all of that. he was also funny. who can resist? >> he was the 13th longest serving speaker in the history of the united states. there have been 53. what is the thing you remember most? >> she was known as this. he was an appearance as a tyrant. he overturned a longstanding custom and the house. it to be an equal parliamentary putting. it meant that the minority party occurred by refusing to acknowledge its presence in the roll call and eliminates the

evidence qualm. you could count the noses. if they refuse to speak, then there was no quorum. they sat still. he thought this is a great affront against the gales of improvement in progress. he wanted to bring the house into maturity. >> when did she live? >> 1839-1902. >> where was he from? >> here is from portland, maine -- he was from portland, maine. he went to wall street after his congressional career. plaques how long did he serve in congress? >> 12 terms. these questions are getting hard.

>> how did he become speaker? >> it by sheer force of intellect and by a the cut and thrust of debate and the devastating way he dealt with the democratic enemy. all of that is in the credit to his claims to be speaker. he was a political leader. people looked up to him. he was not physically magnetic. he stood 6 foot three. his weight sometimes approached 300 pounds. he had a lot of intellect that was overwhelming. >> one of the books was the artist that did this cover on your book, john singer sargent. >> how difficult is the art of

port richey -- portraitry? it is difficult. he said he cannot do it. reed has a delphic face. he is ever so bland to look at. sergeant was charmed by the man. they sat together in paris. reed just delighted him and vice versa. sergeant could not capture reed threw his face. >> how did he turn out to be doing reed in paris? >> he went to europe. he is not running for congress. he would take the summer and go to paris. he studied french.

he engaged the french in washington. he would hang out. they would take walks. there would converse in french. he loves the letters. it with so much. -- he worked is so much parent he had been home in portland. -- he worked so much. t been home in portland. he spoke french like a native. >> you have a picture of him where he is quite handsome and looks so much different than the portrait of him. >> at the unveiling of the portrait, it was polite but shocked silence. i hope my enemies are satisfied.

>> where did he go to college? >> boden. it was the place to go if you wore a bright kid from maine. >> with that is located where? >> outside portland. >> when did you write this bug? >> i can answer that question. i started about three or four years ago. for years in three days ago. >> when did you finish? >> what book is this? commonly have you done? >> you have them in the front of this. >> the first one is this one.

he is a political adviser and legends. the dates for 18701965. where did you first right? >> i started in journals in the "baltimore sun." itunes become a financial journalist. -- i first became a financial journalist. >> why did you get interested in money? >> it seem like a timely subject. i got out. between my discharge dates i got a job on wall street. i was the only kid making 100 grand a year in 1967.

$100,000 was it a real money. -- was real money. i have a couple of summers working at this brokerage house. when i first caught my job, i was a renowned financial expert. as much as 12 months, i might have been there himself. >> you were born in manhattan? >> yes. >> grew up? >> blog islands. >> how did you get up to indiana university? >> i was a french horn player in high school. i quit my first college experience after a semester. i did not play the french horn.

by the time i got back and confronted school, indiana was a mecca of horn playing. they had not quit. they thought it was no place. it was rather exalted. >> today let's talk about some of the books. the grant's interest rate observer -- how did your life goes down that? what is grant's interest rate observer? >> say it again for the people on the west coast. i went to bear and after the "baltimore sun." there is one of these ensure merrill splats uc -- there is

one of those intramural spats you see. one could see your own copy appearing without an editor meddling. i thought what i would do is start my own sheet. according to the surveys, i had tens of thousands of liters. if only a few dozen of them signed up i would instantly have the answer until -- i would have insurmountable tax problems. i had a consonant experience. one was having children. when people returned your calls when you were an employee, it was not because of you. you were living on borrowed luster.

i had the eye opening experience and going from whose hutu who was that ---- who is who to "who is that?" i took a salary after about four years. my wife supported the family. i would highly recommend entrepreneurship. >> what is a cause for somebody to surprise? >> it is close to $1,000 a year. we are running out the subscriptions. >> how much of your businesses conferences? >> it is a good part. it is terrific. >> what did you learn about bernard baruch that matters? >> he was the george soros of

his day. he was a speculator who had the golden touch and to had the ear of the powers that be in politics. he has an agenda. he has a specific left-wing agenda. bernard baruch was in the influence line. i admire him for some many things. he finally showed himself to be someone for him getting along was more important than principle.

it is ok. she was a great friend for the people who loved him. many did. my impatience with him was over his choosing to get along rather than to choose to stand on principle and the on the outside looking in. that is barch. reed was a horse of a different color. he was a man of a certain bloody minded principle. it showed a vividly in his stance toward the spanish /american difficulties of spain. it brought out his stand on

principle. it brought out of his morbid sense of humor. it was one of the most pungent chapters in his life. >> you point out that the democrats then would the republicans now and the republicans than with the democrats. how close is that? >> it survives the exaggeration. william represented indiana. he was a jeffersonian. he was a man of cultivated simplicity and have it. he was the watchdog of the treasury. he loved that they could block legislation through the assertion of these parliamentary obstructionist techniques.

he was once called out as a single known as exception as a jeffersonian obstructionist. it would resemble progressive politics. he was almost to his friends and adversaries -- one day he showed up at work and supported a bill to spend money. what was this? it turns out that he was log rolling. he was actually supporting some piece of thing to get money spent in his home district. knowing this, [unintelligible] "they open mouths as we come

home. at thi" the bill was lost in this wonderful laughter. a characteristic of the debate at the time -- people have nothing else to do except breathe. -- read. despite that, they were educated and well read people. they amuse themselves listen very high-minded banter in the house. they started quoting lord byron. that is characteristic of the debate in quality of banter. >> it is funny you should mention holman. quote a long paragraph. at 67 years of age, he was one

of the house greybeards. he was first elected to the 38th congress in 1858. he had a different view of partisanship. members kept pistols at their deaths. once a careless politician, fishing around for a piece of paper, accidentally discharged his weapon, sending a ball blasting into the desk in front of him, narrowly missing human flesh. " >> it is different and yet the same. i sometimes wonder if the nature might be improved by a few fire arms around the house.

i guess we have metal detectors now. >> did you find any pictures of any members back in congress these days? >> so many of them by the time we got into congress most of represented this war veterans of the civil war. did they knew something about fire arms and firing at human beings. when people talked in the heat of debate and it got personal, you could tell that they were not so far away from a challenge. in doing was on its way out. dueling was on its way out. >> cornyn 1839, tom reed would

have been 22 or so at the beginning of the war. did he serve? >> he did. he went to california and pursued what he thought to be his dream. he was unhappy. he became a lawyer. he was all for the union. must have seemed odd to people. he was not in uniform. one never knows. he must have felt the call to arms. one of his close friends have been called. here is one of the least sounded titles. assistant paymaster.

>> how long did he serve in total? >> 13 or 14 months. >> when it came out of the navy, what did he do? >> he went back to maine and resumed his legal studies and opened a one-man practice. he waited for customers. >> he talked about his diaries earlier. is there an english version? >> some of it is in english. much of it was in french. my high school french was inadequate to the location. >> why do you think he wrote his diary in french? >> i think he was practicing french. he was a serious student. i think he believed it imparted some discretion to what he was saying. one of his valentine's got hold

of the diary and board will risburglarize did. one would suppose -- some of the portions that remain i think they are pretty indiscrete. i do not know what the standard of judgment was for portions that were obliterated. it is fascinating. >> you try to get to know him. how did you do that? where did you go? >> his papers are collected and bowdoin. untouched since his death. one of my benefactors was a man named gallagher who set out to write a life of him. he organized the papers and collected bits from the congressional record and went riding to historical archives.

-- writing to historical archives. i hired some researchers. this is part time work for me. my day job is on wall street. it took a while. it was never a labor. it was a labor but one of love. >> going back to why you got this book would sell? >> i have no anticipated -- had no anticipation a monetary return. my editor liked the book. i think she thinks that the world ought to know about this fascinating chapter in american history. it is pertinent to the day, not at least given the bins in wisconsin where the legislators walked off to deny the quorum.

these events of yesteryear are relevant politically and economically. >> let's say the paul ryan budget that just got past, if your majority is in control and six together, today you can get anything passed. could you have done that in the past? >> absolutely not. >> congress has convened. one part of the majority party had a majority of members in the house. to they have many fewer members in the house than are required to accept a quorum.

a majority stand up for work. it begins. they take a roll-call. been somebody moves to introduce the legislation -- and then somebody moves to introduce the legislation. suddenly there is no quorum. they do not respond to the roll call. they sit there for days on end until they reach some sort of compromise that door results not in that legislation but in some legislation upon which they can agree. under the rules reed until the that the speakership -- until reed got the leadership, little was enacted. pretty much all of the bills dropped. it would be discussed. much would be enacted. he got to washington and a shocked and dismayed to realize

that 5% or 10% of things that were put up got in acted. reed was all for the progress of the 19 -- for the progress of the century. he had the least amount of nostalgia for yesteryear as any politician you have ever met. most politicians, that is why they got into the law. did they revere the past. there is an undercurrent of a yearning of yesteryear. he knew thomas edison. he cannot believe what was happening. he could see the television. he could see that coming. he could see the glimmerings of the internet. he could see instant communication. he got to work.

it was stymied with rules that were in active he wanted to bring the region were enacted. he wanted to bring the house of to the standards. >> this was dispersed. he became speaker in the 51st. what did he do in the early years? >> the judiciary committee was one. the election was run. it is between a new york democrat and the republicans. it seems as if he had won.

this would have been a triumph for the democratic party that have been out of control. they have been under suspicion of treason. tilden had this seemingly won this presidential election. he did when the popular vote. as the hours dragged by, it seemed as if the electoral vote was still up for grabs. there in person -- they were in pursuit of money. they got on trains and went out to the states that your still up for it grabs. they distributed -- that were still up for grabs. they distributed money and promises of political preferment and offices.

they finally brought it to a compromise. its stock to high heaven. what do we do about it? -- it stunk to high heaven. what do we do about it? the democrats had rolled over. they said they will stand by the apparent verdict. next time, watch out. he distinguished himself with this examination of the witnesses. it was really a case of who had done the most thorough job of this process. republicans managed to persuade

the world until the democrat al why did. >> i know that he served in congress. >> you put out that he was a friend of henry lodges. >> yes. he was. he was a great hero. he was a wonderful figure and mentor. here is a very accomplished writer. he was a professional author. roosevelt and admired his style. >> he was a friend of mark twain at? >> he was.

that was much later in life. he went to wall street. he became the partner. he gave a funny testimonial talk. >> reed was 63 when he died. >> sheep died in 1902. -- he died in 1902. >> he was the speaker three times. as you were doing your research, when did you start to really like him? how many books have been written?

>> i am afraid that my sales would go to the hypothesis. people want to read our lives. there are a number of biographies in washington. he just came out with the doorstop. the powers that be in commerce line up behind the biographers taking up a known this subject. i had a pretty good day job. i was able to do this for the sheer love. it was a deep rooted and abiding love. you were kind enough to ask me a reed about. -- to ask me about reed.

think of all the people who have lived and died in america. you cannot know them all. to me one would do worse by choosing him. >> you have the diary. what else did you do to make yourself familiar? what it did to start writing? >> 1 procrastinates. -- one procrastinates. i spent the last 2.5 years rights team -- writing. what also interested me was a reed not merely in. -- was not merely reed. the times also intriguing. my day job has to do with monetary affairs. that means the nature of our currency and federal reserve.

the last quarter of his life was a time of enormous turmoil. we talk about this mysterious thing. it is quantitative easing. it really means money printing. conjures dollar bills. to reed that would have been astonishing. they debated the basis of a dollar should be either silver or gold. it ought to be something. to be the idea that government printing money backed by nothing but good intentions was to them the heresy be reserved to other renegades.

the renegade has become mainstream. now if you advocate a gold standard, as i do, you are regarded as a tea party eccentric. everything changes. all cycles come around. those who are last shot the first. >> the last year the country's on the gold standard, what? >> it was 1971. richard nixon got on the television. he interrupted "bonanza." he said the dollar would have no more gold. for the past 40 years, we have been on here paper standard.

>> he mentioned the fed does not bother printing money anymore. how do they do it? >> they materialize it. there is a guy in new york city few has a computer keyboard. he clicks and credits to the account of commercial banks hundreds of billions of dollars. just like that. the dollars are electronically deposited in the excess reserves thebin. it sounds implausible. the federal reserve has to approve it. >> i might as well tap into your reserved. well when the interest rates go back of?

-- when will the interest rates go back up? >> my goal is 2005. we are not getting any younger. there is so tiny can barely make them out. a couple weeks ago i had a guy figure out. he asked, do you have a fe\ / view on this?of they said no. do you have a line on whether it is a good or bad thing that they go to 0 on the money they have set aside on their retirement? they got back. we have not heard much about the from our members. with in the district of columbia, i say it stings.

i say this is an affront to common sense and the two equity -- and to equity. the rates will go up. the trouble is -- [inaudible] every time it is a little bit different. at least this time we will go back up when the fed is forced to reconsider the zero interest- rate money printing policy. it'll be force one inflation becomes not as evident and also undeniably manifest to those who look at the numbers. day and says that inflation is 2.3%. maybe it is a maybe it is not. something that is higher.

the fed is not forced to act because the world still things that it can accept dollar bills for our debts. we are privileged and that we have a reserve currency franchise. we print money at home. we pay for goods that are imported. we send money west to walmart suppliers. walmart suppliers deposit the dollars in the bank's and the people republic of china. the people's republic of china send it back as investments and treasurer. -- in treasuries. the difficulty and the way it differs is that there is some tangible check on money. now there is none. >> i want to go back. i want to go back to something.

i want to see how it compares to what is going on in the company. >> the 36 congress was the first. was the last before the war. it appropriated six and a 38 million. -- 638 billion.

>> what has happened? it crystallizes the objections of the libertarian opposition. it shows the way that the reform -- it shows how this brought into doing this great enormous state that absorb so much of the income and the well. they are protesting the spanish shown -- the exponential lives.

you can see it coming. you can see the patterns and every empire. ery empire. the people do not trust the government. they are subject to all the political power. empires to go broke. that was him in a flamboyant response to this parliamentary gambit by which reed was able to undo his libertarian

opposition. when he affected this reform, he can run through legislation in the name of progress. he was setting the united states on the road to a much bigger government. holden saw this coming. >> what was the disappearing quorum? >> that was when someone calls roll-call. the minority party simply does that open its mouth -- does not open its mouth. there in the chamber but they are vocally absence. -- they are in the chamber but they are vocally absent. by saying nothing, and they bring it to a halt. you can see how frustrating it

would be to anyone who as elected to do business in congress. they come all this way to sit there and read the newspaper. >> how did he stop the disappearing quorum? >> one day in early 1890, congress is in session. reed is in the speaker's chair. there is a contested election. congress itself is the judge in the suitability of members. it decides the outcome. one of these was brought before the house. the republican had the majority if not enough to constitute a quorum. the democrats knew they will lose the contested election vote if they allow the quorum to form. they said nothing. it was then that he introduced

the reform that reverberates. he began counting names out loud. he said, with the court please take down the names of members who are present -- would the names of the down to gai members who are present? the place erupted. >> how did he stop it? >> he kept on reading. there is some very to mad moments and some very funny ones. people caught up with their face flushed with the rage. they were sputtering and am quoting from the parliamentary handbook. the seemingly siding with those who said that this was out of order and an act of territortie.

the republicans break up in sarcastic laughter. finally, he is the speaker. at one time, it is the guy speaking in the back. he had been to the civil war. calgary was outbid. he knew something of this. he wanted some of the talent to give an order. they lifted this republican out of it and got down to the real business. all he wanted was a word. he has it in for you. he did not care. he did not flinch.

his family said that he went home. there is this brutality directed against him. he laid down in a cold sweat. the democrats would have been astonished to hear that. he was unstoppable. the way he fought back was by showing no emotion. they had to admit that this was some demonstration. >> the disappearing quorum went away? >> it did. he had the majority votes. he told them that they were here. they finally could not do anything about it. they got down to business. the democrats go home and the worst nightmares were realized. the begathey became legislating.

it became known as the billion dollar congress. that is what it appropriated. they certainly approved of this. >> at the time, benjamin harris was the president. he is a republican. did they have a new relationship? >> i do not know. he was known as the iceberg. i think cordiality was not his strong suit. >> and it was up until 1891. he mentioned the family. what was his wife like? >> we do not know exactly. the only thing we know about her

was that she was against woman suffrage. reed was for it. he thought it was upsurged that the overbearing male sex, that they should have a monopoly of political value. this was an affront to the progressive ideas. about to change things. he wrote a minority report. he was in paris to death of being a man -- he was embarrassed to death of being a man by the way they were patronizing. he would go home and engage his wife in these discussions. in this great book you hold in your lap, there is a very funny account of his reading to his wife.

he wrote in a letter to things. his wife crawled up on the sofa. the body language expressed that she was embarrassed of what her husband was about to input on her because she would have to answer to her friends. she could not bear it. >> where was he on race? >> he was one of the leading -- the scene so patronizing when used -- a liberals. he was for the declaration of independence. here is for the declaration of independence. -- he was for the declaration of

ance.i antindependent he was at his humorous best when confronting these in congress. he gave wonderful speeches against those that would put these terrible things over and who wanted to enact jim-crow and statue laws. he succeeded. he stood up for what i thought was right. >> there have been 53 speakers. he was the 13th. >> people accepted his revealed truth. >> the ones that are on top our names that are recognized. , tip'neal, john mccormick

o'neill. eighth you go back to what we are talking earlier, -- if you go back to what we were talking about earlier, when he ran for speaker, who went against them? >> william mckinley. frenemy.ed's he was everything that reed was not. mckinley was bland. someone once said that he should have been a priest because he listened so well and sympathetically. he was everybody's friend. he had is geared to the ground

constantly. 1c got into money trouble, if he had distracted -- once he got into money trouble, and he got distracted and signed a bunch of notes for an entrepreneur and friends at his. mckinley was asked to sign a note signed the credit worthiness. mckinley was cosigning many dollars worth of note in excess of his own network. it came to light when he was in the public eye. i cannot even manage my own affairs. how will people and trust me with the nation's tax people rallied to him.

people just loved him. reed was admired. people so admired him for his intellect and the power of his arguments. not many loved him. reed himself got into money troubles. he entrusted his brokerage account to a child of friend of his in portland. the guy coming of his funds with the firms. he basically bankrupted reed. reed was not for giving of this guy as mckinley was to the people who do him church. reed did not have that popular personality. >> he eliminated the filibuster that was in the house. what year was that? >> 1890.

it is his first term as speaker. >> how did he eliminate the filibuster? >> i am loving filibuster with the disappearing quorum. >> in the and when he left, -- end when he left, where did he go? >> be mckinley government was waging this war with spain. reed despised war. he had not won alice's of fame and glory. he saw nothing glorious about war. he, more a day the day of the dead soldiers. -- he called memorial day the day of the dead soldiers. he wanted no part of it.

he saw through the pretenses. along comes this universal thing. john philip sousa had been written "stars and stripes." people walked down the street hearing this irresistible music. it was lost on reed. he believed that he believes in the declaration of independence. that was his line.

he would never say a word against the republican party which he loved. he would never say a word against [inaudible] he would not do this thing. like our guests -- >> our guests daytime job is bernard barucgr't rate observer. it is morning and evening job is writing books. -- his morning and evening job is writing books. thank you for joining us. >> thank you.

>> fourth chief transcripts -- for a free transcripts, visit us aon our website. >> index, the speech by canada's governor o. then another chance to see "q&a" with guest james grant. >> this weekend, we talk about reporting for the "new york times" and the 19 60's and the 1970's. we will look back 50 years of

america's failed attempt to overthrow the castro regime at the bay of pigs. the british house of commons is in recess. the questions returned wednesday june 8, 2011. we will show you the broadcasting corporations to our coverage of the speech. the prime minister steven harper is returning to officer. he outlined the priorities of this government for the next year. he delivered it to a joint session of the canadian government in ottawa. this marks the official opening of the newly elected parliament and focuses on canada's economic education plan. -- canada's economic plan. -- canada's economic plan.