Order to locate members of Congress and bring them to the House of Representatives, March 17, 1910

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives

When Representative Norris introduced his resolution, many of Speaker Cannon’s allies were attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Philadelphia. To buy time to rally his supporters, Cannon used parliamentary tactics to delay consideration of the resolution. The Speaker issued this order to Joseph Sennott, Special Officer of the House, to locate and return the 195 members listed "to attend to the public business." The return of Cannon’s allies, however, was not enough. An amended version of the Norris resolution was passed by a coalition of House Democrats and Republican Progressives.