That Indefinable Something

"An indefinable something is to be done, in a way nobody knows how , at a time nobody knows when, that will accomplish nobody knows what." - Thomas B. Reed, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 1889 to 1891 and 1895 to 1899

Known for his sharp-tongued wit and distaste for business as usual, Reed wanted to make the work of legislating more efficient and effective.

Time and distance have made most of the issues he addressed moot. That usually happens with the issues that fire us up. They fall through attrition.

I love the observation, however. We can use it as a template that transcends time and ideology.

Governments and most institutions are well skilled at spending a much time and effort to accomplish little.

That could? change, but Reed was never able to pull it off.

Perhaps, if Reed could have been clearer and more definitive.

Perhaps that might have been called leadership.

Yet, both of those statements are misleading. Reed's words were descriptive, not prescriptive. The fact is, he was a man of clarity. He was sometimes successful, and sometimes not, but he was always a leader.

Reed was the son of Congregational minister, Rev. Samuel H. Merrill. He was born in Portland, Maine and died in Washington D.C.. He was a Republican who had defeated William McKinley for Speaker of the House.

With friends like Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Adams, John Hay and Mark Twain, he stood out as a man of acerbic wit.

Once his name was floated as a candidate for President. His response was that they could do worse and probably would.

In fact, Reed sought the Republican nomination for President in 1896, but the convention nominated Ohio Governor William McKinley.

Mark Twain said of him, "He was transparently honest and honorable, there was no furtiveness about him, and whoever came to know him trusted him and was not disappointed. He was wise, he was shrewd and alert, he was a clear and capable thinker, a logical reasoner, and a strong and convincing speaker."

It is said of Reed that he exercised greater influence than any prior or future Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was sometimes called, "Czar Reed."

He instituted "Reed Rules." This solidified the Speaker's power by limiting the ability of the minority party to prevent a quorum. He used Parliamentary procedure effectively to keep things moving, especially legislation that his party advocated. "Reed's Rules: A Manual of General Parliamentary Law" became a standard textbook for some legislatures.

He helped pass the Lodge Bill to protect African American voting rights but it failed in the Senate. It was not the first time that he was a champion of civil rights in the South.

The legacy did not end with him. His daughter, Katherine Reed Balentine, started a monthly magazine in San Francisco called The Yellow Ribbon, which promoted women's suffrage.

We have been and will be confronted with "an indefinable something ... to be done, in a way nobody knows how , at a time nobody knows when, that will accomplish nobody knows what."

It will be up to some of us to step up and offer leadership that defines the indefinable, that offers a way, that suggests a deadline and timetable, and that paint a clear vision of what things will look like when the task is accomplished.

We need leaders like Speaker Reed who can do that.