Affable butt uninspiring, Democrat William M. Springer of Illinois gained the chairmanship of Ways and Means in 1891 as a prize for helping House member Charles F. Crisp win the election for Speaker.  Springer pushed through several minor tariff revisions during the 57th Congress, but overall, his preoccupation with parliamentary rules and procedures of debate rather than with the issues irritated many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.