The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-09-25
PENOILINGS IN THE HOUSE.

PBKGILINGS IN THE HOUSE.
As it would never do to slight our
brethren of the House of Representa-
tives, who have certainly as good right
to sit for their pictures as their CO.
workers in the Senate, we now proceed
to sketch them, promising, as we did
with the members of the higher body,
to continne the sketching-if we can
till portraits of all are finished for our
readers.
To begin with an outline, collectively
speaking, of the House as it is, we see
but very few strongly marked faces, and
very little that betokens a superior order
Of genius among the members. There is
a noticeable array of young men, who
are certainly enjoying the privilege Of
an excellent training school at the ex-
pense of the State. This is at it should
be. We are an ardent advocate Of COM
pulsory education. Besides, it is much
easier, generally, to imbue the minds Of
the young with comprehensive, cosmo-
politan liberality of thought and action,
than to engraft a vigorous growth of
the same necessary commodity upon
the fossil-like imaginations of men who
live wholly in the past, as so many
elderly gentlemen do. y very few Of
the old members have been returned,
and several have stepped from the House
to the Senate.
Mr.. Speaker looks like laboring man.
He appears on the sunny side of thirty,
and has no very marked trait of charac-
ter depicted in his countenance. We
should judge that he would incline to
believe that the men of a past age were
better calculated to think and act for
him than he can be to think and act for
himself. Indeed, this is a chronic COM
plant, which afflicts many voters OF the
Republic at the present day. Colonel
White, the Chief Clerk, has iron-gray
hair blueish-gray eyes, a silver white
mustache, broad shoulders and tongue
that cannot sound the liquid "r." He
says do and TO and fo' and sho', for
door and four and floor and sure, carry
ing you back to the colored nurse who
reared him, and moulded his vernacular
into that of the UnmiXed African. We
believe that one Of the rights Of a white
child is that it be reared by a white
mother, and of cOlored children that
they also be taught TO articulate by their
own mothers. The Colonel is afiable
and gentlemanly, and evidently does
his work faithfully. Mr.. Hadaway,
Sergeant-at-Arms, and Mr.. Wagner,
the door-keeper, are in their old places,
ready, rs formerly, to give necessary in
formation concerning all questions
asked by privileged members, like our
self, who have reporters desks and seats
within the bar. Mr.. H. is a trifle grayer
and Mr.. w. perceptibly lamer; other
wise they appear just as they did twenty
four moons ago. The member from
Iamhill upon our left is young and
pleasant looking, and at his right is his
colleague, who is suffering with n huge
boil upon his nose. \ pale-haired gen
tleman occupies the next seat, over
against the wall, and at his right sits
Colonel Reed, the Woman Question's
sworn ally, and fair and candid de-
batter on any question. Behind him is
a bushy headed, thoughtful looking
member, with low forehead and eye
glasses. At his left sits q member with
struggling foretop, broad, retreating fore
head and high cheek bones. Most of
the elderly gentlemen are getting bald
headed, for which we are sorry, as we
fear that the ''clinging vines" they
have encouraged to twine their tendrils
about them, have withered their top
most branches. The best possible
remedy for badness among the 'pro-
tecting oaks" Of husbandhood, would be
for them to pass suffrage bill, which
would have tendency TO cause the "cling-
ing vines" Of wifehood to grow into
self-sustaining shrubs Of sweet-lived
womanhood.
We never saw so large a gathering Of
gentlemen before in which there was
such general sameness of personal an
pearance. Barring the badness. the
description of one might readily be
taken for that of another; a fact which
tends to lessen your faith i'm the dis
cernment Of those clairvoyauts who.
with spirital eyes, discover and describe
your dear departed friends.
Readers, we abandon the picture in
despair. We've tried our best to do as
We agreed, and have succeeded as far as
we've got, but we remember the story of
the Princess on trial for her life, and de-
sist. She said, "He brought another
grain of corn, and brought another
grain of corn" and so on AL infnif,fDl.
But the usual motion to adjourn cuts
of debate and brings this letter to a close.
These public servants work three hours
out Of twenty, upon an average. And
their work for two-thirds of that time
seems to consist in reading newspapers,
furnished by the State. How our heart
aches for those unfortunate voters who
are compelled by law to wear out their
lives in the survive OF an ungrateful
country. AID.
"------~-----------=-as-----
THE ANNUAL MEETING.