The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-12-29

WHILE on the subject of Senators, |
am tempted to give few recollections
of the reporters gallery during several
sessions when | was employed as re-
porter of the Senatorial debates for the
New York Associated Press. If it be
true that no man is hero to his valet,
it is more true that, with few eXcep-
tons, no Senator is a statesman to his
reporter. The man who sits in the gal
lery to make notes for printing soon
learns the large per cent. of human
weakness that is in the composition of
the great men assembled below. Before
| had been very long in my position |
received a summons from Mr. Stewart,
of Nevada, then newborn Senator.
He wanted fame, and his grievance was
that | cut him short in the report of a
big debate. There had been a warm
time on the reconstruction policy. Ben
Wade had launched out fearfully against
Andy johnson, and Reverdy johnson,
| of Maryland, had come grandly to the
defense. The New York papers arrived
with full reports of these two speeches,
and only a mention of the other orators,
| among whom was Mr.. Stewart, who had
been cut off with a paragraph. | was
ushered into the presence of the great
man from Nevada. "Why didn't you
report my speech?" said he. | replied
that | had selected the two representa-
tive men of the debate-Wade and
JOhnson-and cut all the others down.
"And, said |, very modestly, you are
not as well known as Mr.. Wade or Mr..
johnson; they speak for their parties,
and what they say is of national signiti-
canoe; you only speak for yourself.
1.-The deuce you sayr' said Mr.. Stewart.
Il speak for the Republicans of Neva-
da, and my speech is rs important rs
anybody else's." The result of the inter-
viewwas that, Mr. Stewart insisting that
had wronged him, | agreed to send his
speech by mail to the New York'Herald.
In response there came a note saving it
would cost 81, $50 to print it as an adj
vertisement, and that they did not care
about printing it as news. Mr.. Stewart
never bothered me after that. There
were constant complaints to the effect
that was always emitting important
debates which the Senate desired to
have printed, and that l was always
making room for personal spats"
which the Senate desired to suppress.
To remedy that it was proposed that
the Senate should furnish its own Asso-
ciated Press report, prepared by man
of its own choice, to be paid by the Sen
ate. | appealed to Mr.. Hudson, then
managing editor of the Herald, and to
John Russell Young, managing editor
of the Tribune, explained the matter,
and telling them that if they would so
order | would omit all the PERSONAL
ties of debate and confine reports to
the more dignified points. Their reply
fully Endorsed my selection; the people,
they said, were more interested in the
personalities than in the points. AS to
the Senate's proposal to furnish its own
eXpurgated report, there was not pa
per in New York which would agree to
print it, except at the usual advertising
rate. One day there was a very I'M
seemly personal spat between Fes-
sender and Sumner at the close of a
long debate. l omitted the debate and
put in the spat. Next day two of the
New York papers had editorials on
Plantation manners in the Senate. ."
The position of Senate reporter for the
New York papers became very unpleas-
ant from that time forward, and | soon
after gave it up M0ck," IN Globe
| Democrat.