The daily gazette., 1878-04-08
Our Washington Letter.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF
THE HOUSE OF REPREsENTATIvEs-
THE DEFECTS OF THE PRESENT
HALL--WHAT A SHOTGUN



HALL--wHAT A SHOTGUN
WOULD HAVE DONE.
(From our regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, April 6, 1873.
1t has long been a course of dssatis-
faction and complaint, that under the
present organization and arrangement
of our House of representatives, it is
! almost impossible for speaker on the
| floor, unless he be gifted with extraordi-
nary vocal and respiratory powers, to
make himself heard by his colleagues in
distant portions of the hall, and in the
reporters gallery. My daily visits to
Congress have convinced me of the JUS
tice of this complaint, and how much
better it would be if some plan, like that
recently suggested by Mr.. Hewitt, of
New York, were adopted, by which
most, if not all, of the physical obstacles
to debate which now exist would be re-
moved; improving the style of speaking
and making the House farmore attrac-
tive field for able men.
Mr.. Hewitt's plan is, briefly, to divide
| the hall of the House in two, arrange
one half of it with benches facing each
other on the two sides of the House, as
is the case in the English House of Com
mons. This half of the House should be
sacred to debate, and no business should
be permitted there but the discussion of
bills and resolutions, and action upon
| them. The other halt of the House
| should be fitted with desks, ,as at present;
and at the doors between the two halls
should be gong or bell to notify the
members when division was demanded
on vote to be taken. Those who chose
to listen, or take part in the debate,
would be in the hall with the benches
while those who had more important
duties to attend to would be in the hall
with the desks, within single step OF
the other hall. With such change
would come ease of speaking a quieteI
tone, better thinking on the feet, better
taste i'll oratory, better progress in every
thing that makes profitable business dis
cussioD and better progress also in the
public business.
AS | returned from the reporters gal
| lery yesterday, after having listened for
an hour or so to an amusing sally between
| Ben Butler and Mr.. Cox, of New York,
in reference to the much contested Door
keepership (made vacant by Mr.. Polk's
summary dismissal, on Thursday.) and
was on my way to the Senate to see what
was going on there, l saw standing
together in the lobby of the Senate
| Chamber, engaged in free and easy CON
versation, Col. Tom Scott, Jay Gould, c.
Z. huntington. and Sidney Dillow. AT
the distance of a few feet, with his lar
board ear elevated to the proper angle
OF communication, was John Roach, The
famous iron ship builder, of Chester,
Pa. A shot gun loaded with buckshot
and discharged by an accomplished
fowler would have swept the famous
quintette clear out of the region of inter.
est in sublimary concern. AT fair cal
culation, these five men represented not
less than two hundred millions of dollars
and could probably have their checks
honored for more money than any other
five men gathered together in any other
city in the country, aud yet there are
people who say that Washington is not
big city!
Tom Scott Jay Gould, and their con.
lfrierS are here to lobby for theirrailroad
and the object of Mr.. Roach's visit was
to invite his Senatorial friends to join
the excursion which left for Chester this
morning to witness the launching of one
of his large steamers Uhe Getty of
Para" l believe). This party includ-
ed the President, all the members of the
Cabinet, with the exception of Postmas-
ter-General Key, members of the corps
diplonldttc, and about a hundred Senators
and members of Congress- They will
leave Chester this evening, sleep off their
headache tomorrow, Sunday, and be
"on deck" again Monday morning. :
The rumor extensively circulated in
the press that Mr. Hayes will spend the
summer in Ohio proves, upon inquiry at
the White House, to be untrue. He will
take up his Old last summer quarters in
one of the cottages in the grounds OF
the "Soldier's Home; the same which
the late President Lincoln occupied with
his family; but it has been enlarged and
improved since his time
Bret Harte is in the city, and called
upon the President yesterday. And that
is about all the news on the tdpiS, with
the exception of an order sent to the
Navy Yard to-day to clear up several
heavy guns, which have lain stored there
since the war, and put them in servica-
BILE condition. What these guns are to
be used for, is, as yet, mystery but it
l.. 4.