The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1880-04-16

I EtOm Our Rsgular Correspondent. ]

WASHINGTON, D. G.. April 10. 1880.
What is Congress doing is an every-
day query. .'Getting ready" say the
wise-Hgetting an dseful ready for
what Nearly three months have gone
by and no legislation of importance has
been passed upon. The newspaper
galleries are good places for seeing as
well as hearing, and, as there is nothing
particularly worth listening to nowadays,
suppose we look around and T.let obser~
vatioEfwith extensive view survey man
kind The House OF representatives.,
the more interesting of the Chambers OF
the Federal Legislature, is a very large
hall, much too large for efficient work,
and has flat look from its superficial di
mensions. The seats are arranged in
semi~circular rows, facing an ares, in
which are desks for the clerks, the offs
cial stenographers and, above all, on a
raised dais, the Speakers desk, the latter
being directly under the reporters gals
lery, affording the correspondents a fine
chance to study the chronological deyel.
opments of the presiding officer. He has
| a good head and a good voice, and makes
an admirable Speaker. The House for
many years now has been fortunate in
this respect. and it is very importont
item, since the Speaker possesses more
power over current legislation probably
than any other man in the country. Mr..
/ Colfax was an excellent Speaker. Mr.
Blaine, who followed, was worthy of his
mantle. Mr.. Kerr, who succeeded Mr..
Blaine when the Democrats came into
power, was not so we'll suited for the POI
sltion, but only held it short time, when
! he died. Mr.. Randall combines many of
the qualities which go to make up the
ideal Speaker. He must have quick
eye, an instantaneous and correct judg-
ment, voice like an auctloneer's and
infinite tact. Mr.. Randall possesses all
these in an eminent degree, and governs
his unruly confreres as we'll as we can
expect any one to do. 1t is curious to
watch the changed behavior of the House
when he assumes the chair after tenn
porary absence. A few vigorous thumps
of his mallet soon brings the House to
order and there goes over the floor and
gallery sense of relief, as if the master
was again at the helm. Such interreg-
NUNS, also, as occur, for instance while
the House is in Committee of the Whole
and has ito Chairman, go to show the
great superiority of Mr.. Randall over
most presiding officers, and are useful to
his reputation in that particular. In
every House of Representatives there are
| few members who are Immediately
pointed out to all strangers as distin>
guished IN some way, either good or bad.
Thus, when Ben. Butler was here every
one wanted to see him and felt that their
Washington experience was incomplete
if for any reason the fat, crossreyed,
shrewd Yankee politician was absent
from the chamber. Alas he is no longer
here to enliven Parliamentary proceed
ings. We might have better spared q
better man. General Garfield is also
pointed out as one of the lions, on ac-
count of his prominence as speaker
and leader. Judge Kelley, the great
tariff advocate; Levi P. Morton, the
millionaire broker; Fernando Wood !;
Sunset Cox, the humorist and scholar,
and most of all, perhaps, Alexander II.
! Stephens in his chair, wheeling himself
around the area and participating in the
debate in shrill, treble voice, shot forth
with painful intensity and almost fe~
rocity of effort. Mr.. Stephens has been
dying for twenty or thirty years, do not
know exactly how long, hut seems to
thrive under the process. He is stronger
now than he has been for many years
and the last report is that he is going to
abandon his chair and walk about as
other men. He is certainly very ex-
traordinary person, and although full Of
crochets, generally gets the esteem given
to men ofhonest convictions and capable
parts. AUGUST.