Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-11-23

are to handle his cash and keep his books
and accounts. Now, IL will be seen that IL |
Mr.. Carlisle should be elected Speaker and
Mr.. Clark clerk of the House, the office
OF doorkecpcr aud postmaster may also go to
Southern candidates. TO change the old order
Of things and relieve Mr.. Carlisle of what
might appear to be an embarrassment in
the contest for Sreakership 1t has been de-
cidcd to class Missouri as Western State
to take it out of the old category-whle
two influential candidates from Northern
and Western States have entered the race
for postmaster OF the House, and 50 new
order of things has been brought about to
divide the honors without putting too much
stress upon geographical divisions.
The Forty fourth Congress organized with
Speaker NJ q. Kerr from New Albany,
Ind; clerk Mr.. George NJ. Adams from just
across the Ohio river in Kentucky, and
doorkeeper, postmaster and chaplain all from
Southern States, leaving the sergeant. alarms
for Ohio. The death of Mr.. Kerr made Mr..
Randall of Pennsylvania, Speaker, but at
each succeeding organization Of the House
the old officers were retained or their places
filled with candidates from the South. Yet,
after all calculations, the combinations
which the friends of the several candidates
may now have made may be changed day
before the meeting Of the caucus, which is
usually held on the Saturday preceding the
assembling of Congress.
The return of the gave and the mace to
Democratic majority will, under the new
census apportionment, witness different
scene than was presented when Mr.. Speaker
Blaine called the Forty-third Congress to
order the first Monday in December ten
years ago. He had been Speaker of the
previous House, when the members sat in
great oak arm chairs, with desk like lit
tie fortress in front OF each Of the 242 men,
: bers. MIR. Blaine, who in earlier years had
, been schoolmaster, knew the advantage of
keeping whispering children apart if good
order was to be maintained. 1t had been
/, comparatively an easy task, with his vigor
: and firmness, to maintain good order In the
, House during the Forty-first and Forty
, second Congresses. The width of space
separating members did not make it easy
, for the restless ones to carry on converse.
ton in their seats. When the new ap
pointment added fifty more seats IL
the floor 1t became necessary to remove
the massive chairs and desks and sub
; stitute light cane chairs and slender
desks for the old ones, to narrow the aisle
leading to the different rows of seats and t.
a occupy every available inch of space in orde
to accommodate the increased membership
:, If it was matter of crowding ten years ago
what will it be in the next House, when tn,
membership is thirty-three larger than ii
) 1873. The crowding, of course has been &C
complished by the same process OF reducin!
!, the size Of the desks, putting them still close
:, together, adding new row TO the outer cir
Gle and squeezing in seats where before Their
were narrow, very narrow aisles for acces
and exit. The result is that the member t.
whose lot shall fall a seat in the middle of
. row will find himself as much embarrassed,
n he wishes to leave it, as one does who is hem
med in the middle seat of a long row at plac
OF amusement. 1t was such a situation Of al
:, fairs which make Speaker Blaine entreat til
- members of the Forty-third Congress to ali
:, him in keeping order by retaining from con
:, vcrsatiOn in their seats and TO move about a
a nolsecssy as possible. Who that remember
: his exhsusting labor Of demanding order witt
. his ivory gavel until the top Of his desk wa
. literally hammered into splintcrs will envy
:. the duties of tile Speaker Of the next IIous
=, with its still greater number of members
= 1t finally became necessary in susebquen'
: Congress to adopt a rule, which has eve
since been rigidy enforced excluding every
, body from the floor but the members an,
officers of the House. What the Speaker o
, the next Congress viii. have to endure wit
\ the 1913 members and delegates in their seat
=, remains to be chronicled.
:. of the chairmen of 81 committees in III
: 46th Congress appointed by Mr. Randa
:, only 10 are members of the next House, au
u with four or five exceptions filled unimpor
" ant places and if he were again electe
- speaker they would in all probability b
Il rclegated to Coventry, as none of them al
u known now to be in favor of his reelection
" y, OF the 1876 Democrats but 70 were member
, of the last House. Probably over 100 al
= entirely new to the halls Of Congress III
+ speaker, whoever he may be, will have il
:, y, Guiding the membership Of the ways an
. ; means and appropriation committees,a chat
~ manship or place on these committees fl
y nearly every Democratic member of the La
" House, SO that the labor of providing rel
=. sonably good places for the ambitious wi
- not DC 80 very diff cult.