Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-01-17
CONGRESSIONAL AUTOBIOG.
RAPHIES.
Curious Facts from the New Direc.
tory.
What Senators and Representatives Say
of Themselves.
Washington Evening Star. |

|
sketches serve as sort of introduction to
the new members, whose official station at
once renders them an element of Washing
ington society. The Congressional direc-
| tory is valuable book of reference in
Washington. No library, no boarding
| house is complete without it.
FACTS ABOUT SENATORS.
Of the twenty-six Senators who were
sworn in at the beginning of the present
session only twelve are new to that body.
The other fourteen were simply continued
In the Senatorial harness by reelection.
| Mr.. Morrill, remains the patriarch of the
Senate, though his colleague, Mr.. Ed
munds, looks older and is invariably taken
for the oldest member, and is, perhaps, the
youngest man who ever attained
the dignifed and exalted position of Sena-
tor. When elected he was not 35 years of
age The longest senatorial biography in
the directory is that of Mr.. Brown of Geor-
gia, who admits that because of his acqui-
escence in reconstruction measures he "be-
came very unpopular" but salves his van
lty by following it with the declaration
that lin every instance when he has been
candidate before the people he has been
successful" The briefest sketch is that of
Senator Call, Of Florida, who occupies less
than five lines. The richest Senator is
MIR. Fair, of Nevada, though Mr.. Bowen, of
Colorado, it is said, possesses almost as
many millions. As a rule the Southern
Senators are poor. Brown Of Georgia,
and Malone, of Virginia, are the only two
from the entire south who are wealthy.
There are others who make large incomes
by the practice of law, but there are
SO many demands upon them, owing
to the impoverished condition Of
the south for years past, that they
do not save anything. Senator Butler, of
South Carolina is pronounced the hand
soonest man in the Senate, though Mr..
| Riddleberger can dispute the palm in this
respect. Senator ingalls, is considered the
best debater. Senator Morgan is the best
| logician. Messrs. Edmunds and Garland
| are the ablest lawyers, while Senator
Vance is the finest rhetorician and best
! stOry-teller But to return to the direc-
| tory. Both Messrs. Malone and Riddle
! berger make their Confederate records con-
! spicuous portion of their personal sketches.
Senator Anthony ranks all others in point
of service, having now entered upon his
fifth term. Senator Edmunds has been re-
elected three times, and Mesrss.
Bayard, Salisbury, Ransom and Nor
rill have each been twice reelected.
WHERE THE SENATORS WERE BORN.
Kentucky furnishes more sons to the
present Senate than any other State. Eight
native kentuckians are now members of
that body Ohio comes next with seven
while New York has six Georgia, Ten
nessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania each
four Maine Maryland, New Hampshire
New York, North Carolina, Chic, Pennsyl-
vania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Ten
nessee, Vermont and Virginia have native
sons in the Senate. Three natives of Ire
land (Messrs. Jones, of Florida, Fair and
! Sewell), one of Scotland Beck }, and one Of
England, Jones, of Nevada), are Senators.
Ohio furnishes two Senators for Indiana
and two for Iowa, the four gentlemen
representing those States having been born
in the Buckeye State.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
contains twenty adopted citizens. Messrs.
Finerty, Cullom, Lowry Collins McAdOo,
Barr, Davis, of Massachusetts,, and Robin
son, of New York, were born in Ireland.
Messrs. Morse, Breitung, Muller, Deuster
and Guenther are German. Crisp and
Spriggs are English born. Hardy, Buchanan
and Henderson first saw the light in Scot
land. Mr.. Nelson is a Norwegian, and
Stephenson was born in New Brunswick.
The oldest member Of the House is Mr..
Wait, Connecticut, the youngest member is
Mr.. Post, of Pennsylvania General Rose
cranz has the longest sketch in the direc-
tory, taking up the best part of page,
while Messrs. Skinner, of North Carolina,
and Houseman, of Michigan, put theirs in
the most compact form, each taking but
five wOrds-giving simply the name and
place of residence. Hon. H. B. HOlton,
late Republican candidate for Governor of
Maryland, occupies but two lines. After
General Rosecranz, ex-Speaker Kiefer and
C. A. Boutelle, of Maine, Mr.. Lowry and
Mr. Robinson, of New York, indulge in the
the largest biographies
A GRANDSON OF HENRY CLAY,
Who now sits in the House, employs less
than three lines in his sketch, while an
other Kcntuckian, the genteel TON" Rob-
ertson, modestly contents himself with
less than two lines. A great diversity of
taste is manifested in what members regard
as worth telling of themselves. Mr.. John
s. Wise, of Virginia, makes prominent the
fact that he was captain Of the Richmond
Light Infantry Blues" fancy military
company, for several years. L. H. Weller,
of Iowa, known throughout his region Of
country as
CALAMITY WELLER,
Informs the country that though born and
reared a Democrat of the Jefferson and
Jackson school, he voted for Fremont, LIN
coin twice. Grant, Greeley, than he sand
wished Tilden in, and next voted Tor
Weaver After moving to Iowa he titled
the soil in the daytime and studied law,
politics, and theology at aight" He was |
admitted to politics at once" subsequently
to the courts, and finally to the church"
His admission" to politics he seems to re-
gard as his first great step of his career.
Mr.. Weller next details series OF defeats
in running for office, wherein he differs
from most Congressman. The rule is to
conceal the defeats and make the successes
prominent.
COL. "TOM" OCHILTREE
proclaims through the directory that he is
the first native Texan ever elected to the
Congress of the United States" AS the
colonel is bachelor, he refrains, probably
for prudential reasons, from giving the date
of his birth, but in the pleasant task OF
writing personal history of himself, ne
q int pd