Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1888-04-19
THE DEADLOCK.
Some Amusing Scenes and Incidents In
the National House OF Rep
resentatiyes.
The Wheels Of Legislation Were Blocked,
but the Ways Had Plenty of
Fun.
Especial Cor. Chicago Times.l


dar day of the deadlock upon the direct
tax bill dawned upon weary and forlorn-
looking groups OF Representatives, who
stood guardto watch each other.
The extraordinary number OF roll-calls
and the length of the session has badly de-
moralized the reading clerks, and various
employees of the House have been tried as
substitutes, with Indifferent success. AS
one clerk with insufficient vocal ability was
struggling along with the roll-call on the
Weaver motion, MIR. Dockery, OF Mis-
souri, generously stepped forward amid
the applause OF the House and took up the
call in sonorous voice.
During the small hours the snores of
ebony occupants of the public gallery
mingled with the sounds Of campaign
songs and laughter emanating from the
coat-rooms, the confused rumble of hCarse
breathing of sleepers, and the subdued
applause of good story -tellers like Mason
of Chicago and Allen of Mississippi.
Every place available for O man to sire tch
himself upon was occupied, except the
broad marble mantelpieces over the open
CRATE fires in the corners of the hall; and
some of the relays on guard even sought
repose by sitting upon the small of their
backs with their legs thrown over desk
and heads resting upon the desk behind
them. The more wakeful spirits amused
themselves by playing jokes upon these.
Among the most laughable incidents
were the tricks played upon Brumm of
Pennsylvania, Taulbee of Kentucky, and
Long of Massachusetts. While Taulbee,
one of the most ofliciously active and least
influential of the minority, was snooZing
in the amen corner, some wag hid his bro
gans, and when the lank Kentuckian was
awakened by the fall of bundle of Con-
gressional records upon his stomach, he
could not find his shoes, though he good
naturedly hunted under the sofas and be-
hind the doors. Finally he found one
shoe, and amid hilarious merriment and
appeals of jssting members to put on his
shoes, he came down the aisle, and, rising
to question of privilege, asked how much
time he had left.
"The gentleman is out of order" said
the Speaker, and Taulbee retired amid
jeering laughter to appear little later with
odd shoes on his feet.
Mr.. Brumm of Pennsylvania was the
butt of joke that closed his gaping mouth
with snap and dropped his long legs from
the desk to the foor with undignifed
haste, and Of course everybody roared at
his sudden waking in fright. Somebody
had pasted a placard upon the sole Of his
boot and another had touched q match to
the paper.
Ex-Gov. Long walked from brief but
sound slumber to find some difficulty in
gaining an upright position, his legs hav-
ing been tied to the top of the desk and q
shower of paper balls rained upon him.
The jolly and venerable Wade of Mis-
souri, fell asleep on the back row and at
tracted the attention of the fun-levers by
loud snoring. They disenRaged the green
baize curtain from the brass railing behind
him and wrapped the old man in it so that
only his bald pate was exposed to view.
His makeup was completed with q tall
paper fools-cap drawn down over one eye
and one ear, and the lawmakers looked on
and laughed as the tip of the cap swayed
back and forth, keeping time with his heavy
breathing.
Mason, of Chicago, with his inexhaustible
fund Of good-humor, and overfiowing with
good stories, was god-send to his fellow
members on such an occasion. At almost
any time he could be seen in some part Of
the chamber or through the open doors Of
the cloak-room with a crowd Of laughing
men around him. He would tell yarn,
and when the laughter was at its height,
quietly walk away with his own fat sides
shaking. In a few minutes crowd would
gather about him and make another draft
upon the resources of the genial Illinois
member Cor merry making.
Toward morning the frolicksome men,
bers had quieted down, and the dull mon
otony of carrying on the fiction of waiting
for twelve hours for the Sergeant at arms
to bring in absentees was seldom broken,
even by the fellows who at oil times OBJ
trude themselves and their lame wit upon
the attention Of the House. When day
light began to creep through the glass
panels overhead not more than fifty men,
bers wero in their seats, the galleries were
vacated, and the one-legged keepers of the
upper tiers of doors hobbled to the win
dows for breath of fresh air. The outer
doors of the chamber had been closed all
night, and the hall was filed with poi
sonons atmosphere. Still the majority
stubbornly refused to suspend proceedings
under the call 80 that the doors might be
opened.
The Boston papers will suppress the
fact, and papers elsewhere will announce
it with pain and regret, that the most un-
dignified attitude assumed by any member
Of the House this afternoon was that which
Henry Cabot Lodge, the literary statesman
from Massachusetts, assumed for an hour.
He placed the small OF his back on his
chair, laid his legs on his desk, and con-
fronted the presiding officer with the soles
of his boots. He was reading a book with
morocco cover and gilt edges, and as we'll
as the title could be deciphered from the
gallery il was Browning's poems.
Gen. Weaver sat in his proper place
with one leg thrown over the other in o
firm but easy attitude, but deeply absorbed
in newspaper, and looking able to sit
there as long as necessary.
The flower in Mr.. Springer's button hole
was faded, and he looked depressed. A
fresh flower and shave restored 10 him ell
his native buoyancy.
Mr.. johnson, of Indiana, lay with his
head hanging over the back of his chair
and his eyes closed in slumber.
Mr.. Burrows reclined with his feet on
one chair and the heavier part of his anat-
omy in another, while he read the morning
papers,
The amiable and affectionate Gov.
McCreary presented pretty picture, with
O wee little girl on his knee.
The gentlemen sleeping on the eight
sofas in the corner of the hall generally had
their faces covered with newspapers or
handkerchiefs and they could not be iden-
tiled at a distance.
Judge Kelley and Gov. Long bent over
their desks and wrote. Page after page
came from under the hands of the former
and still he wrote. Long years of training
in this school has made him impervious 10
the influence of protracted sessions.
Mr.. 0'Neill, Of Pennsylvania, was ad-
dressing documents to his constituents.
Mr.. Breckenridge of Arkansas moved
about with q springy step or sat and read
statistics with no mark of fatigue upon his
face. He and General Weaver looked able
TO keep up the filibustering until oil other
members were under their desks.