The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-22
RECoLLECTIoNs OF A PAGE.
The Congressional Labor-Savers OF
Twenty Years Ago.
From the 81. Louis Republican.


pointed generally upon the application of
some member, and they are often the repre-
sentative boys from their respective dis
tricts. Having no interests at stake and
being unswayed by considerations or APP
phcatiOns of any constituency they form
opinions that are DISTINGUISHED and most
frequently correct No such prejudlceS
warp them as necessarily hamper
the Representatives They have no thought
as the offspring of any wish regarding the
outcome Of prominent measures, and their
forecast of a contest on the hoor can be
more frequently relied upon than that of
the new members. They are good par.ia
mentarians and have a thorough knowledge
of the various necessary stages of Con-
| gress. onal proceeding. The older pages
often act as counsel for the new members.
Mr. Blaine when Speaker OF the HOnse had
for his page young Barclay, the son OF the
author of the well known barclays
Digest" This lad, who had acted in
similar capacity for Mr.. Blaines predeces-
! sor was often deferred to by the Speaker
when ruling upon a close question.
| 1t was the privilege of the writer to be
among the pages of the Forty-first Congress
in the winters of 80 and 70. The members
of that body formed a remarkable group.
They were the men that the trying times of
the war had developed, and whom their con-
stituencies had honored with their positions
of trust. Blaine was in the chair. On the
floor were Garfield, Logan, Gen. Banks,
Ben Butler, Gen. Slocum, Sunset" Cox.
Fernando Wood. John Morrisey, the prize
fighter; Proctor Knott, "Pig-iron" Kelley,
Eihu Washburne Robert Schenck, Dan
Voorhees,, Bingham, of Ohio, Holman, EbOn
c. lngersol, lfUar, Dawes, and many others
who have since won regulations in the poll
tics of the country.
The men were pretty well rated by the
pages. The wind-bags and blatherskites
were known as such and the men whose
words had weight in the deliberations were
listened to with studious appreciation.
| The personal likes or dislikes OF the boys
did not affect this grading. The boys often
respected the men they did not like Gar
field was regarded as a heavyweight, al
though he lost the goodwill of the young
sters by voting against proposed increase
ot their pay Others that were liked for
their good nature and easy familiarity with
the boys, were known by them to be lights
Of lesser magnitude and treated accordingly.
10 the Inflated this statement may seem
trivial, but the page boys exercise a
greater influence upon public affairs than
any except, perhaps, the page boys
know. They save many errors and have
often materially changed the record upon
some question of lmpO. tanca. In the Con
duced by Erastus Wells, who, because of
that patronage, was regarded with great
! affection by the Democratic side. He was
| the only bov out of twenty-one in that
| Republican Congress VINO had secured his
! appointment through the interceSsion of a
| Democrat. That Democrat, Mr.. Wells, had
| accomplished the object of having his appli-
cation indorsed by the entire Missouri dele
| CATION, upon which some such good Repub-
iicans at that time as G. A. Finklenburg,
| d. Z. Dyer and Van Horn of Kansas City.
| The boys were politicians and as each boy,
| in a measure, was guided by the desire of
| his patron member there We're twenty of
the twenty one that held Republican ideas
The Democrats, therefore, made much of
the Democratic boy. They were making
great minority fight. The reconstruc-
uon of the South, the stringent election
policy of Grant, and the Northern
| protection of manufactures were the issues.
With two-thirds majority against them
the Democrats could do but little more with
any important measure than tilibuster for
its delay The proceedings were always so
cut and dried that they lacked the interest
of doubtful result. Under this atmosphere
the time of many of the minority was given
up to pleasure. Social companies in the
committee rooms when no meetings were
there, wine parties in Downing's restaurant,
which was in the capitol basement and
quiet games of draw under the good Repub-
hcau code as framed by the able draw
poker opponents, Schenck, and held at the
CaspaIis House-a hotel across the street
used to constitute their duty. A few Dem
| ocratic pickles would often be left on the
floor to make dllatory motions and retard
the progress of Republican legislation, and
the fight was nearly Away, a skirmish. 1t
sometimes came to issues however, and
| issues of such importance that every MEM
Der was anxious TO go upon the record. At
such times the page IN question would
quietly disappear from the floor, and with
! shppered fleetness make the rounds of the
| rendezyouses drumming up the Democratic
| vote. The piclletS on the floor would fight
| for time and look fundly at the knowing
! boy who had slipped out at doorway, and
before the call of the ayes and noes was
completed the Democrats would begin to
come out of the timber. They would come
in at every door and, catching the eye of
| the Speaker, desire to have their nance
| called. This maneuver often saved the
| day, and upon questions where one-third
| negative would defeat, as those of reconsid-
Grafton, it won, at times, decided victory.
| None but page boy could have recruited
| the ranks. A hurrying member would
have occasioned too much excitement. Le-
sides being ridiculous, but page-boy on a
dead lope was no unuSual,sigLt.
Among the Casparis group, that is, the
crowd who found a soothing solace in the
| beverages OF that inn, was Sunset Cox
| He was brilliant talker, full of good ma
! ture as rule, and his wit has often bright
ened the dull days of routine and medfoc-
rity. He was loved by all the boys and
| treated them with kindness whose recol-
! lection, now that they are men, warns
many heart toward him. On one occa-
sion the Democratic page had called the
| p. etc member from the midst Of; frater-
nal group at the Casparis to vote upon a
measure of Importance.
Its determination had come unexpectedly.
AMI Mr.. Cox not expecting it, had failed to
| be as abStemious of the cheer as he might
| have done had be foreseen the need his
party would have of him on the floor.
| Rising quickly, however, in response to the
call, he took the boys arm and the two
made reasonably straight line for the
capitol. At that time the building was
seldom free from some delegation of
Indians, who had come at the governments
expense to make some impossible re-
quest A chief of such delegation was
standing at the lobby entrance when the
member and the boy came in. Sunset was on
the war-path. and at the sight of old Yellow
Dog, or whatever the banketed delegate
called himself. the member emitted war
whoop that had enough red paint in it to go
round the tribe. Then, taking a surge to
leeward, the Congressman locked arms with
the lnjun, and throwing the other round
the page bows neck sailed like n triumnh