The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-02-12
Relative Working Capacity Of
the Two Houses.
, CONGRESSIONAL BUCKET SHOP
Wealth of Flowers at Banquets-The
Reporters-Mrs. Stanford's
LuncheOn-Etc.
WASHINGTON, February 6, 1888.

New members of the House OF Repre-
.sentatives always start out IN their
,Congregressional career by berating
the Senate for its habit of adjournlng
on Thursday, and doing nothing until
the following Monday, and the present
Heuse has made mention of this So
called Senatorial laziness in terms that
could hardly be characterized as polite
or proper. What are the facts in the
case? The Senate adjourns on Thurs
day evening, and at $50 on the follow
ing morning the committee rooms are
filed with busy Senators engaged in
getting measures adjusted, so that they
may be in proper condition to present
when the Upper House re-assembles.
The rules OF order, in the Senate, are as
simple as they possibly can be, while
the machinery with which the House is
run is of the most complex description,
every remote or possible point being
provided for; yet there are none of
those scenes in the Senate that so often
disturb the House. Nothing short of
an earthquake could stop debate in
the latter body. but when business has
TO be done by the more dignifed aggre-
CATION, the Senator who occupies the
floor at the time, willingly gives way 20
its prompt consideration, and in less
time than it takes to tell it, the matter
is satisfactorily settled. Debate in the
Senate rarely becomes as heated as it
often does in the House, and all things
seem to be done decently, and in order.
AS an evidence of its capacity for legis-
Iation, it would seem to be enough to
state that there were not more than ten
bills of the House that the Senate failed
to pass last session, while over one
thousand Senate bills were not even
considered by the representatives.
The relative working capacity OF the
two bodies is now receiving consider
able attention, because it will not be
long ere the number of members of the
House must be increased to give States
their proper representation under the
new census. The number of members
will be not less than four hundred, and
the hall of the House cannot contain
so many desks. The larger number Of
members will make the House more
unwilling than ever, and the amount of
work done, will, therefore, be CORE
spondingly less. The matter has been
seriously considered by a number of
prominent statesmen, and it will not be
surprising if there is some movement
made toward legislation that will pre-
vent any large increase of member
ship.
To report the proceedings in Con-
gross for the daily newspapers of the
country is by no means an easy task.
While the official stenographers of both
House and Senate give verbatim re-
ports of every debate and legislative
transaction, the Associated Press
representatives are called upon TO give
a synopsis OF the proceedings, which
must be so complete that the public
will have an intelligent and correct idea
of what iranspires in the halls of Con-
gress each cay. This work is by no
means easy, and requires 81 ecial train
ing on the part of the reporter who is
selected for this important duty. In :
the first place, the Associated Press {
must be stenographer; !
he must, moreover, have a general ;
knowledge of events past and present,
besides quick perceptive faculties, and t
a general acquaintance with the Sena- I
tors aid uemhers, in order that he :
may perform his duties satisfactorily, :
He is neld respups BILE for any errors f
which may creep into his report, and. q
anding the utmost caution, | +
they Will sometimes occur. His news d
sense" must be very keen, for he has
lots of chatf to weed out from debates. h
He picks out all the "tid-bits f." and v
gives only the salient points to the b
hundreds of thousands who read his re- d
ports. For the past fifteen years, this a
work has been performed by two men, a
both members Of the same family, and n
in this instance is seen the truthfulness Il
Of the adage like father. like SON." "
1t was IN 1872 that Mr.. Henry g. HAYES II
first undertook the work of reporting Il
The proceedings of the House for the b
Associated Press, and he filed the II
position In a most able manner until he 70
was appointed to more lucrative posi- ST
ion, as one of the official Committee
OF the House. At this Juno
lure, he was succeeded by his son
Charles ]. Hayes, who still. holds this h,
position on the floor of the di
House. His father had trained him to q,
he work, and now the old gentleman b.
avs that Charlie makes a better renort h.
han his father did. Mr.. HAYES. Sen. HI
when the political complexion of the to
House changed. some four years ago. al
ost his position as committee reporter. if
md for two years past has been en-
.aged in renorting the Senate proceed OF
ngs for the Associated Press. Al m
bough now ever sixty years of age, he al
TILL retains the vigor of his early man hc
Iood. and writes with Il hand that be
.nows no tremor Every one who &C
eads the daily Congressional reports th
yiIl doubtless be pleased to know some tn
hing of the men who report them. II
There was.a large sized sensation up tn