The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-13
AC0NGRESSMANS DUTIES
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF a REPRE-
SENTATIVE.

OiSbTdCbluIlS w men AbA W Luo
Burdens of statesma7ship.
Copyright 1882
WASHINGTON. Jan, l2-The work Of
many a congressman is never finished. His
duties are usually proportional to the
proximity Of his district to Washington.
Even with the aid Of Of stenographic
secretary, the work will accumulate.
Tnos. whose means forbid the employment
Of such a secretary, are in as sad a predica-
ment as was SIsyphus. They are ever on
the jump 10 clear away the work directly
before them. Each day piles up a new
mail, an dams the stream Of congressional
life with fresh requests. A mornings mail
may require o visit to each department Of
the government. Sucn visits necessitats
either absence from Committee meetings or
neglect Of duties in the Honse Of Represen-
tatves. There are tedious wa things at the
doors Of Cabinet Mini tiers and tlresome
conferences with their subOrdinates. Fte-
Quently the official wanted is NOT tO be
found Repeated ca Is are thus required
before any information can b. ecured or
the request filed A ab3eace from q com
mittes meeting entailSa 1858 of the run Of a
business before the committee BIS in
directly Interested may be stihed or refer
red 10 sub-comittees, IRE 10 report agai st
them. Nearly every Congressman Is "a
member OF two C mmittees They US ally
me Il once a weeS, bus frequently more
o.Ceu. The Congressman will also find him
self "a member OF two or more Sub-cOmmit-
tees which also meet once o week. These
meetings are commonly held at 10 o'clock
a. m. and last until noon, when the House
is called to order Thus at least four morn
ings week are required for workiag com
mltteeS. In addition to this, the repreSan-
tative may land upon an Investigation
committee. This may eat W his remain
Ing morning hours, and will probably con
sume few hours bordering On midnight.
Tho House is snre 81 be in session until after
O'Clock p M, when the departments are
CLOSED. IL IS tuus utterly imp0sslbl, for a
member to seek offices, hunt pensi )ns, beg
for discharges and do similar work without
naglectng his Legislative duties. Old mem
bers al , avs have the pun with tue de art
mants by virtue Of their superior places on
committees. They know the value Of time
both in the capitol and elsewhere To
avoid Il conflict of their political with thor
leg slative duties, they usually secure an
adjournment from FRIDAY until Monday
This gives thim Saturday to make a round
Of the departments. The new member,
with hi, insignificant places on insignia
cant com aItteas, stands poor chaAce Oh
Sa urdays, uul-s IS Le has the backing OF
some powerful state or national poiitl-
cIaa.
A few congressman take the bull directly
by the horns. Iuey either turn thoir backs
on tne House and its committees and de-
vote themselve; entirely tn tue dsplrtm 3nt',
OF they shake Off the flee s. kers and try
to become real Statesmen. The man who
aims to fill both biil7 usually fails. The
man who never misses a meeting in com
mittee and who is ALWAYS in attendance a.
the Housa, will, in the ed, become 50
powerful that he can commanl patronage
Instead of begging 1t. His collea que who
shlrks his wor k in committee aud attends
the sessions irleglarly will always remain a
pl9ce seeker, aud finally loses what little
influence lie may have had when first cleo
ted. He becomes OF no be- eft t. either bis
constitute It's or the political rs who placed
him in nomination. The sooner political
leaders understand this the better for them
selves aud their country.
" hen on the floor of the House it is diff
ticult for member to concentrate his at
tention upon the bu mess in hand. Nom
eutarily cards and letters of Introduction
are rOugho to him. blony of the car Is are
from total strangers aud al least half Of the
letters from casual acqudiu. anees Ii he
begins by answering every call, lie will
quic.dy lose track OF legislation, and be
entirely Mt sea. What are they voting
onN How are yon gong to voteln "How
shall | vote" and similar questions arc
asked when yer yea an Hay vote is taken.
The lobby are clothed with congressman en-
tced from their seats by visitors. The old
members o their return usually "yote
with the commit eesn Ia other words
Jhey ascertain what the chat man Of rhe
co nmi,tee who reported the bill wants, and
vote as he wishes, without hearing a soil
tary fact or argument Thi comfy of
committee has great influence in legisla-
tion. IL may defeat a most meritorous
measure, and it may shove through a
mighty ad ole. Irou-cad veterans OF tho
House, like Holman, Randall and Kelly,
answer no cards unless the business is OF
the utmost importance. Holman watches
legislation as cat watches a rat hole. He
He is up TO all the tricks and traps of the
iobbles. Many man whose objection
W uld have defeated he consideration Of a
bill mas been called from the door at a criti-
cal moment by the presentation Of a card
fro n n visitor. The now member is almost
always the victim. II he courteolsly res
ponds to cards, he is QUICKLY overwhelmed
Women beset him from all quarters. Oae
wants u place in u department, another
impl0res his influence on behalf Of page,
u thrd will seek his aid for a private
a petition for him TO present, and 50 on until
the iucorrigiblo book agent is reached Nor
are thess the only visitors School mates Of
long ago. and transient acquaiutances
pes -er him. Confidence operators probe
his pockets, and cranks fill his ears with
pet theories A man might as well try to
do a mental sum in multiplication and keep
track of the buttons on a keno card at the
same moment as to hold tho thread OF 10 yis-
lation under such circumstances
Nor are these cards the only things that
distract the attention OF a member while Mt
his desk. He is inundated every day with
applications for bill, reports an other
public documents. Many of these date
back for years. 1t requires a keen nose ard
much tiuesso 10 secure some of them. Too
member may II be entitled to them II
so, he must ascertain VINO owns them and
trade Other documents for them. Then
there ore inquiries concerning the status OF
must be learned while the Hou.e is in ses-
SION, because It is the only tins when you
are reasonably certain of finding the per
sons who can give the information. Add
10 this the noise and contusiOn accompany
iuy legislation, incidental conversation ~ h
fellow MEMBERS the charm OF the story
teller, tie half hour for lunch. and parla-
ment, any intilclcies, and you will begin
10 see how difficult it is for a new member
10 understood what /, before the House. a
greeahorn on the stock exchange would do
almost as well The House may twist it.
self into committee OF the whole, and Le-
,Ome uuLWlstHd "a uOZ u times without at