Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-02-13

WASHINGTON, February II, 1890

Nothing like the scenes that preceded
the taking up of the West Virginia con-
tested election case have been witnessed
in the House in many years. Speaker
Reed more than fulfilled the expectation
of both his friends and his opponents in
the mastery manner in which he smash
ed precedent that told against him, and
gathered from afar that which was in
his favor. To be sure, it seemed bit
inconsistent to quote Governor Hill and
the Tennessee legislature as precedents
for course which Speakers of the
House of Representative had repeatedly
pronounced but desperate ills require
drastic pills, and consistency, like pre-
cedent, is old fashioned and good deal
of bore anyway. OF course, this was
only some of Mr.. Reed IS sardonic humor,
cynical concession to appearances
Mr.. Reed was placed in the Speakers s
chair because it was believed that he
could be relied on to do the serious work
party exigency required should be done
in the House of Representatives, and
anyone, Democrat or Republican, who
imagined Mr.. Reed would allow prece-
dent or anything short of superior phys
ical force stand in way of his doing what
his party expected him to do, plainly
had an imperfect knowledge of the
gentleman's characteristics. Perhaps
Mr.. Reeds guerrilla raids on precedent
result in a much-needed modernization
of parliamentary procedure; still, it
would have been better if these raids
had been made for other than immedi-
ate, unmistakable and unmitigated party
purposes.
~
"If you think that a Congressman
lot is a happy one" SAID a Western
Senator, 81 would like for you to be at
my elbow for sixteen hours out of the
twenty-four. Most people fancy that
when Congress is not in session men,
Der finds it hard to kill time. On the
contrary, man who attends to his busi-
ness conscientiously has scarcely an hour
that he can call his own. When l take
my seat in the Senate and the session
begins it is almost impossible to sit ten
going on. Cards come in shaols. The
first impulse is not to receive them but
that is discourteous and sometimes dan
gerous If it is woman who is turned
away-God help me, have made an
enemy for life. So it goes, and the re-
suit is that the man who is not pachy-
derm yields and is lost. In the after
noon comes more hours over correspon-
dence. Some of us keep two private
secretaries busy, and they do not keep
up with our mail. For months at time
my postage amounts to So day, or
about 20 per cent. of my salary. And
yet so smart fellow as Amos Cummings
says it is so nice to be Senator |
hope he may some day have an oppor-
tunity to try it."
*x*
Senator Farwell has a theory that
President Harrison is settling old scores
in making appointments. He is report
ed to have said apropos of the appoint
ment of Mr.. Clark, as collector of the
port of Chicago 81 construe Mr.. Harri-
sons action in this matter-his refusal
to appoint Mr.. Campbell-as deliberate
affront, and no doubt he intended it as
such. He seems to think that the offices
belong to him personally, and not to the
people. Mr.. Lincoln thought otherwise.
Mr. Campbell devoted much of his time
and his whole energies for the election
of Mr.. Harrison. Mr.. Clark did not do
this. But, then, this is Mr.. Harrison's
way of rewarding political friends. |
regret that he entertains such notions
for it will result in the disruption of the
party to which he and l belong 1t
seems to me-" continued the Senator,
that it is the duty of those holding i'm
portant official positions to try and carry
out the will of the people, but in this
matter, Mr.. Harrison has wholly ignored
them, and so far as | remember this is
the first instance in which the wishes of
the entire delegation in Congress from
any State have been so completely dis
regarded"
*x*
1t did not require last weeks triumph
to entitle Mr.. Springer to the belt as the
great American vociferator. He out
talked the Speaker, Mr.. Mckinley and
the whole House and made a "barren
ideality" of the recollection of the vocal
performances of the late William Allen.
Mr. Crisp's crisp sentences in the
House last week bid fair to blaze his
way to the United States Senate. The
Georgia people are naming him as a
successor to Senator Brown.
Mr.. Samuel Randall is always in favor
of protection. This time it is protection
against Speaker Reed and his party is a
unit with him and he has the pleasure
OF seeing the wings Tapping together.
ferhaps it is well for the Republican
] tlNnlC