Telegram-herald., 1890-03-28

The sefzSse a. o<s< . = ccDg t9l2=r2ts mass
of insincerlty. Snd il Is IS ins-ncsre and
affected ia ia dignity - IL 10 yatE4o- sIn.
These cid chaps. y h0 are - eager - pan
ish other poopls fog violation ~ F1ies
~n2ch they are nos s~0rn ~ respect.
themselves disregard the rules, - hich
tbey are under oath - Obey, whenever Il
ssIits their congeni~nce ~ do 80. A week
or two ago the Chairman Of the very
COMMITTEES which is trying % rua down
the manner IN which executive session
secrets ars given % the public. gave 3
SALMON lunch in the senate restaurant.
The senate was soon dspopalated There
. rule Of the senate which declares
that no senator shall leave the service of
the ssnats without having been excused.
On this occasion the sergeant az arms re-
ported that there were twenty-five sena-
tors ia the restaurant, and that when he
informed them they were wanted up
stairs 70 attend 70 the public business,
said senators cOoIiy told him they were
TOO busy 20 move. One Of the rules Of
the senate Is that the restaurant must
not sell Intoxicating liquors. yet seven
cases OF champagne were opened at this
lunch and several bottles Of brandy and
whisky. Every day grave and digDified
senator's may be seen drinking whisky in
the senate restaurant, the rule 10 the
contrary Notwithstanding; and when
they want whisky nowadays thsy say
whisky, and do not call for cold tea.
This is the only regular ceremonial in
the senate which, so far "a | have OBJ
served, does not SAVIOR Of sham and prud-
cry.
Excluiveness is one OF tho first ele-
ments Of dignity as defined by the sena-
tors. They are exclusive even in the
violation OF their own rules. When they
go down stairs 70 drink whisky they like
TO do 50 in private, and so they provide
in their rules that 1.-The large private
room Of the restaurant shall be reserved
exclusively for senator's and their guests,
while ''the small private room shall be
reserved exclusively for the use of sena-
tors and members Of the house of repre-
sentatives, and such use of the private
rooms shall not be interfered with" In
other words, the vulgar public must stay
out altogether. while the members Of the
house may sit down and drink whisky
only In the outer sanctun.
Politeness is another theory Of dignity
according 10 the senatorial Interpretation.
But this, also, is bit of sham and de-
lusion. Their politeness is often but
veneer for malice and sarcasm and irony.
For instance, a western senator rises TO
introduce bill which citizen Of a state
adjoining his has sent him. Il introduce
this bill by request" says the senator.
with solemn politeness, land add that
do not indorse the bill, that do not know
the man who sent it to me, and that /
should have preferred to send him the
name Of one of the senators from his
state" How deferential and sweet all
this appears, but look for the sting in the
insects tail. 1t happens that the senator
in question does not like either of the
senator's from the state he has mentioned,
and also that the senators from that state
are not as yet famous men, and hence,
Il should have preferred sending my
correspondent the name of one of his
senator's"
One of the unwritten laws of the SEN
ate, one of the traditions which have
grown out Of its efforts to maintain its
own dignity, requires the senators in po-
litical sympathy with a new senator to
sit and listen to his first or maiden speech,
no matter how unanimously they NAV
afterward absent themselves when he
takes the floor A week ago Senator
Higgins made his maiden offort in the
senate, and only five Republican senators
were in their seats.
Under this thin coat Of politeness all
sorts of personal enmities and jealous;es
seethe. The senate has just one-fourth
the number of members contained in the
house, and three times as many cases Of
personal bad feeling. | suppose that
comes from too much dignity, and the
cultivation of that quality as some peo-
pie cultivate mushrooms.
The new senator who presumes to take
advantage Of the superficial politeness
and "we-apples-swim" tendency OF the
august BODY, will make a serious mis-
take. There was an instance OF this
few weeks ago. \ new senator from the
west, who had been but n few weeks in
his seat. wanted the senate to 80 into
executive session. and made a motion
70 that effect. This seemed harmless
enough. but the older senators were hor-
ri6ed. They coughed and bemmed and
stared at the new man till the poor fell
low imagined he had committed the
crime Of sedition or arson. The presid-
ing officer. who chanced TO DC one Of the
cider senators. preserved his presence OF
mind. and was for the n0nce convenient
II deaf. He didn't hear the motion. and
the senate went on with some other busi-
ness. Then two or three Of the Old fell
lows gathered around the new man and
whispered in his ear:
Didn't you know that il is one OF the
traditions Of tho senate that a senator
must have been here two years before
he can move to % into executive ses-
sions"
Ten minutes later senator who had
served the required two years made the
executive SESSION motion. and the gong
sounded three times the doors were
closed. the vulgar public retired. and the
senate went solemnlv into scores session,
tia oil chaps sossiping n the cloak
rooms about the Young senator's blum
der ike \ parcel Of old maids AZ a quilt
inS. But the dignity of the senate must
be preserved. WALTER NELIMAN
Feeling Eiu--