Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-10

iOuDs Win Udllus loose at MS slucs
he is often an object Of interest to visitors to
the Capitol, who can stand at a remote door
and look In where they may not enter. Stop
ping for a moment with his hands behind him
and his bulky form casting q shapely shadow
on the bright carpet he sometimes stands and
looks through one of the archways and through
the window beyond with thoughtful and per-
picked expression, and then with gesture of
Impotence starts on again with his walk. This
Is where he does his hard thlnking-lf thinking
Is ever hard TO him. When he is impatient he
here walks off his impotence. and here some
times he has 1t out with some obstreperous lit
tie member, reasoning with HIM like parent
with child. look Of resignation and en-
forced amiability comes over his round face
when talking with some pestiferous mediocrite
member, and he reasons calmly and with staid
dehberatiOn and minuteness, bringing his man.
ner down 10 the understanding of the man he
has to deal with.
MORE ACCESSIBLE NOW THAN THEN.
Mr.. Reed is always accessible to those who
want to talk with him, and is apt to give a
frank il not always a satisfactory answer to
questions. The democrats, to be sure are not
on the best of terms with him. and many re-
frain from having any communication with him
that Is not absolutely necessary. but, for his
own part, he is accessible to everybody. His
intercourse is largely with his own party, of
course. He is a greatly changed man since he
{.
and the democrats say tyrannical, but, contrary
to the usual custom, instead of becoming more
reserved, being Speaker, his whole man.
ner has undergone a change in the other
direction. He has always held in contempt a
man who to use vulgar parlance, gets the ''big
head with advanced position. As a member
on the door of the House, while free talker.
Reed was reserved in many ways and was con-
genial only on occasion. As Speaker. he holds
his time at the disposal of members of the
House. and. with a certain amount of suitable
dignity, is affable to every one who speaks with
him. He has struck that happy faculty of never
appearing to be in hurry. and has curbed his
wit and diluted his sarcasm, and is the only
Speaker in many terms of Congress who is al
ways ready to talk with newspaper men in a
frank
oPEN-AND-s SHUT SORT OF WAY
thing he was not SO fond of d DING when
merely member on the floor. 1t must not be
understood that he has the bearing of a man
who is trying TO curry favors or make himself
popular. There is nothing of that in his atti-
tude. but he has evidently discovered that
somebody has got 10 talk and is probably
aware that he has the faculty of saying just
what he wants to, no more and no less. He Is
never in seclusion. A member, a newspaper
man or any one else whose business can prop
erly demand attention will find Reed always
ready to see him. He never runs away from
anybody, or hides to keep from being
bothered. He is not afraid of being over
persuaded and therefore stands up boldly
braced against the strongest pressure that can
be brought upon him to make him change his
course. Members who have favOrs TO ask find
ii easy enough to get at HIM, and are listened
to whether they get what they want or not, de-
pending upon his own judgment. He Is more
the power of his party than any leader
they have had in the House. He meets with
immense obstacles, and has very serious
a
every question that arises he Is almost certain
to have his way in the end. He will 60 Just as
far in the direction he wants to as he can pos
sibly take his party with him, and he knows
pretty well how to measure his own power. IL
is almost marvellous the way he has studied
the dispositions Of the men he has to deal with
In bis own party.
HIS POLITICAL ANTAGONISTS.
The democrats are his antagonists and he
fights them openly with all his might. asks no
odds gives no quarter, and doesn't give "A CONT
mental whether they like him or what he docs
or not, and doesn't care how mad they get how
much he disturbs them or how much they cry
out against him. But the antagonism he meets
with in his own party has got to be overcome
in different way, and to do this has cost him
an immense labor. With most any other man
In his place, the party dissensions OF the
majority would have been proclaimed over
the land, and breaches would have occurred in
the ranks which would probably have made
the session q failure, but he has worked in
secret, by night and by day, with the party
a body and with individuals to keen them in
solid column and always moving forward in
obedience to the policy he deems wisest. He
has not always been successful in bringing
about what he desired, but he has smothered
his own disappointments and has never let the
public into any disagreement he may have had
with part OF his party. There il quite strong
element the marty which he has contend
with In nearly every important proposition he
advances, but by discreet use Of coercion, or
diplomacy, the case required, lie has usually
brought the obstreperous members to terms.
THE NEW RULES.
The new rules which were adopted are not
all that he would have had them, but they are
very much stronger than they would have
been il he had not overcome this antagonistic
element The House under these rules has
been making very rapid progress with a great
mass of Legislation, which is more or less local
in Its character. The progress with the more
general and more important propositions has
not been as great. Reed doubtless has
his own ideas about what should
matters and they will all be worked out in
private in many instances with the utmost
labor on his part to smooth out rough places
and harmonic differences before being
brought up for a vote in the House. One
hardly appreciate the immensely OF the task
he has undertaken, aud to accomplish it he has
had to keep himself in touch with every MEM
Der of his party, in a way that was never be-
fore necessary for him to do. His plan has
always been to prevent hasty action when it
was apt to go against his notions of what ought
to be and to give time for the working
of his power, his logic and his diplomacy TO
bring about a different result. He knows the
members of his party SO we'll that it is merely
question OF time in any case when he shall
bring them around to somewhere near his own
position. He may have won the support Of
some member by calling him to the chair to
preside when such thing fiatters his vanity,
while in another case he has forced support by
will power and savage determination, He
diagnoses his man and then mixes his med