The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-07-25

The House having gotten along SC nicely
with the public business, the Senate is com
ing in FOR not little criticism at its slow
methods. The lack of any rule whereby
ceaseless talk may be shut off, is the point of
attack, and the observer of Senate proceed
lngs Will agree that this point Is well taken.
Happen into the Senate gallery at almost
any time Of day and the visitor will see
below him, in the quiet and nicely furnished
hall, what resembles gentleman's club at
an hour of the day when business is over at
the banks and in the counting rooms. Eight
or ten, or fifteen or twenty or thirty, pros
porous looking, well dressed and well be-
haved gentlemen are sitting quietly writing
letters, reading the daily newspapers or en-
j0yiDg quiet conversations in groups of two
or three, or even four. There will generally
be one member on his feet talking in sub
dued and conversational tone which suggests
the distant humming of bees ON sleepy
summer day. Perhaps one or two other
Senators may be listening to the effort; if
ten Senators are constrained to listen, it is
something of unusual interest, and on those
rare occasions when any Senator gets an at.
tentive audience of thirty or forty of his
fellows, or 0ne-half Of the membership of
the body, the speech Is heralded forth in the
newspapers as a great oratorical effort. Be
cause this is so, 1t must not be inferred that
the Senators talk nonsense. They are, most
Of them, very wise men-although the wisest
ones are not those who talk the most-and
what they say is generally worth listening
to II the subject Is one upon which the
hearer thinks it worth while to lay up
knowledge. But honey even will clOy if
taken of too constantly, and so 1t Is with
Senate speeches. So every Senator Is satia-
ted in his capacity as a listener to speeches,
although as deliverers Of speeches some of
them never tire. Every Senator may speak
as long and as often on any measure as he
sees fit, and very many Of them Improve the
| privilege.
Go into the Senate almost any day and
| you may hear Reagan of Texas or Morgan of
Alabama talking; but you must beware lest
you drop asleep under the influence Of their
rhetoric. You will notice that most of the
other Senators have already taken the alarm,
and have departed bey ond the sphere of in
| fiuence. Many of them are In the cloak
| rooms and more down in their committee
| rooms. The debate may continue all day
| without tenth part Of the Senators present
| to listen. The day will have passed in mere
| vocal exercises which have entertained no
one but the few men who hau tne chance to
carry on the speaking. There has been no
| conflict of mind In that way that settles
| points of controversy and sifts out the true
| from false In short there has been talk
| but not debate Much has been said that
| will be read advantageously by the eonstitu-
ant but little has been heard by the Senators
whose votes are to determine the question.
1t would be too sweeping an assertion to
say that this state Of affairs is in accordance
with the universal rule of business there
1t is merely condition into which the Sem
ate is continually drifting because of its
lack of any metes and bounds as to its tasks
Like a boy with task to perform and no
limit set Tor completing the work. the Senate
is apt 70 loiter. III 1t could have a rule
whereby 1t might set a time when each task
should be, completed, there would be more
energy and more accomplished.
Ihe abest men in the Senate are not the
men who do most of the talking. Sherman.
Hiscock, Edmunds and Eyarts do not talk
often. And they do not listen to what Is
said any more than they can help. Eyarts
may be an exception in this respect, how
ever. He Is In his seat much of the time,
but the others spend much Of their time in
their committee rooms. Edmunds has
convenient arrangement whereby one Of the
pages informs him If anything worth hear
ing is going on, especially If Vest Of MissOu-
ri Is saying anything. In the latter case the
Vermonter always hurries up and proceeds
to take the scalp Of the Mlssourian. On