The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-08-27
The Old Senate Clock.


Another old institution is doomed. The
old clock of the United States Senate is
to be discarded. Senator Edmnnds. SEN
ator Ingalls, and others. close observers Of
the flight Of time. complained last Mon
day that the old clock under the gallery
and over the main entrance to the Senate
chamber had not been regular and reli-
able in its performances recently, and on
the motion of the Senator from Vermont
I , resolution was adopted insirueting the
sergeant-at-arms to purchase a.new clock
to take the place Of the old one.
This is an event of no small conse-
quence The duties which lie before the
future time-piece Of the Senate chamber
are somewhat uncertain at present, but
they are sure to be important and exact
ing. Heretofore the fight Of time was
matter of little consequence in the Sen
ate. ~The gentlemzn's time has expired"
is an expression which the auditor in the
House gallery will hear coming from the
Speaker every few minutes but "The
Senator's time has expiued'' is an iniune-
tion which no man has ever heard in the
Senate chamber.
| \ resolution recently offered by Sena-
tor Edmunds to limit speeches on the
tariff bill to five minutes each may. how
ever, change all this, and then the Senate
! clock will have important duties 70 per
form. 1t will be required to be regular
in its habits, thoroughly reliable in its
performances and always in good work
ing order
The old clock which IS now to be rele-
gated to the limbo Of things which have
outIived their usefulness, has in its time
rendered the State some important SER
vices. For instance. the Constitution
provides that every Congress shall expire
on the 81 of March, and that on the Gth
of March the life of the new Congress
shall begin. But everybody knows that,
in practice, the old Congress works on
through the night of the 81 of March till
noon the next day, the rules making that
the terminus of the legislative day.
But even the liberal extension granted
by the rules has not satisfied the insatiate
Legislators. 1t has hardly ever happened
that Congress has got through its work
by noon on March 4. Before the act of
adjournment the President must have
signed all bills which need to become
laws, for none can be signed afterward.
The procrastination of Congress and the
final necessity Of waiting for the Presi-
dents signatures have combined to pro-
duce such situation that if some expe-
dient bad not been found outside the
Constitution, the laws and the written
rules, the government would often have
been left without money to defray the
expenses of the coming year.
But the expedient was found As the
brass hands approached the midday mark
on the blue dial Of the old Senate clock,
Captain Bassett, the silvery-haired usher
of the senate chamber, would walk SOL
emnly up to the clock with a long pole in
his hand and turn the hands backward
The realization Of the poets wish, "Back-
ward, turn backward, . time, in thy
fight" may be accomplished as well in
the future by some other clock and by
long pole in the hands Of some less IA
miliar usher but it seems proper that a
timepiece Of such associations should not
be allowed TO retire without a valedictory
word.