Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-07

Asiessing Pis~~s fer the New Meuhers Z
~

Atiessing Pis~~s fcr the New Mernh~rs -
tho Upper He..s.
WHEN HORACE A. W. TABOR OF COL
w orsdo occupied q seat in the Cnited stat-<
senate for three short months some years sse
he was anxious 70 ascertain what situations %
the noor Of the upper house were occupied IN
GAYS gone by by other great men. such -
webster, Clay and Calhoun at the time whsn
mat grave and reverend body assembled ~
what Is now the chamber Of the Supreme Court.
Learning that Can't Isaac Bas~ett WAS tl-e
only person living who possessed the Informs
ton required, he went 90 The venerable a.
sistant doorkeoper Of afty years service ed
sought to elicit the points.
Unfortunately Capt. Bassett was even then en-
gagged. as he is at this day upon a boob xhi.h
Is destined 10 render him immortal reg.rai.~
the past history Of tho Senate % the Uaitea
States. He refused. as he has always done a
make any Communication on the subject. which
represents 10 him so much literary capital.
Whereupon the senator from Colorado swo~e
with much emphasis that pcsterity should rst
suffer for want Of acquaintance with the par-
ticular spot in which his own senatorial corpss
had found repose during his three months a.
eumbency, and. with this purpose in view. ne
used his diamond sleeve buttons both OF them
set with large brilliants OF the first water ~
make certain deep tracks and curliqneues in
the wood Of his desk. Having thus left III.
mark upon the legislative furniture. il not
upon the Senate's history. he retired into pSi-
waite life. after informing the newspaper core
spondents that his seat might always in the
future be identified by the signs he had left
THE MARKS WE'RE KrrscED.
One year later the ex-senator revisited WASH
ington. in private capacity, and took a party
OF friends to gaze upon the chamber wherein
his oratory had once thrilled the pulses Of the
nation. Ii was between sessions and he sought
70 point out the very desk behind which he hid
Formerly been enthroned. Alas n desk IVES
there. but il wac just like all the others WIN
out SO much rs q scratch 20 distinguish ID fnr
the information of generations to come CApt
Bassett had had the marks filed up with putty
and vanished over, so that no trace remained
Sic gloria mundil
1 IL Is Capt. Bassett who bestows all the seats
| upon Senators. He has had twelve brand new
ones put IN recently the republican side 10
accommodate the gentlemen whom the legisln-
lures OF the new states have duly elected
Also, there are some TO be added Immediately
/ ON the democratic side for the OCCUPANCY ~
democrats who have recently busted repuliIi-
cans The new seats will fill out very respect
able fourth row. They are not desirable ne
those farther front. but their occupants vii
have opportunities to move up later on il tkev
serve many years. First-rate places on the floor
are only 10 be got by waiting and BY filing ap,li-
cations with Capt. Bassett where a vacancy il
likely or possible. senator Mashburn applied
/ for Ingalls, position nearly year ago when no
one else imagined that the great man from
Kansas would be left out. and 20 he gets H.
Priority OF application IL understood 10 rale
always, though IL has Oeen alleged that the ven
cradle captain permits personal prejudice 20
sway him sometimes I'm deciding such matters.
THE DESIRABLE SEATS
As to what is a desirable seat on the Senata
| floor tastes differ. The second row on the
republican side IL the king row. Along ID in
order to the left from the center aisle have
sat Roscoe Conkling. Allison. ingalls,, Blaise
Hoar and sherman-truly formidable hne.
Conkling, at the end, used the aisle ms
platform when he spoke. and from that stage
delivered his most effective determinations
| On the other hand Edmunds and Morrill,.
both OF whom have served 30 long In che
Senate that they might he in what seats they
pleased occupy places in the front row. frsm
| which point OF vantage the baldheaded sage
| from Vermont insrfucts the Vice President
/ from time to time in the parliamentary
methods of the upper house. telling him what
he should do IN this case and that. But NEST
1 Senators think that the second row IL better.
because il affords a more judicious perspective
from the chairs point Of view. That IL the
main point in a seat--namely, the opportunity
II gives FOR catching the chairmans eve. Other
/ tohsiuttahoiie. hoNtNtf. tnltr INTO tle pruD-
lem. Senator Reagan, who is trife deaf 80
that he leans forward with hand at ear when a
colleague speaks. has recently filed the first
seat in the first democratic row, Immediately
beneath and TO the right Of the Vice Press
dents desk.
The place now held by Senator Reagan as
once occupied by Oliver +. Morton. Morton
was lame and had an attachment fixed 90 his
desk 10 rest has cane-crutch upon. Eustis Of
Louisiana has had Allen G. Thurrnanis I'D
chair-the fourth to the right Of the center
aisle in the second row. The sixth desk in the
same line was held for years by Thomas y.
Baysrd. Augustus ii. Garland had the trent
seat TO the extreme right during all the time
he was Senator. Senator Vest sits in she
spot formerly covered by George ii. PendletOn
OF Ohio.