Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-26
VoUR AVERAGE POLITICIAN WORKSHOPS

VOUR AVERAGE POLITICIAN WORKSHOPS
Il the rising, not the setting. sun 1t is the
man coming down the road, not the fellow who
Just went past, that stirs his pulses. A last
years statesman is worth in practical politics
hardly more than q birds nest Of the same
vintage. For that reason it is that we are hear
ing so much nowadays Of the new men in Con-
gress and nothing at all of the veterans whose
retirement is an event of quite as much i'm
portance-
With the entree Of the Fifty-second Con-
gress there is q good deal OF ability conspicu-
ously absent-a vast amount of gray matter
gone home for rest. This is especially SO in the
Senate, where men stay great long while. The
six years tenure there lends the force of reit-
Grafton to whatever a man may do. One Sem
ator. they say. has never failed for twelve years
to get his name in the Record at least once
every day in every session. By simple repeti-
ton he has gained a national reputation. He
IL not much of Senator; the colored men
who sweep the chamber drive everybody out
with their dust-he with his speeches. Yet in
his own state and section his name Is house
hold word and his people hold him in Web
sterian awe. l suppose that even this man, If
by any chance he should sometime fail OF re-
election. would make the Senate chamber seem
lonesome for time after his disappearance.
The old habitue of the Senate galleries-and
there are scores in Washington who seem to
live only for the pleasure of looking down day
after day upon their favorite statesmen in the
arena Of legislation below-the old habitue Of
the galleries must suffer long and acute heart
aches in these passing days The great men
who sat in that chamber in the afternoon of
this century are gone. OF those in the last
Congress who connected the passing age with
that which included the war and reconstruction
period but one is now left Eyarts and Ed
munds are out; John Sherman remain.
ME- EDNUSDs' FIRs- ACHIEVEMENT.
Mr. Edmunds has by his own wish concluded
his public career and now fingers to see him
self go into history. He is the last of the great
men who like Webster, Clay and Sumner tower
above the age in which they lived He entered
the Senate in April. 1866, having been appointed
the successor Of solomon Foot who had for sew
eral Congresses been President of the Senate.
The first speech Mr.. Edmunds made was in
eulOgy of his hcnored predecessor. He entered
freely into the debates that occupied the at
tention of his fellow Senator'S and was at once
recognized as a strong mind. though new to
pUblic'lfe- The leaders on the republican side
of the Senate were Sumner, Eessenden, Trum-
bull and Wade. On the democratic side were
keve-dy johnson, Hendricks. Buckaiew and
salisbury. Among the influential republicans
were also Zach Chandler. John Sherman Henry
Wilson. POnierOy, Ramsay and Doolittle who
were chairmen of the important committees.
To Mr. Edmunds was assigned the chairman
ship of the joint committee on retrenclment
and from that committee, during the first year
of lis senatorial career, he reported the tenure
of office act and secured its passage. To few
men II public life Is 1t permitted to accomplish