Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-12-30
Our American House of Lords
is an Easy-G0ing
Body.
The Average Age is Something
Over Fifty-Nine
Years.
How the {. S. Senate Dresses
SLAVES and Wears the
Hair.

The student of craftsmanship III gen
| eral and senatorial craftsmanship in
particular finds some interesting facts
| in an examination into the personalities
of that dignitied body, the United
States senate says q special to the Chi
| cago Journal. The congressional (Grec- |
tory, that convenient compilation of
ready made biographies, gives some
facts relative to the age, habits and
other eccenticitieS of that develop
ment of humanity which, when group
ed or considered in comparative form,
are particularly interesting. 1t is inter
eSting to observe that Il study OF the
figures given by the biographies of
senators, shows their average age to
be 50 years. Only one of these is past
50 years old, Mr.. Morrill, of Vermont.
Mr.. Dawes and Sawyer are each 76,
there being none in the class between
| this and 81, and Messrs. Pugh, Turpie
and Harris are -; Sherman, 90, and
| Morgan, Stanford and Colquitt 6S.
Nlessrs HaWley, Hoar, Stockbl1dge,
George and Ransom are &C; Platt,
| Voorhees, and Stewart 65; Cullom, ALI
son and Coke g. Twenty-seyen sena
| tors range between So and 60, being Ill
most one-third of the entire senate.
Five of those are 60, three are 50.
three others are So, four appear in the
81 class, seven in the So division, and
five are So. The seven senators whose
age is IS constitute the largest num-
Der dating their birth from the same
year. From this point the number in
each class begins to diminish. The
number allotted to each year now de-
creases even more rapidly. AldTich
and Perry are 81, Daniel is so, Warren
IS, and Carey and Allen each Al.
Messrs. Dixon and Faulkner are each
45, while Kenna and Wolcott close
the list with A. Mr.. Kenna, however,
is but fifteen days the junior of Mr..
Wolcott Nessrs. Gray and Higgins.
who are of the same age. 81, both
represent Delaware. Mitchell and
Dolph, who are each 81, came from
Oregon. and Quay and Cameron, at the
age of 50, both represent Pennsylvania.
These are the only instances in which
colleagues are of the same age.
| lIlt IlltlJtcl vi olCoS SoliS
equally interesting facts are gathered
from observation taken from the gal
lery Out of eighty-four senators forty
five wear the regulation Prince Albert
coat, thirty-four appear in cuta ways,
and a few adhere to the sack coat.
Among these latter are Nessrs Frye,
Walthall Wolcott, and Washburne.
Conventional black is the almost uni
versal material. Senators Wolcott and
Vest occasionally appear with light
suits, and Mr.. Voorhees, frequently
wears drab colored hat Messrs.
Quay and Morrill, generally complete
their costumes with trousers of light
color.
Viewed from a tonsorial standpoint,
the senate is divided as follows: Thir-
ty-two senators are both gray and bald;
| twenty also not bald and retain hair
of natural color; only one gentleman,
Senator Higgins, presents a head clip
ped and he is becoming quite gray.
Twenty-six senators have a mustache
only; eighteen have a combination of
mustache and goatee; four have the
goatee alone; fourteen wear their
boards short cropped; eighteen are
smooth sllaven, while only five have
| what might be termed full boards.
These latter are Messrs. Dolph, Nit
chel, Stewart, Villas and Coke. Sena-
tor Sawyer alone wears the once fash
ionable short cropped throat whiskcrs.
the rem ainder of his face being smooth
shaver. Mr.. Morrill, and Mr.. Wash
burne are the only gentlemen with
strictly legitimate side-whiskers. The
most striking examples Of utter bald
ness are Senators Sawyer Warren,
Blodgett, Coke and Ransom; they have
absolutely no vestige of hair remain
ing on top of their craniums.
The diversity Of head-gear is very
marked and varies with age and wealth
err The elderly and southern senators
wear soft felt hats, and the younger
ones indulge in stylish silk hats. But
very few derbies are worn. Senator
Berry is the only member who habitual-
" uses crutches, he having but one
limb. Mr. Daniels usually uses them
for outside walking, but in the chamber
goes about without any assistance, but
with a perceptibly halting gait. Mr..
Bate is the only senator who has
cane to assist him in walking. OF
course, numerous sticks are carried on
the street, but for purposes Of orna-
ment rather than utility
| Altogether, as viewed from a routine
standpoint, the United States senators
present an easy-going everyday appear
ance. The highly colored newspaper
sketches which we have read all our
lives, with mingled feelings of awe and
envy, suddenly disappear into common
place "bosh'' when the reality is placed
before us. There is nothing grand,
gorgeous, heroic or extraordinarily strik-
ing about the senate, its individual
meJnbers, or the chamber in which it
convenes. Comfort, freedom from re-
straint. and an air of being at home as
regards dress and personal appearance,
are the chief characteristics of this
/ legislative body.
RecoIlections of George Cruikshank.
0no of tho heads which rise ont Of