Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-08-04
CONGRESS THEN AND NOW
The Special Session of 1897 Compared
with that of 1898.

Lend Variety to Congressional Life.
From the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
The persons "entitled to act as members
of the Fifty-third Congress, to quote Pres
ident Cleveland, and whom he has ere
quired to take notice that they must IS
emble in special session at the capitol on
August Z, form collectively body of men
that possesses some eminently curious sta
tistical features. To begin with, each
member of the House of Representatives is
theoretically the mouthpiece of just 173, -
90l persons-a decided increase over the
| 10000 that a representative stood for in
the First Congress. The smaller number
was provided for by the constitution the
larger is based on the last census. Every
member of the present Congress may rea-
sonaby be presumed to have read the proc
lamation calling the extra session within
"A hours after it was issued. When the
| first extra session of Congress ever held
was called by President John Adams in
| March, 1877. many member did not even
/ learn the fact for six weeks. Small as the
country then was, it would have been i'm
/ possible for Congress to assemble in the
| single month allowed by President Cleve-
/ land for the legislative branch Of the gov
/ arnn,ant IN coms toootbor rnJood o,o
/ gentleman who raced across country on
/ horseback to attend the special session of
| 1891 did not reach Philadelph phia-then the
/ nations capital-untl after Congress had
| adjourned.
I'm that wear the Senate and House as
| sembled in a little brick building with a
few rooms in it. The White House was
| lust a block away. and likewise of brick
/ and very modest. The reason for the spe-
| cial session was that war with France was
! imminent. 1t never came. no thanks to
| the Fifth Congress. The government at
| that time paid no salary to the Presidents
| private secretary. nor to executive clerks.
| pages or other more or less useful function
| aries. When Congress opened President
| Adams appeared before the Senate and
| House and made speech to the members
| When he had done everybody stood up
respectfully as he passed out. No such
| scene will be witnessed on August next.
! President Cleveland will not enter the halls
! of Congress.
At the first special session the states
were IL all told-the Is original colonies
/ and Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee.
| The Senate numbered 30 members instead
of SIS. There were no territories. The city
| of Washington did not exist The White
House of 1897 has disappeared from the
| face of the earth. Its site in PHILADELPHIA
is unmarked bv ANYTHING but A hideous
brick structure that is leased for shirt
! factory and photograph gallery. The old
| Independence hall still stands. but so
changed in many respects that the MEM
| bers of the Fifth Congress would not rec
ognize it could they see the structure.
The Congress summoned by President
| Cleveland contains 444 members, not count
! ing the four territorial delegates. OF the
! IS senators 45 are pretty sure to vote SOL
| idly Democratic, 50 Republican, 8 PEOPLES
! and doubtful. The Youngest of them is
Edward C.. Wolcott of Denver. Col. He
was born in lS4S in Massachusetts, and is
! a LAWYER by profession. The oldest is JUS
tin S. Morrill, of Strafford. Vt. who was
born in 1910. Twenty of the senators
served in the Confederate army during the
war and 16 in the Union army. The man
with the longest time to serve is Edward
| c. WalthaIl of Grenada. Miss. who has
been reelected by the legislature of his
state for the term ending in 1901. The
most cultured senator Is Henry Cabot
Lodge of Massachusetts. who is an author.
artist. linpuist. scholar. and society man.
The handsomest is Charles II. Gibson of
MARYLAND. The most senatorial is Alfred
III. Colquitt of Georgia, whose father and
grandfather sat in the Senate before him.
The hauphtiest is ]. Donald Cameron of
PENNSYLVANIA, whose unique distinction it
is never to saw word in the Senate unless
he moves to adjourn. The richest. now
that Stanford is dead. would seem TO he
John p. Jones of Nevada. who bestows
cold dollars on the beppars of Washington.
The one most celebrated outside of his own
country is John Sherman. The most abus-
ed is Matthew Stanley Ouav of Pennsyl-
yania. The most punctilious is Calvin S.
Brice of Ohio. who changes his shirt three
times every day. The most temperate is
David b. Hill of New York, who neither
drinks. smokes. swears, CANDLES, nor eats
dainties. The strongest is William b. Al
lison of Iowa. who could almost fell an OK
with his fist
In the House are 204 members who served
in the last Congress. besides 10 others not
in the last Congress, but members of Con-
crosses prior to it. The father of the House
is Charles O'Neill of PHILADELPHIA. Pa.
who, if he outlives his present term, will