The Van Buren press., 1893-12-09
THE SENATE GALLERIES,
Curious People Who Go to Get Birdie
Eye View of Statesmen.

Curious People Who Go to Get q Bride
Eye View of Statesmen.
All day long there is receding wall
of faces on the four sides of the cham
ber gazing eagerly down into the arena,
like a picture from ancient Rome.
There is a constant disputation carried
on in an undertone as to the relative
merits of the champions, and approval
or disapproval occasionally breaks out
into applause or grumbling. Smith Il
trying to explain the situation to his
neighbor Jones, who thinks he knows
more about it himself, and bets are
made on various moves in the proceed
ings and on tho final result. OF course,
money is not held in the air as at
race track, but it quietly changes hands
right In the galleries.
The character Of the male portion Of
the audience Is unusual. Those who
take only curious interest in the
thing are very insignificant number,
and almost as insignificant is the mum.
Der of those who are residents of tho
city. They are mostly strangers at.
tracted by this contest, and they are
of two as markedly distinct classes az
are to be found in contact. Hundreds
of them belong to the upper class OF
business men, whose interest in the
outcome is so great that they are drawn
here to watch the fight, and are held
by that fatal fascination of interest
which has proved disastrous to SO many
claimants who have once put their
faith in congress and have been chained
to the chariot wheels of the conqueror,
demagogue.
They are men who have seldom be-
fore sat in the galleries of congress-,
and now it pals on their business
sense. The subtleties of Legislative
methods they do not understand, and
their patience is sorely tried but their
very impatience and anger hold them
here to watch the game out. Sitting
shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee
with them are men of another class, in
contrast to the well-dressed, white-
skinned and soft-handed banker and
merchant. They are perhaps not AZ
numerous as the others, but they are
equally strangers to legislative halls
and are quite as apt to attract the eye.
They are plainly and often shab-
billy dressed lot. Some have bronzed
faces and rough hands, with heavy
lines in their cheeks and across their
brows, like men who work in the fac.
tory or at the forge by day, and often
at night assemble together to talk over
their condition and grope about
through the mystic ries of political
economy. Along in the class with
them are men with whi slkers and sun.
burnt hair, homespun clothes and
heavy boots, who put their hands up
to their ears for trumpets. Further
down the scale come the pale-faced.
thin-lipped, wild-eyed men, who listen
eagerly to all that is said, and run
their fingers nervously through their
long hair when the bankers of Wall
street are mentioned, or when the Oft
repeated phrase about the masses and
the classes occurs.
Hour after hour this strangely a.
sorted audience sits and watches the
fight, and the rise and fall of the tide
of excitement can be seen passing back
and forth over the eager faces. Inter
est, approval, anger and impatience
alternately light and darken the coun.
tenances, and the undercurrent Of an.
tagonism is observed in the dark looks
exchanged and the impatient jerk Of
the shoulder or wag of the head
Philadelphia Telegraph.