The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-03-16
NOT AS 1T LOOKS
OBSERVATIONS MADE FROM SENATE
AND HOUSE GALLERIES.
Hen In Congress Who Forget Their Parti-
sanship-From q Place of Peace to . Bear
Garden-A Contrast In the Senate Cham
ber-LCpg Service.
ISpecial Correspondenne.l

WASHINGTON, March 12.-When the Wis
itor from q distant state first looks on
Washington city, he is dazzled by its mag
niicent distances, charmed by the mild
ness Of these early spring days and quite
overcome by the glory of the capitol. Ii OF
q scientific turn, he may seek the patent
Office, the Smithsonian or other institute
of that class, but almost always he first
seeks the rotun6a and gazes long on the
magnificent dome above where Peace, Vic
tory, Fortune. Liberty and other goddessss
In red and yellow are playing ring around
the rosy" about tue majestic face of George
Washington.
If be is UNFRAMED in art study, as he gen.
orally is, he gets as close as possible to the
pictures on the circular wall and beholds
with astonishment the red brown Poca-
hontas, the still redder De Soto. and reddest
of all the Pilgrims and Columbus. But the
painting which attracts the largest crowd
and holds it longest is the surrender of
Lord Cornwallis, wherein Washington and
O'Hara, British, French and Continentals,
are all of an intense brick color, as well
they might be after an autumnal campaign
in that section of Virginia
n vain search or Epithet9.
Unless he has guide to direct him the
visitor overlooks the famous bronze doors
and many other minor objects, but fingers
in the monument room and about the
futed columns of the capitol. The structure
as a whole is indeed calculated 20 excite
feelings of pride and patriotism. 1t is
agreed, believe, by travellers that it is the
finest building of rs class in the world.
There are many palaces, cathedrals, etc,
much finer, of course, but as a building
especially for the use of legislative body
it has no equal, and most of the legislative
halls of other nations are far inferior.
By comparison with the hall of the house
that of the British house of commons is
really ridiculous The visitor, however.
wastes no time in such reflections, but
when the first WEAKNESS of sightseeing
comes over him he hunts for "his mem
ber." meaning the representative from his
district. and is shown q seat in the gal
lery, where his member, if business is not
pressing, kindly points out to him the no
liabilities upon the floor. He has read, of
course, the furious invectives which enliven
the debates on the tariff and pensions. He
knows how such epithets as rebel, rob
Der baron and ''plutocrat" are hurled
backward and forward, and how the men,
bers sometimes appear TO be on the point
of coming to blows. In his minds eve,
therefore, he sees the two parties sitting
sullenly apart and glazing upon each other
with scarcely concealed rage. And yet in
these dull times, when the tariff act and
pension appropriation bill, the Hawaiian
business and the silver bill are out of the
way, this is what he really sees-at any
rate, this is what / did see only the other
day;
Political Amenities.
1t was the warmest day of the season so
far-warm as the average early May day in
New York-and the man who held the floor
had one of those peculiar singsong voices of
which had not heard fine specimen since
the days when 1 attended the cid country
church. A very few of the members were
writing many more were doing in their
chairs, and much larger number were IN
the cloakrooms, from which issued the
favor of good cigars and occasionally a
sound of scarcely restrained laughter. The
Hon. j. c. Black lay back in his chair, with
his feet up in such way that, as seen from
the reporters gallery, they almost entirely
concealed the rest of him.
Tom Reed and Silver Dollar" Bland
were sitting together talking and giggling
like two schoolboys, while in front of the
speakers desk Patterson of Tennessee and
Burrows of Michigan engaged in a confab
until they drew nearer and nearer, put their
arms over each others shoulders and
breathed into each others ears like two
young lovers in their most gushing state
Chairman Richardson leaned back in his
,lo l<nlr h. I'D -.
Clerks aad officials looked like lazy school
boys on a sunny afternoon, and even the
nimble pages seemed overcome with listless-
ness.
On such day az this it is noticeable that
the members are frequently paired off on
political lines, Republican and Democrat
occupying adjacent seats and indulgiug III
the amenities of politics. There are. how
ever, few men in every congress who new
er relax in this way, never forget that they
are partisans, and even on these dull days
they keep to their own side with military
precision. And they are not the men who
use the most violent invective in debate by
any manner Of means.
When one of these droning speeches is
ended and the doing period is past, il
something of an exciting nature comes up
IL is astonishing 10 note the sudden change
that comes over the house All the cleo
trical bells are set ringing TO notify the
members in the committee rooms that they
are needed. They come rushing in thence
and from the cloakrooms and lobby. Dem
ocrats and Republicans fall apart like
chemical units when the reagent is applied.
aud at once the whole house seems 10 bris-
tie for political war. The uproar is really
A new man in the gallery
master the run of business.
In the Senate.
Il Is in times like these that the house "a
comp pared TO a ward caucus, bear garden,
q cave Of the winds" and the ike. When,
weary Of this sort Of thing, the visitor goes
over TO the senate gallery, he finds a con-
trsst that is actually chilling. In ordinary
times he rarely sees more than 30 senators
Ia their seats. There is 10 demonstration
Of any kind either or the floor or in the gal
!eries, and over the whole cham Der there Is
an atmosphere OF the peace that passeih
understanding.
The visitor asks first Of all that the sen
ators from his own state be pointed out for
him: then half 9 dozen or 80 CT the E.ost
prominens men. The creates: curiosity. OF
course. is 70 see the venerabl> Morrill, OF
Vermont and John Sherman, the veterans
Of the senate Mr.. Morrill, now outranss
ali OFFERS n Ootn nou-es and falls out lite
short Of having eouals1 the Longest term Of
legislative service IN history. He entered
the house in ISIS. served continuously there