Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-02-09
CONGRESSIONAL ORAToRY.

cal enOrt or the average congressman.
Even the Democratic party of Vermont,
which is ridiculous enough in all con-
science, is dgnIied and respectable
thing in comparison with it,
The purpose of the congressional ora
tion is not to give expression to opinions
that the orator can't hold in, but to make
himself solid with the voters at home.
The choice of subject and the treatment
of it are therefore points easy to decide.
There is always something up before
congress in which the congressman :
isn't, he can bring something up.
We remember Il Vermont statesman who
found the Temperance question prolific
of eloquence, and in order to get chance
to air his ideas on the subject moved the
house periodically for the appointment
of commission on the alcoholic liquor
traffic. kOf course he then made a
speech in advocacy of the measure.
If oleomargarine is up for discussion
and the member represents farming
district, it becomes his plain duty to
show by mutitudinous statistics that the
manufacture of the stuff will be the
runation of the dairvmen and to insist
that it shall not only be taxed, but shall
/ be colored Il sky blue or bright pink and
scented with coal oil or Imburger cheese
before it is allowed to 60 upon the mar
ket. If the member is Republican and
a tariff bill is under discussion, he must
as matter of course denounce the free
trade tendencies Of the Democracy, lam
bast the Golden club and its emssaries
and prove conclusively that the country
will 90 to the dogs Immediately the bill
becomes law. On the other hand, if he
is a Democrat, he must picture the swell
ling Golfers of the protected monop-
lists show how undeInocratic and un-
American protection is and from the
nature of things must be and grow red
/ in the face talking about 1.-THE markets of
the world" and the opening of them to
Americans.
The Populst's constituents expect him
to abuse everybody but themselves and
to propose wild schemes of legislation
that no one outside a lunatic asylum, ex-
cept Populist, could think of. lie rare
ly falls to fulfill expectations.
1t is, then, no arduous task for the
congressional orator to ascertain whaI
he shall talk about and what he shal
say. 1t doesn't matter, either, whether
he has any ideas himself; the paper:
are full of them, and he is at liberty tC
adopt as his own such as he fancies
Nor is it hard for the orator to get hi
Grafton after having decided these de
tails. If he hasn't the gift of CAB witt
his pen, he can hire some one who ha
that accomplishment. If he is uncer
tain in his grammar and choice of words
= triiling outlay of capital will procure tn,
assistance of a competent reViser o
rocky English. But doubtless in tn,
majority of cases the member branche
out on his own hook and does the bes
he can. 4 copy of "Bartlett's Familia
) Quotations" or some similar compilation
will supply him with opposite excerpts
in both prose and poetry, from the writ
ings of eminent persOnages from Nose
down, with which he can interlard ant
exc out his own observations and II
the same time impress his readers will
the notion that he is not only an abl
, but also a very widely read man.
Members differ in their manner O
treating subjects under discussion. Som
are as solemn as owls from "Mr. Speak
! err down to the last applause, Will
, others work in jokes TO tighten up tn
, wilderness of words and lead the confid
ing reader on. Senator Morrill, is of tn
latter class.
, The speech having been written, tn
next thing is to get it printed; for, lik
= the production of the moonstruck poet
l it doesn't satisfy the yearnings of its au
r thor till it is in cold type; besides,
t would never reach the far-off constitueu
J cy if it staid in manuscript. There ar
= two ways by which member can achiev
: print. One is to obtain from the speake
leave to print" which lets the oratio
90 into the " Congressional Record o
the speech may be fired of during nigh
session. How things are managed IA
these is told by Congressman Amos j
Cummings of New York, an Old newspa
per man, in a recent issue of the NeN
York Sun. The following quotation
from his article contain the gist of it,
Ever since the Forty-eighth congres
tariff debates at night have been spec
2 ialty. They began in the Forty-nint
: congress, when Col. MOrrlsOn's horizon
tai tariff bill was brought up. So man
members desired to speak that it wa
e found impossible to accommodate ther
= without night sessions. In the Fiftiet
\ congress the practice was continued
The tariff debate this session has bee
very short, but the night sessions laste
for two weeks. They were similar t
= those which preceded them. Here is