Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1894-01-27

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HIS CONSTITUENT.
pied with the fact that in the popular
branch of congress the debate is nearly
ALWAYS livelier than it is in the American
hous., of lords, is much more frequently
embelished with epithets or seasoned
with the spice Of bad tempers.
When the Surface Is i:uEled.
When the house is calm, visitors are
not numerous. But let the surface be-
come ruti!ed, let the storms of debate
brew, and the big audience comes with
amazing quic:lness-whcre from 1t Is as
difficult to guess as who they are. But
in some unknown manner the word is
passed round. and from some unknown
spots the listeners hasten and the CALLER
les are soon filed So it was last week.
when fierce battle was waged over the
tariff. It had not been expected No
one had foreseen the rattling fire of bat
teries and small arms that filled the hall
of the house with smoke and also left a
number Of wounded lying on the field.
When the row began, there were only
a few people in the galleries. In less
than an hour they were filled to over
flowing. and men and women, both
white and black, stood in long lines
awaiting chance to enter. To tell the
whole truth, far more than half Of these
curious persons We're black. The appe
tite of the negroes of TIE Capital City for
tariff debates is wholly incxplicable-
and all sorts of debates, for the matter
Of that. Day i'll and day out they con
stitute majority of the congressional
audiences. True, some of them 80 to
sleep, and now and then an oratorical
congressman on the floor below has his
periods punctuated by the snores Of al
entAralled occupant Of the galleries.
Tho Newspaper Men.
Possibly the crowd learns of scenes Of
interest in the house by watching the
newspaper men. The correspondents of
the Capital City are a thermometer
worth watching. At l o'clock Of an
afternoon there may not be a half dozen
newspaper men in the house gallery.
| They are at luncheon in tho restaurant
/ down stairs, in the committee rooms
talking to members Or lounging in their
own spacious and comfortable lobby,
where they have cheerful open fires, paid
attendants and all the conveniences of a
| :,riv;,te Office. 1t would be difficult to
say where the country is rulel-on the
floor below or up here in this meeting
place Of the Washington correspondents.
| OF one thing you may be stre-when the
press men leave their easy chairs, drop
their story telling and joking and rush
into the gallery something really inter
esting is gong on.
The averag, correspondent is great
cynic More than cynical he is b'ase as
to speeches, debates and Incidents. He
is so hardened to all these things that
it takes something extraordinary to
rouse his interest, but if there is to be
Some real fighting he wants to be in at
the death. Thus it often happens that
where 10 minutes before the press was
wholly unrepresented in the house gal
lery fully hundred men suddenly APP
pear. They flock from all parts of the
capitol. and even come hurrying up from
their offices down town.
Potent Factors.
Visitors to Washington are surprised
that the newspaper correspondents spend
SO little time in the galleries of the house
| and senate. They wonder how the press
men are able to report the debates with
out hearing them. But as q general
thing the special correspondents have
little to do with the debates on the floors
of the two houses. They are covered by
the reporters Of the two press associa-
t:ons, men who sit at little tables in
front of the desks of the vice president
and the speaker, who write shorthand
and have nothing else to do day after day
but make up accounts of what is said by
senators and representatives. 1t ls only
on extraordinary occasions that the spe-
>.'.l nnr,.arnnn,lents s'handle' tho e@f",+eN
such occasions as that fierce hand TO
hand fight in the house over the tariff a
few days ago. Then the brightest and
keenest of the specials so in for stories
that are worthy the incident and suited
70 the tastes of their journals.
The newspaper men are an important
feature of life at the capitol. They are
everywhere. Their influence is almost
unlimited They and not the lobbyists
constitute the third house. and it is
Till an open question which is the most
rowerful-senate, house or press gallery
II the first two make laws, the third makes
or ,Dol.s public opinion. If the members
of the bodies exercise great influence
n;r,u the correspondents, so do the cor
resro udents exert great influence upon
senators and representatives.
There are many members Of the lower
house and few of the upper who habit
ually seek counsel of their newspaper
friends before deciding upon any 1mpor
tant line of action, these newspaper
writers often being men of longer ex
perience and better judgment than the
statesmen themselves. Besides there are
8 the newspaper men who write speeche:
. for congressmen. Not as much Of thl:
is done as one would think from the tall
: about it, but it does nevertheless happe1
now and then that a statesman induce
one of his newspaper friends to put
speech together for him.
New Gladiator.
The tariff battle Of last week brough
. to the front new gladiator in the aren
= of debate. Nothing finer than the per
= formauce of Bourke Cochran IN tina