Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-27

The District of Columbia furnished the
sergeant-at-arms for ten years in the Nine
teenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first and Twen-
ty-second Congresses, and the doorkeeper
in the Twenty-ninth Congress, while, with
the exception of enc Congress. it has fur
rished the chaplain since November Il,
1su, when the second session of the sixth
Congress convened in Washington. Until
the Thirty-ffth Congress QS5O each house
elected local chaplain, who opened :hC
daily sessions with prayer, alternating
weekly between the two houses. In that
Congress the House adopted resolution
that the daily sessions of the House be
opened with prayer and requesting the
ministers of the gospel in this city to at
tend and alternately perform this solemn
duty" This service was performed with
| out compensation until the Thirty-eighth
Congress, when small allowance was
made, which, in the Forty-second Con-
greSs, was increased to the present salary
of $500 per annum.
The Postmaster.
The office of postmaster was not created
until the Twenty-fifth Congress, 1887 and
that officer was furnished by the District
of Columbia for eight years, and subse-
quently by the above classified states as
follows:
Eastern and middle states........ 2 years.
Western states. ......................3 81 years.
Southern states. 16 years.
District of Columbia. ............... years.
Total NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. IS years.
In the earlier Congresses, when the north
had the Speaker, Mr. Smith says, the south
was given the clerk, and vice versa. AS
new states were admitted, the minor Of
fees were occasionally given to western
states. Two western states-Indiana and
Ohio-have furnished three Speakers 1.-TWO
democrats and one republican, and one
western state-Illinos-two clerks demo-
crats) of one term each.
The rule has been. Mr. Smith states. al
| most invariably followed or observed, even
in the selection of candidates by the minor
ity party. From the Thirty-eghth Con-
gress. which closed with the late war-the
democrats submitted a ticket arranged on
geographical lines, and when the republic
cans lost the House in the Forty-fourth
Congress. they submitted the names of the
officers of the preceding, CForty-third)
House as matter of Endorsement In the
Forty-fifth Congress the republican caucus
followed this rule and presented the names
of Jeremiah NJ. Rusk of Wisconsin for
| clerk, N. G. Ordway of New Hampshire
for sergeant-at-aruss, Horace H. Harrison
of Tennessee for doorkeeper, Henry Sher-
| wood of Michigan for postmast er and Rev
J. G. Butler Of the District of Columbia for
chaplain.
In the following Forty-sixth) Congress
the republican caucus selected for clerk
Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina, Jere-
alarms; James NJ. Melton of Tennessee for
doorkeeper, Henry Sherwood of Michigan
for postmaster, and Rev. Henry r. Nailor
of the District of Columbia, chaplain.
In the Forty-eighth Congress the repub-
lican caucus nominated eX-Speaker Kafer
as it's candidate for Speaker, Edward Nc
Pherson of Pennsylvania, clerk; George W.
Hooker of Vermont, sergeant-at-arms;
Walter P. Brownlow of Tennessee, door
keeper: George McNer of Minnesota, post
| master, and Rev. Frederick d. Power of
the District of Columbia, chaplain.
In tibet Forty-ninth Congress they select
ed as their candidate for Sneaker Thom c
B. Reed of Maine. w. o. Crosby of Iowa
for clerk, Albert o. Marsh of Indiana for
sergeant-at-arms, Joseph Selden of Con-
necticut for doorkeeper, and Charles w.
Adams of Maryland for postmaster.
In the Forty-ninth Congress they select
| nominated for Speaker, Mr.. Mcpherson for
clerk, Daniel Shepherd of Illinois for SER
geant-at-arms, w. T. Fitch Of Ohio for