The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-03-14

Is, If he lives and wants to remain He
 is the orphan son of the late Senator
 Kenna, of West Virginia. His father
 had many friends and no enemies among the public men of this genera.
 tion. It will make no difference
 whether the senate shall have demo-
 cratic or republican organization;
 Senator Kenna's son will be cared for.
 It would not be surprising If young
 Kcnna should duplicate in measure the life of Senator German, of Mary land, who was a senate page when he was a little boy.
 It Is not generally known, but the pages live in an age limit; that is to say, they must be twelve years of age in or der to be appointed, but they cannot remain as pages after they reach their sixteenth year. It is usually a very sorry day for the average page boy when his seventeenth birthday comes around. He will have to be some years older, much wiser, and better educated before he can earn as much money as pages receive.
 When the age limit is reached and a number of the boys are dropped, four of them are selected to be riding pages
 Their selection depends on their records for efficiency and faithfulness
 The page on the floor of the senate draws s2.5O day during the session of congress- The riding page receives s2.5O day the year round and has a horse to ride. His duties keep him out of doors great part of the time, car rying messages between the capitol and the departments. The position is con sidered more desirable than that of apage. Fifty years ago the pages received s1.5O q day for the ses- sion and the lump sum of s2O0 at the end of the session to keep them during the recess. This pay and al- lowance were doubled in 1S4s. The page now receives nothing for the re- cess. He is supposed to have lad by enough out of his salary to keep him going until congress meets again. The riding pages are envied by all boys of their age in the entire city. They are bright boys, all of them, and they feel their importance, too. As the bearers of messages from senators they dash up to the doors of the executive de- partments, or even of the white house, and in they march without hindrnnce or delay. ..
 The son of the late Senator Riddle berger, of Virginia, was appointed to be page, soon after his fathers death. The widows of Senator Riddleberger and Senator Kenna are benefited by the salaries their boys receive. Of course when the senate is not in session the pages receive no pay. But the in- come of each page averages s450 year This is great deal more than the aver age youth needs to keep him going, but usually the page has some one depend ent on him, at least in part. In fact the pages are appointed in some instances because they are the sons of widows and deserving of assistance. If the senate wished to do so 1t could obtain labor for much smaller sum, but it could not obtain anywhere more re- ined-looking, courteous set of little gentlemen than those who answer to the clapping of a senator's hands and run his errands to the document-room or the library. They wear knee brooches, neat little roundabouts, silk stockings and well-polished shoes. Their faces and hands are clean, their hair careful ly brushed, their finger nails polished, and each of them looks as if he had just come out of bandbox, pretty and sweet enough to be kissed.
 The duties of a page to-day are the same as they were one hundred years ago and the work is light and agreea- ble. The page must be on duty at nine o'clock each morning, but the serious business of the day does not begin until noon, when the senate meets. Before that time he arranges the files of the Congressional Record and the bills and reports on the desks of the senators who have been assigned to him. There are sixteen pages and eighty-eight sem ators, so none of the pages have very much to do. The morning hours are not all working hours. There is gymnasium in the basement of the capi- tol furnished especially for their use. They exercise their arms and their chests there every morning; their legs get plenty of exercise through the day. They do not walk when on duty. They run, skip, and try to fly.
 Senator Dubois, of Idaho, upon one occasion made an attack on Senator Hoa-, of Massachusetts, which vas