Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-06-22
How He is Selecting Men for Com
mittee Work.
CLIPPINGS OF NEWSPAPER INTERVIEWS
Importance Of the Right Men in
the Right Places.
NEW MEMBERS CA REFUL

Stories are being circulated among prom
inent republicans about the method that
Mr.. Reed is pursuing to help him in the
selection of men for the various commit
tees of the House of Representatives. much
to the astonishment and dismay of some of
the new members
The next House of Representatives in
some material respects will be organized
under difficulties that have seldom troubled
a Speaker. Mr.. Reed has never had such a
problem even in his stormy career as the
leader on the republican side of the cham
ber. These difficulties grow from the fact
that most of the members OF the republican
majority will not only be serving their first
term in the Fifty-fourth Congress. but for
the most part they are untried politicians.
whose ideas are little known and whose
standing on important public questions has
never been ascertained because they have
never been called upon to act in matters Of
that kind.
The Problem to BE Solved.
The problem now before Mr.. Reed. and
which he must solve, is how to place these
untried men upon committees. 1t Is re-
garded as a foregone conclusion that Mr..
Reed will be elected Speaker of the House,
whatever his chances for the presidential
nomination may be. So he Is not looked
upon as presumptuous in thinking at this
early day about the men he Is expected 10
handle to the best advantage of the party
in the next Congress.
1t is reported that Mr. Reed has taken
measures to secure clippings from news
papers containing interviews with the new
members, and those who served In the last
Congress as we'll. in order to inform him
self of the opinions of these men on Ques-
tions likely to be considered by the House.
1t is said he is also getting clippings of re-
ports Of conventions that have been held
throughout the country during the past
several months, SO that he may be more
closely in touch not only with members OF
his own party. but also with members of
the democratic and populstlc parties.
To a Star reporter u prominent republi-
can said today that he was firmly con-
vinced that several republicans who hold
ambitions for important positions in the
next Congress are watching closely every
move of men they thin will be candidates
against them for coveted honors in order
to be able to place in the hands of the
Speaker data that will be powerful in in
duencing his decision.
Resulting from these reports many of the
new members are very circumscribed in
regard to their public acts and expressions
of opinion. 1t Is said that this quiet in
vestigation which Is going on Will prac-
tically decide most of the important COM
mittee appointments long before the meet
ing Of Congress.
Importance of Committee Work.
before Congress will be the subject of sill
yer. Consequently the committee on bank
ing ana currency is regarded as one of the
most important of the committees, and the
selection not only of its chairman. but of
every member. both republican and demo-
cratic, will have much attention. The great
difficulty of getting any legislation through
the House without the help Of the COM
mittee to which such matters are referred
is well known. In the last Congress the
chairman of the committee on immigration
was Mr. Geissenhainer of New Jersey. whose
district was made up largely of people In
terested in having little restriction to i'm
migration. The result was that although
a great deal of influence was brought to
bear to obtain some revision OF the immi-
grafton laws, no action could be secured
from the committee during the entire Con-
gress. That result was attained because
not only the chairman but a majority of
the committee were opposed to tampering
with the immigration laws.
This is but one instance In which the
great power of the committees was made
evident during the last Congress. and the
power of these committees Is SO strong as
to cause it to be recognized by every one
at all familiar with the working OF Con-
gress. For these reasons the formation of
the committees Is regarded as the basis OF
the work of a Congress, and the Importance
of having the right men in the right places
is readily seen.
Mi. Reed Talks but Little.
Mr.. Reed has talked but little for publl-
cation on the issues that are likely to con-
sumo the time of the Fifty-fourth Congress.
and his views on these questions are known
chiefly because of his record in past Con-
gresses Politicians regard 1t as of much
moment for them to learn whether Mr..
Reed will seek to carry out any special
policy by forming the committees in way
to give any particular bent to the legisla-
ton to be attained. or course, the various
factions in the party will claim their right
to have proper represen tation on important
committees, but there will be no appeal
from Mr.. Reeds decisions. The only re-
course the disappointed men will have will
be that which has always been resorted to
by soldiers and sailors-they may grumble.
These reports of the method being taken
by the Speaker to get light on the charac-
ter of the new men who win be in his party
are causing some of the new members to
We very careful about their comments on
public questions. They don't want to spoil
their political careers at their beginning by
being relegated to obscure committee