The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-02

listened very patiently to all he had to
say on the pension question, and even to
discussion Of the silver and tariff ques-
tons which his caller essayed in passing
He excused himself only when il was
necessary that he prepare to go to a re-
We're in Washington, not long ago, a
gentleman called with his daughter to
see the speaker and found him Just dis
missing meeting of the committee on
rules. Mr.. Reed received them very cor
daily, though they were strangers, and
IN about a half a minute had learned
that the daughter was an artist and that
she had been admiring the picture of
the speaker, which hangs in the lobby
of the House. Now this portrait is one
to which Mr.. Reed is rather partial, but
II has been criticised very severely, ana
one Of the critics is Mr.. Dalzell of Pitts
Durg. The Pennsylvania congressman
was IN the speakers room, and Mr.. Reed
called him over. Here, Dalzell" he
said. Here is a young lady who doesn't
agree with you about that picture of
mine" And then Mr.. Dalzell Joined the
group for a minute or two Then the
speaker excused himself with a cordial
handshake, and his visitors went away
for Mr.. Reed.
Mr. Reed is no less considerate of peo-
pie who write TO him-not the people
who write begging letters though. Al
most every mail brings the speaker a re-
guest for money Some one wrote TO
the speaker recently that at a meeting of
a board having in charge an undoubted-
~ worthy work, he had been put on
their list for contribution Of $500. For
tunately American candidates for office
do not find 1t necessary to subscribe to all
the local charities as candidate in Eng
land do. If Mr. Reed were assessed very
oTten for $500, his family wouldn't have
bread and meat other people write to
the speaker for modest requests for one
or two dollars.
Mr. Reed has a warm spot in his heart
for old ladies' One of the meanest duties
he ever had to perform was to remove the
the apple and cigar stands, which dis
inquired the House wing of the capitol
when he first became speaker. Mr.. Reed
announced when he came into office that
ne was going to get rid of the hucksters;
but every time he faced the duty he had
TO draw back. Almost all these men and
women have some sympathetic claim. The
most urgent was that of woman who had
which her husband had enjoyed. The hus-
band had just died, and the woman had
no other means Of support. When Rep
resentative Van Schaick Of Wisconsin
went to the speaker to intercede for this
woman, Mr.. Reed said: Van Schaick,
| you're rich man and I'm a poor one;
but but III IN put up half the money if you
We're made finally TO get department po-
sltion for this woman, and most of the
other "concessionaires" were provided for
a case in which the speakers sympathy
was not wasted was that of a man in
Texas, His letter to the speaker was typ
lcal or much OF the speakers mail. He
was stranger to Mr.. Reed; he was not
even a Maine man. He simply wrote to
the speaker because he knew no one in
authority, and because Mr.. Reeds name
was familiar to him. He had been ar
rested in Texas on a charge of imperson-
ating man who had served in the same
company with him in the war His appli-
cation for a pension was not made in the
name under which he served, but in an
other name, which differed in only one
| letter from the name of the other man.
This change of name he explained in
satisfactory manner. In support of his
statement that he was not personating
another, he had the other man as a wit
| ness and the captain of his company also
| testified in his favor. But the grand
| jury had indicted him, and he seemed in
Allen was so much interested in the case
when he read the letter, that he made
an investigation and laid the result be-
fore Mr.. Reed, who became equally inter
| ested, and went personally to the depart
| ment of justice and interceded for the
! man. The result was an investigation by
a special agent, which demonstrated pref
| ty plainly that the man was victim OF
| persecution by over-ZealouS agents of the
pension office, and the prosecution was
stopped.
What Mr.. Reed did for this stranger
| is characteristic; he has done the like
| again and again, and his good offices have
| been sought very often by democrats in
his state. He would as soon do a kind
| ness to a democrat as for a republican
|. where no political principle was involved.
| This does not include the getting of ap-
/ OOintmentS Tor MS constituents. Alr. ReeQ
| has his own ideas about the civil service.
| He believes every office-holder should be
| kept in place so long as there are duties
to perform and he performs them well.
| He does not believe in civil pension list;
| but he thinks the salaries paid to gov
| eminent employees SHOULD be arranged on
g different scale-that smaller salaries
| should be paid new appointees, and that
| salaries should increase with years of
! service, with a provision that a certain
| Dercentage of salaries should be held back
~ ba Insurance
! fund to provide for superannuated clerks.
! Experience has shown that government
! clerks will not provide for themselves, and
| it is quite likely that congress will adopt
! some day plan like that which Mr.. Reed
! favors.
Mr.. Reed is an interchangeable worker
| in whatever he undertakes. He bears
| the strain of hard work better than most
| men probably because he is such an ex-
! cellent sleeper. He makes 1t rule to
| get seven or eight hours sleep night.
| No one calls him in the morning unless
| there is an emergency. one morning
/ during the last congress, Mr.. Allen wait
ed until twenty minutes 10 Y Tor Mr.
| Reed to appear He knew that Mr.. Reed
| had been UP very late the night before
/ a fter an eXhausting day in the House.
/ sneakinq on the Sherman repeal bill; he
| Iarn ESQ that Mr. Reed was anxious
| 70 take part in that days session of
| tbe House. SO at twenty minutes before
noon he went into his bedroom and spoke
| 10 him, When Mr.. Reed learned what
| time il was, he jumped out of bed, pulled
| his clothes on in a hurry, and without
Waiting for breakfast hurried down
stairs and into a cab. He was at the
canitol a few minutes after u O'CLOCK
| ,56 said afterward that he never felt
| better than he did that day.
SIaen has a recuperative power for Mr.
! ro oaeep However exhausted he may be at
the the end Of the day. good mig nights rest est
| Eriftv-frst congress, when the speakers
| duties were much more severe than now
| MIR Reed used sometimes TO slip into his
room when the House had gone into
c0mmittee of the whole, and without
S coi,idi stretch himself out on a leather
covered couch. In less than a minute he
Seo,Sld he sound a sleep. Mr.. Allen would
! Sron the latch of the door, and Neal, the
| coIored messenger outside, whose ex-
4 oS,ra FOR the speakers inability to see
You You are harp-like in their melody, would
/ S5iece himself on guard. For fifteen min
pt tas or more there would be silence in
/ the The speakers room. broken only by the
| faint rustic of papers at Mr.. Aliens
| desk and the heavy breathing of the
| sieener Mr.. Reed can go to sleep at
: sIeepSS nu, of the day or night when he
needs rest, and easily cancels the debt