The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-02-08
How congressman White Away the
Hours of Daylight.
HAVE LITTLE WORK TO DO
The Labor OF the Session Falls to
a Few Leaders, the Balance En-
low Themselves - Advan-
tages OF Clerks.


those illusions wrought by distance.
To show how we'll congressional states
men earn their IS, 900 a year and per-
ouisites the reader is invited to follow
the routine Of a days duties, detailed
by the Washington Star:
The work of a member OF congress-
unless he happens TO be a leader upon
whom responsibilities fall, is very light
this session.
There is practically no patronage
hunting to be done, the republicans
having the wrong sort of an admins
tration to deal with, and the demo-
Gratis having got about all they have
20 hope for in the way of appoint
ments from Mr.. Cleveland. With the
disagreeable task of office hunting out
of the way, there is comparatively lit
tie of real troublesome work that
members clerk may not relieve MN
Of These clerks are great institutions
and the man who comes to congress
now for the first time cannot appre-
ciate what a hard time his predeces-
sor had before clerks were allowed.
The manual labor of writing a large
number of letters each day and OF
looking up information for speeches or
for any other purpose is now escaped.
But few men in the present house
have the prospect of hard work before
them. Most of the committees viii
have nothing to do. The committee on
ways and means. which is usually hard
worked, has finished its labors, as far
as any one can see, and can look COM
placently upon the future. The COM
mittees on elections have great deal
to do. but the work is divided up, and
IL Is expected that all Will be soon
over with. The appropriations COM
mittee has ITS usual work. and those
other committees having appropria-
ton bills cannot enjoy immunity from
labor, but beyond that there is hardly
any work in sight that the committee
will have to do, unless, to get cam
paign material. they take up investi-
cations.
Bills are numerous enough, but very
few Of them demand attention, or are
likely to receive any.
Upon two or three members on the
democratic side and half a dozen or 80
on the republican side will fall the la
Dor of looking out for party politics.
These leaders have To join the issues
on the big general questions and look
up the records for campaign material
to put into speeches. The leaders must
do this; others may or may not assist,
just as they feel about H.
LEISURE TIME.
The average member of the house
has ample time To think over his own
affairs. or to study and prepare HIM
sell lDf a tdIFtIs " u AfNHtf ~ lllfsi-
ter going and pleasure. lie does not
have TO get 10 the capitol much be
fore 10 O'Clock. unless he happens 10
have been assigned 70 one of the few
working committees and he does not
always have TO go to the capitol at all.
The present peculiar conditions make
il so that he does not have to work
hard unless he is ambitious. and even
the most ambitious may be discour-
aged Of any effort to crafty their de-
sire of cminenCe through work. What
time the member gets up in the morn
ing depends upon what times he goes
to bed and that may depend upon
many things. among others. upon what
sort of a man he IS. The average man
breakfasts about Q O'Clock. Half an
hour before this his mornings mail is
brought around.
IL will consist of maybe half a dozen
newspa pers. a lot of pamphlets. tracts
and advertisements and from 10 10 -
letters All the newspapers except the
local paper Of his own home go into
the waste basket promptly. These are
followed by the pamphlets and adver-
tisements and finally by some of the
letters Most of the latter have to bc
answered. Some of them require some
thing to be looked up at the depart-
ments or elsewhere and involve work
before they can be answered. Gcuer-
ally the reply can be made at once i'm
a line. Before clerks were allowed
this letter writing involved very try
ing labor FOR the member. Now the
stenographer is called I'm. Those let
tiers which can be answered finland
are first disposed Of Brief replies
most OF them in the same stereotyped
form, are dictated. The clerk is then
instructed to look up what is required
by the other letters and to make reply
according 10 tho result Of his research
or inquiries. The member then reads
his home paper and looks over the
principal features of one OF the Wash
ington papers, cuts ont anything about
himself glances at the stock market
reports, reads the headlines of the for
cign news. reads spcHulations concern
ing congress and politics and then sets
out for the day. II he has a commit
tee meeting At the capitol all this
morning work viii be shortened and
much Of IL postponed until later i'm the
day. If the meeting is called for 10
O'Clock. the usual hour. he viii man
age 10 be on hand by 1880 or IL II
there is no meeting Of this sort de-
manding his attention the hour of his
arrival AT the capitol is regulated
largely by his fondness for being seen
in his seat or for minCing i'm tho Cos
sip aute-session assemblagc. lie is
likely 10 appear on the floor Of the
house any time between 1875 and l.
At THE CAPITOL.
Whatever time he has 10 snare he
tween his arrival and the hour Of
prayer Is devoted 10 gossip with his
colleagues. Near the elevator. by the
basement entrance principally used. is
the house pos.ofice. Here the mem
Der stops on his way 10 the hall Of the
house and gets his second morning
mall. lie may get from two - half "a
dozen letters fThaEa ha sTIv q.
during the session Of the house II he
did not have clerk ne would have To
answer them as he read them. but. as
il now IS, note on the back VIII re-
mind him Of their contents. and ne
puts them away until he can get hold
Of his sten0grapher Some members
do not have any of their mail dalIy-