The Indianapolis journal., 1897-05-24
THE SENATE CIRCUS.
A Once Great Legislative Body in Its
Degenerate Stage.

Degenerate Stage.
Washington Letter in New York Evening
Post.
If Mr.. Hoar had his Forum article to re-
write to-day he would think twice before
denying that the Senate has degenerated.
The spectacle which has repeatedly been
witnessed of late in the chamber where he
sits daily as a. relic of better times gone by
is enough to turn the most sanguine Amer
lean into a pessimist. The spectators gal
leries have been packed so that the overflow
trickled in long queues down the corridors
the curiosity seekers being perfectly con-
tent to stand for hours in uncomfortable at.
titudes, waiting for the possibility of a va
cant seat inside, and meanwhile regaling
themselves with the inarticulate sound of
high-pttched human voice when some orator
warmed particularly to his work.
Inside the crowd had the same notion of
the purpose of its presence as the mob at a
political convention. 1t was there TO help
some cause along by roofing for this
speaker and by discouraging that one. The
only feature of the show omitted was the
band. The more of q mOuntebank q sena-
tor made of himself the more popular he
was with the spectators upstairs, and the
the widest of all their outbursts of merrt-
ment and approval Once a day. possibly,
these boisterous demonstrations would draw
a feeble rebuke from the presiding officer,
who would repeat mildly the customary for
mula of warnng-the threat which is never
executed = that the galleries would be
cleared if the Offense were repeated. The
regular Senate-goers have been educated by
experience to know just how much that
upon their conduct So the next time the
clown in the ring would make a point he
would get his round Of plaudits, perhaps Il
trifie more subdued than the last, but quite
vigorous enough to spur him on to greater
efforts.
1t may be asked how the misconduct OF
the spectators proves the degeneracy of the
Senate The answer is twofoid. Had the
Senate been constituted as IN the days of
Sumner, and Edmunds and Thurman, Bay
ard and Hamlin. Frelinghuysen and Schurz,
and Morton, could such scenes have been
witnessed on the floor? Would not the
moral forces Of that dignihed body have
been sufficient TO suppress them and keep
decency uppermost? Could 'one of the
boys" of the Mason order, have broken
into the Senate in those days? II Is doubt
full. But even If one had, what ? chance
would he have stood with the gallery gods2
In the '70s the spectators themselves held
the Senate in respect and would have
frowned down a speech which contained
neither law nor logic, but was designed
merely to provoke handclapping or raise a
laugh at the low-comedy antics of the
orator
Mason, and the best answer he could give
to his own question was that If there We're
no war, there ought TO be! rs the testi-
mony of newspaper correspondents, in the
absence Of any official information, suf1-
cient ground for action by the Senator
Certainly for the newspaper correspond
ents are long-suffering set of men; they
sit in the second story OF the Senate cham
Der and listen to speeches at an average
compensation of $40 a week; is not that
''ShalI we pay no regard to international
law?" our so-called international law Is
an ancient barnacle; the sooner we get rid
Of il the better Are we to pay no heed
to the business interests of the country?"
Oh I'm right from the people, the plain
people: / IN run by no boss: l belong to no
ring: I'm the product of no machine; in
short I'm the stuff, and most of you fels
lows amt Whoor-rOo
And so il went on. Mr.. Hoar himself was
obliged to utter Il protest against such a
mixture of ignorance and vulgarity as he
was called upon to buffet. In the midst OF
his attempt to set Senator Hawley right
on a point Of international law which near
~ every scAooboy knows. so persistent an
effort was made to turn his explanation
into absurdity that he exclaimed in despair:
IF this is a mere matter of a circus, /
will sit down" circus, Did any one ever
venture TO compare a solemn session or the
Senate twenty years ago 10 circus2 Yet
the phrase sprang from the indignant lips
imputation that the Senate had degen-
Grated!