Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-01-31
SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE.
asny Who Were Famous and Many Mar.
 Who Were Not.

Many Who Were Famous and Many Mora
 Who Were Not.
 There have been 54 congresses. There have been 32 speakers of the house of representatives. When the term speak CT" originated in England, it was the custom for the sovereign to deliver oral- " to parliament such communication as he desired to make at the com mencement of a session. The house SD addressed responded to the communi- cation. The presiding officer headed a procession of members of the house, waited upon the sovereign and read the response, thus speaking for the whole body; therefrom comes the term speak er," which WIG adopted from the British parliament. The first congress heard Washington's address, and prepared a reply, which the speaker, accompanied by the members of the house, delivered to the president on May s, 1TS9.
 Thomas Jefferson determined that his communications to congress should be made by written message, and that no answer would be expected. This led 10 g general change in this regard ip con gress and other American legislative bodies Notwithstanding this, the title ''speaker" has adhered and many Of the former speakers may be included, if not, indeed, all of them, in one of two classes; either they have become cefe- brated afterward in the field of national politics or they have become totally obscure In the former class are to be included: Henry Clay, who was the speaker in three congresses, and was, moreover, United States senator, sec retary of state, and repeatedly candi- date for president; John Bell, of Ten= nessee, who was secretary of war, United States senator, and a candidate for president in 1860; James K. Polk, who was the eleventh president of the United States, inaugurated in 1845, ten years after he became speaker; Robert 1 M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, who United States senator and confederate secre- tary of war; Robert c. Winthrop, of | Massachusetts, who was a United States senator from the Bay state; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, who was governor of that state, secretary of the treasury under President Buchanan, ard q mem Der of the confederate congress; Gaiu sha A. Grow, veteran member of con- gress, who, born in Connecticut in 1923, was elected in November q representa- tive from Pennsylvania; Nathaniel r. Banks, Schuyler Colfax, affefward vice | president; James c. Blaine, twice sec retary of state, United States senator from Maine, and republican candidate for president in f884. John c. Carlisle, afteFward United States senator and now secretary Of the treasury; Charles r. Crisp, of Georgia, and Thomas B. Reed, the present speaker of congress and the slated speaker of the next con qress. These are some-but not aIl-of the speakers who have obtained cele- brity.
 The list of speakers who are little re membered is perhaps even longer. In recent years there has been J. Warren Keller, of Ohio. Before the war there was William Pennington, of New ter sey, who had been governor of that state he was elected governor g years be- fore he became spealler-and there was Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, who presided over the deliberations of four successive American congresses, and was the only speaker to do so. Few persons of the present day and few students of American political history remember even the name of Steyenson; fewer still know from what state he came. The speakership of congress is either step ping stone for an ambitious statesman or the eliminating point of official
 
 is sometimes dictated by the desire or necessity for compromise. With the enlargement of membership in congress the powers of the speaker increase, as the enlargement of the senate has a con trary effect by limiting the influence of the vice president.-N. Y. Sun.