The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1897-04-01
WE HAVE A BIG LOTTERY
CONGRESS PERMITS ONE FOR THE
DISTRIBUTION OF SEATS.
G"lushn A. Grow Uses His Ancient
Piece of Headgear nv n Trade
Mark for His Desk.


chosen for him by his colleague. Repre-
sentative Jones. The two will SIT side by
SIDE in the democratic side of the house
The seats which Mr.. Jones selected are
not the best In the house. but they are a
great deal better than large number of
the older members of the house succeeded
In getting.
IL Is a rather remarkable fact that
While congress has passed most stringent
laws prohibiting all kinds OF lotteries
| from operating in the United States 1t
| nevertheless, at the beginning of each BIZ
enniai session, holds a lottery of its own
In which blindfolded page sits at the
| clerk desk and draws out numbers and
IN this way the seats in the house of rep
resentatives are distributed among its
| members.
To newcomer this national lottery
which occupies about two hours on the
| opening day of the session, is an interest
ing scene. Immediately after the newly
| elected speaker has sworn in the officers
OF the house, he announces that the time
FOR the seat-drawing has arrived and that
members Will please take their places
back OF the railing. A few moments later
ana 55f vacant seats are exhibited to the
spectators in the galleries. while all
| around the chamber are crowded the men
| who are to occupy them. Then the clerk
| OF the house comes in with a little oblong
plack-walnut box, having a sliding lid and
containing as many little numbered ivory
| balls as there are members. He shakes
| up the box as a baby would its rattle
| slides off the cover of the box and the
| blindfolded page draws out one of the
| numbered balls. He passes 1t to q clerk
| VINO has before him complete list of the
| members of the house arranged in alpha
| petlcal order, each name being numbered.
me hrst ball drawn entities the member
having the same number to his choice of
any seat in the house. Fate is usually in
"a N "a rfrrl mo. TO-.
variabiy get the first choice. Here again
| rate plays trick, for the new men. know
ing nothing of the acoustic properties of
the house or OF the fact that the front
seats and those along the middle aisle are
adjacent TO the places where the members
sather ana mold conversations while the
mouse Is in session, always choose those
very seats. Thus the older members
When their numbers are drawn still find
many of the most desirable seats along
the side aisles left vacant for their occu-
pancy.
AS soon as a man has taken n seat q
page writes his name on a card and sticks
IL upon his desk, which thereupon be-
comes his for the next two years. unless
ne chooses to make trade with some
one. 1t has been the custom in the past
to permit the ex-speakers and thes'father
OF the house to select their seats prior to
the lottery, but this year there was an at
tempt to extend the privilege to half a
dozen other more or less distinguished
men on both sides of the chamber. and
objection was raised. Mr.. Reed himself
is the father of the house and the next
Oldest member on the floor in point of
continuous service is Harner of PennsyI-
wanna, who administered the oath to the
speaker this year. The only ex-speaker
now In the body is Hon. Galusha A. Grow
OF pennsylvania. Mr.. Grow wears a very
ancient silk tile, which is well known TO
left his seat to join the throng back of
the railing he innocently left his hat con-
spicuously upon his desk. 1t said as plain |
~ as words could have DONE This is Mr.
GROW seat, and no republican will think |
or taking it, So 1t was that although
Mr.. Grows name was not called until
very nearly the end of the list his old |
seat was waiting for him when the time |
came for him to make his choice.
some OF the older members are not |
ABOVE little tricks to obtain coveted seats |
when their names are not called at an |
early stage of the drawing Representa- |
tive Harry Loudenslager of New Jersey |
was one of these. After about two dozen
seats had been chosen, and the one upon |
which he had fixed his eye seemed to he
IN great peril, he got one of the door
Keepers or the house to go down and sit
In this seat until his name should be call
ed. Or course all the new members sup |
posed the doorkeeper was one of them
selves who had been fortunate in obtain
ing II choice seat and the old members |
,hought the doorkeeper had been asked to
Keep the seat for some one who had al
ready drawn it. When Loudenslaper,s |
name was called, he tripped lightly down |
the aisle, and the older members who saw |
the doorkeeper get up and give him the
seat realized Immediately that one of
their number at least had found a wav
to beat Uncle Sans lottery.
Richard Parks Bland the dannooratfc |
silver leader, got one of the best seats on
the democratic side, and General Grosye-
nor of Ohio, the Mckinley statistician. Sc
cured his old seat by being among the
nrst Few numbers drawn. Twenty-one |
republicans We're forced to go over to the
democratic side of the house and. of
course were obliged to take seats in the |
.ar-on corner of the hall on that side |
rms row of seats Is known as the Chero- |
zee STRIP put never before has the Chero-
gee strip had such distinguished list of |
occupants. Among them are a number Of
ne older republicans of the house. like
General Henderson of Iowa. Mr.. Hit of | ,
LIMOS, Mr.. Grout of Vermont. and Seth
Z. Milliken of Maine. General Henderson
u IOWA occupies seat No. in the Chero-
zee strip, which was occupied by Hon s |
:. Hyde during the last congress.
Special courtesy waa shown to Repre
entatlVe Dingey the floor leader of the
epublicans. Mr.. Wadsworth of New
orh, whose name was called early Sc |
ured a good seat. which he gave IN to
ar Dlngley when the latter's name was 1
allied. Representative Wilson of Rrools |
YIN mad still better seat which he a~ |
hanged with Dr. Dingley, taking the one c
rst chosen by Mr. Wasworth The lead n
OF the house is therefore now located 4
n the first aisle to the left of the center | Ii
our seats back and just across the aisle | o
rom the seat occupied by Mr. Reed when "
& was the leader of the republican mi o
orlty In the t1fty-third congress- Meth 81
representative Jones' nor Representa- o
we Lewis name was called until very II
ear the close OF the drawing. Mr.. Jones | a
anne was called first, and he picked out o
n aisle seat In the back row on the dem ei
erauc SIDE. Just across the aisle from u
I'M, and the aisle is very narrow sits al
lilford w. Howard, the youthful nonn-
81 from Alabama and the acknowledged C.
lthor of that infamous book. "If Cbrtst
anne to Congress-" When the name ar | v
lines Hamilton Lewis was called Mr.
mes reserved the seat next to him on his
II. This is the row from which Grove
'hnson OF California, brother of Cantain an
X. johnson of Walla Walla, made his "a
nous harangues against w. r. Hearst an
I'd other enemies of the Southern Pacific bu
abroad Company in the last congress- OF
Is commanding position for an ora We
+. as the seats slope downward from IN
at point to the speakers desk. and n | S s'
eretore. commands a view of the whole | m,
'use. III either Mr.. Lewis or Mr. ZONES | W
sires to make speeches during the pres tn
I congress, no better seats than those ex
ey have could have been selected. ny
|