The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-03-12
HURT THEIR FEELINGS.
The Senate and Vice President
Hobart.
AN UNFORTUNATE SUGGESTION.
Tradition If an Extremely Dignifed Body.
stickIers For Courtesy-Ruled by n Small
Number-The New Vice President to He
Disciplined.

1
ate in the opinion of the members of that
body The older senator's have taken ex-
| ceptions to the intimation which he gave
| In his inaugural address that he would be
| glad to cooperate with senators in expedit-
ing the proceedings of the upper branch.
| While the country appears to be applauding
the courage of the new vice president and
| to be ready TO support him in any efforts
which he may make for changing the rules
of the senate so as 10 secure a more bust
nesslike method in that body, many of the
Republican senators who wish Mr. Hobart
well are quietly advising him to drop the
Idea and never again suggest, by word or
deed that he considers himself man of
influence In the American house of lords
Made Faux Pas.
The truth is that Vice President Hobart
in making that suggestion In his inaugu-
raj address, ran straight into collision with
one of the oldest and dearest of all the
traditions of the senate This is that the
vice president is merely the moderator, the
fgurehead. He is not considered even
member Of the senate. He is to have moth
ing whatever to do with it's policies or its
rules. He Is to hold himself absolutely
aloof from the politics Of the chamber and
to maintain the most perfect impartiality.
The occasions on which vice president is
expected to cast the deciding vote in case
of tie as he is empowered to do by the
constitution, have become very rare in re-
cent years, and there is sort of unwritten
law In tho senate that the casting of such
vote is to be avoided whenever possible
Men who are new to the senate have no
idea Of the force which these old traditions
exerts over it's members. They are really
something terrible. With most of the
older senator's devotion to these unwritten
laws has become sort of religion Every
new man that comes to the chamber Is
taken in hand and coached Delicate hints
are thrown out to him as to what his
obligations are. He Is given to understand |
that the unwrtten rules of the senate are |
of infinitely greater Importance than its |
written rules, and that the man who dis |
regards the former simply because they are |
in the air and not in plain black and white |
will have to do so at the peril of loss of |
caste, of standing and of influence. There |
is more truth than poetry i'm these warn
ings too. 1t really is true that the man
who sets out In the upper branch of con-
gross to follow his natural bent under the
written rules, regardless Of the musty old |
traditions will soon find himself ostracized
and solitary
Discipline.
In a hundred ways he will be made to
feel the force Of the fetch. He will be ig-
nored in the cloakrooms When he takes
the floor to speak, no one will listen or pay
him the compliment of interrupting him
He will be left alone ut luncheon In COM
mittec room work he will be made to feel
that what he says and thinks is not of the
slightest importance. After he has been
put through course of sprouts of this
sort-all done by tacit understanding and
not 10y any formal agrcement-some of the
Older senators will take him aside and
whisper confidentially In his ear that he is
on the wrong tack BY this time he will
have concluded that this is so and gener.
ally be found willing enough to mend his
ways and bow the knee to senatorial tradi
tons.
/ have seen more than one bold, brainy
man come into tho senate determined to
change the rules or to ignore some of the
peculiar traditions and mark out q path
way for himself. Not one of them ever
sticks to It, There was Senator Hill. No
one doubts his courage or ability He was
going TO reform the rules of the senate
He caused it to become known of all men
when he first came to Washington that be-
fore his term expired the senate would be
put uron common sense, business basis
He meant it too He set to work to carry
out his purpose. But Mr. Hill walked out
of the senate chamber the other day after
six years of service, and the rules have not
been changed so much as the dotting of an
! or the crossing of a I
Senator Tillman was going to shake
up the senate He was going to call a
spade spade and was going to expose the
true inwardness of things, no matter whose
toes were trod upon in the process He
began that way in speech which violated
the amenities OF debate and the sacred ira.
dtions Of the senate Then be learned the
error Of his ways and for year kept 81
lent Nothing more Of that sort was heard
from his lips till just few days before the
close OF the last congress- when he lost his
temper In colloquy with Senator Hawley
and used words which he was sorry for al
most as soon as they had been uttered
The Senate Rules.
The truth is that the senate Is ruled by
small number of men who are all sticklers
for these courteses and unwritten rules
They regard the senate chamber as great
national clubroom in which every member
must bow the knee to the prevailing senti
ment III he does not. so much the worse
for him As rule. the new man who
comes in determined to shake things up
changes his views and his tone in wear or
two and becomes one of the stanchest ad |
vocates of TIE old idea 1t is therefore easy
to sec that Tice President Hobart offended
a majority OF the senator's with his bold
announcement that he was willing to co
operate In expediting business.
When he uttered those words perhaps
four -fifths of the senators present said TO
themselves. THE new vice president has
lesson TO learn. and we shall see that he
does not lack for tutors. He will not.
He will be taken In hands in hand al
ready He Is in leading strings Allison
and Aldrich and Chandler and other lead.
ers have him In tow. They will take all
these revolutionary ideas out of him. They
will convince him In the first place that
the business OF the senate is something
with which he has nothing to do. He is
simply to preside. put motions and defer TO
senator's II the rules are to be changed, II
Is not for him to have part In 1t. Be.
sides, the rules are not to be changed. The
no mn IN lie t<x~ .af. A a L 4