Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-05

spoken, are busted in conversat ion-in writ
ing ietters-rapping the sand OF the wet
INK with their knH'kles-rustIiug the count
less number Of newspapers which deiuee
the House-lockinE or unlocking their
draWers-or moving up and down the ave
nues which divide the ranges at seats"
The oiscursive character Of American
toTcusic eloquCuCc seems 60 have IMPRESSED
this Englis hman greatly. 1T is not cousld-
cred the business Of the Speaker" he tells
us, or Of any Of the members. to require
the orator TO keep 60 the subject properly
before the chamber: and hence he FIRE.
quenty DIVORCES into number Of points
very reno -eiy. il at all. connected with the
matter In Land. until il often happens that
the professed subject of discussion is COM
pietcty lost sight Of, not only i'm single
speech, but in an entire debate, as IL not
infrequentiy occurs that discussion arises
on subjects brought forward in one Of the
speakers branch orations. II thus
sometimes happens that the topic imme-
diately pressing on the attention of the as
sembly is almost the only one on which
nothing Is said. All this, and the pro-
verbal iengthiness of the speeches in the
American legislature, appears to result
from the necessity which the members feel
of keeping themselves before their con-
stituents through the public press.
Speeches Long Drawn Out.
Whatever be the cause, # is certain
that there is no deliberative assembly so
distinguished for the awful length of fits
speeches as the American Congress. An
Grafton of twenty hours is no uncommon
occurrence in that assembly, not consecu-
tive hours, of course, and perhaps Il would
be good plan if in America it were felt
desirable to curtail the speeches of legis-
lators. that there should be a regulation
requiring each member to deliver all his
speech in one day. As ii is, one may con-
unually read in the public papers such an
announcement as the following:
I'm the House of Representatives yester-
day, Mr.. Tompkins occupied the whole day
with the continuation of his speech on the
Indian question and is i'm the possession
OF the floor tomorrow. He is expected to
conclude on Friday, but from the press of
other business it will probably be Tuesday
next before Mr.. jefferson Y. Bagg will
commence his reply, which is expected to
occupy the whole remainder of the week
me practice of postponing a speech
probably arose from the short period daily
which the sittings of the chamber occupy
From noon to 3 in the afternoon Is the
usual time, unless a special order be made
for continuing the debate long. which often
happens at the end of a session. Many
persons who would hesitate to speak six
hours at a stretch will experience no diff
Guilty in occupying three hours daily Cor
a week together 1t is very usual for
members TO print their speeches in a pam-
phiet, chiefly for circulation among their
constituents, and no doubt many speeches
are delivered with a principal view to their
subsequent appearance in print
Looking Forward.
Looking at Congress as this writer de-
scribes it and at the Congress of today.
how much progress seems to have been
made in two full generations? There are
the same long and discursive speeches. the
same inattention and confusion among the
audience. About all that the House, for
example. seems to have done is to move
into a better hall-a painting of the one
our English friend describes. by a con-
temporary artist, hangs in the Corcoraa
Gallery in this city-and to adopt some
more stringent regulations for keeping nom
members off the floor. In almost every
other respect the lower house of the ma
tional legislature, in spite of the continual
changes going on in its personnel. appears
to be a most conservative body. Now
that, after some years of restraint under
Speaker Reed, ii is going to get control
Of its own conduct again, there may be
disposition to break over all bounds and
effect sundry radical changes of practice.
If there be such a new departure it will be
interesting for those of us who are still
living to read what an observing stranger
will have to say of the House at the end
of another siXty-four years.