The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-29
IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE
Visitor Is Impressed by the Indie
ference of Members to Each Other
Spectator in the outlook.

spectator, IN the Outlook.
While the Spectators point of view &,
usually cosmopolitan he at times forssts
himself and makes discoveries. in the MAJ
ner of a provincial; for a true cosmonoli+a
never discovers anything-he knows It al.
ready. A cosmopolite would have known
for instance, that the mere fact of livin,
in the Nations capital doesn't necessariIe
premise an interest in public questions the
Spectator, in his provincial mood. fanced
that everybody in Washington would al this
time be talking about expansion. He was
| cruelty disillusionized in his first Interview,
in the governmental city. This was with a
colored barber. The Spectator found thar
the gentleman of the loquacious craft knew
nothing and cared less about the Philippine
question, but was full of knowledge and en-
| thusiasm about recent prize fight! Verify
that was a sage remark of one of the old
Edinburg reviewers that the stupidest yokel
in the dullest English village, while be
might be ignorant of the name of the pre-
mier, could always be depended upon to an
swer a challenge as to the identity of the
champion bruiser Of the day!
This air of indifference as to governmental
problems seems not only to pervade Wash
ington society (and in social groups whose
tone is so largely given by the official class
this is perhaps only carrying out the rule
that in polite conversation one should sink
the shop'O, but to permeate also the atmos-
phere of the Capitol itself. The Spectator
was present on an afternoon when a fire.
eating senator-no, the breed is extinct-but
when a senator from the State of South
Carolina gave his views upon the presume
bly, all-absorbing topic. His speech was a
good one, as speeches go in these days but
it failed to attract the attention of moro
than half a dozen of his feIow-senators.
What trying position for an orator to oc-
cupy! With his back to his real auditors,
the crowd of tourists and visiting constit-
uents in the gallery, the senator addresses a
chairman who has a genius for keeping
track of the proceedings out of the corner
| of his eye while apparently oblivious to ev-
erything but the messenger or page or SEN
ator who may be whispering to him at a
given moment The senator's colleague at
the next desk is working away at his cor
respondence as unconcernedly as if in his
private office. Just across the aisle Is IA
nous silent statesman, who scarcely ever,
while In the Senate, opens his mouth for
publication, but whose much-caricatured
lineamentS show considerable animation
now as he is engaged in earnest conversa-
ton with a senatorial friend. Are these
men political foes of the speaker, and do
they take this means of showing their con-
tempt for him? No, for there is tall,
hoary-headed, genial-looking man who
ought to be delightedly listening to the
speaker, for the two mems views on this
question, though not their politics generally
coincide; instead, he is deep in the pages Of
the Congressional Record which has just
been laid on his desk. Perhaps he is read
ing his own speech of the day before-a
much more interesting one, of course, than
any that Will be In to-morroWs Record! Or
is this merely another evidence of the su-
perior potency of the printed page in these
last days, and do senators speak only that
their words may be read?
But there are some senators who are lis
tening; That little giant there-legitimate
heir Of the little giant of other days, Stephen
A. DOuglas-with the mass of black hair
GROWING the heavy head, who would be a
MISUNDERSTANDING man indeed if he were
only foot or two taller-he is listening in
tently to the speaker. Just as the latter
has said I'VE should have to train theso
Malays to wear shirts and breeches to get
much trade out of them" a sally which
evokes a smile from the gallery but other
wise falls on stony soil. this senatorial lis
tener appeals to the chair for less noise.
The chair Immediately requests that "sena-
tors Will please not talk in audible tones,
so that the speaker may be heard-by his
friend and the two or three others who wish
to hear him.
The South Carolinian cleverly counters on
his Puritan friend from Connecticut, who
has justified Anglo-SaXon domination in
tropical countries, by thanking him ronicaI-
ly for proving the divine right of the eau
casian to govern the inferior races'-a doc
trIne, he intimates which has not always
been upheld in Connecticut Truly it seems
that changing conditions bring about
strange political aftiliatiOns-as when the
little later, from his side Of the chamber
and beams genially upon the senators from
Delaware and Georgia as he exchanges
pleasant word with them. The day may not
be far off, muses. the Spectator, when that
other tall, bespectacled senator, who carried
musket in the Union army through the
war, may be marching side by side in the
political ranks with the man who just now
hobbies into his seat minus the leg when
ne gave to the secession cause. And there
is q suggestion of coalescence on the part
even of expansionists and ti-expansionSts
in the remark of one of the former that the
tlhplnos are not to be governed permanent
ly against their consent and of one of the
latter that he is himself a sort of expan-
siOnist after also far as North America
and its Islands are concerned.
These speakers are not scholarly men, as
rule; they are practical, successful men OF
affairs with a knack Of ready expression
me lact mat one or them SPEAKS OF q
| Stupend-u-ous blunder" of this august
body" in dealing with the philippine ISL
ands' does not lessen the rough effective
! ness OF his sarcasm about expecting TO see
one section Of this chamber set apart tor
the use Of Malays and Chinese" And these
great ones are very human, after ALL IN
spite Of the assumptions of senatorial dlg-
nifty They like to have their fellow-senators
gather around them and shake hands IN
| congratulation at the conclusion Of the ell
fort which has apparently been so Httl9
needed. They even cast an occasional
glance up into the visitors gallery 10 see
who may be there and what is the erect
| OF their periods. Really, the secret OF the
| indifference of the senators to speech-mak,,
| An afternoon spent in the gallery listening
| to able pleas for and against expansion or
on any other subject is apt to bring slight
sense of WEAKNESS even to one who has
been brought up on the lyceum system; ana
| when one remembers that senators have 70
endure this thing day after day. and each
! OF them with the superadded distress OF the
| consciousness that he could make much
better speech himself on the same subJect,
| one does not wonder that they go about
| their business unmindful of the fact tnat
So-and-so is talking again" Undoubtedly
! they feel that TO sit idly and listen TO all
| the talk would be maddening: so there is a
tacit understanding that each shall go on
with his own work and no speaker IS 70 De
offended because he does not command the
attention of his peers.
The fact Is, that where there is great Ia
| cility of speech and opportunity OF exercls-
ing It. men learn to take speech-maklng az
q matter Of course. 1t gets to be so easy IN
deed for the public man to think on MS
| feet" that there is a suspicion that he sell
dom puts much work into this kim OF
ago at the expense of serious but Wordy
senator was to the effect that ''the senator
from --- manages TO do much OUTSIDE
work because he always rests his mlnu
while speaking 10 Congress" And possibly
the air Of Indifference to one another IS only
q whimsical affectati0n, as who should say
| Il must dfssemble my real amiabilityr ana
present a stern front TO the insidious aa,
| vances Of my c0untry's enemies. the wicked
fellows on the other side of the house, ana
| the foolish ones on this" Outward deier-
ence would perhaps be asking too much OF
human nature in land where all men are