The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-03
GAMBLING IN CONGRESS.
now MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE ARE
ASSIGNED TO SEATS.


of the Inconsistencies Session To-
morrow VIII BE Brief.
Washington Dec. Monday the
nall Of the House of Representatives will
be transformed temporarily into a gamb-
Iing den. The players are limited TO mem
beers of the House, ana the game is Wit
messed by galleries crowded with amused
and interested spectators.
The sport INDUCED in IS the lottery for
desirable seats. which occurs a the be-
ginning OF each new Congress. The scene
suggests one Of the great keno games SO
openly and extensively played in New Or
leans. The lottery for seats in the House
abounds with memorable incidents and
affords greater amusement to the specta-
tors than any regularly scheduled per-
Torrance on the Congressional calendar.
The Lottery for Seats.
The lottery begins after the Speaker has
been chosen, and the members are sworn
In. The Speaker notifies the members to
vacate all seats, and retire behind the rail.
small boy is bIindfolded and stands at
the clerks desk ana takes from a box
clerks have the list of members before
them, and opposite each name Is a number.
The blindfolded boy dives into the box and
takes out one Of the num-
bered balls. The member whose
name Is opposite the number
first drawn, has the choice of any seat in
the hall The desirable seats are those
located near the center aisle and wel
down toward the arena, in front of the
Speakers desk. 1t frequently occurs that
the most obscure members have the luck
to draw the best seats. The fun begins
when nearly all the choice seats are drawn.
leaving prominent men on The anxious
bench behind the rail, impatiently waiting
for their number to be called Like so
many school boys some of the unlucky
members slyly creep into uDoccupied
chairs, hoping to lay claim TO them until
their numbers are called. Much 70 their
disgust other members, still In waiting,
call the attention of the Speaker to these
violations of the rules under which the
game is being conducted, and the offenders
are hustled out back of the rail again. II
sometimes happens that member after
his name Is called, is slow in deciding
where he win locate. The roll call does
not wait for him to complete his choice,
so that he frequently has a race with the
man behind him for an unoccupied desk.
The Sheep and the Goats.
The Democrats occupy the seats to the
right of the Speaker. The Republicans to
the left, the dividing line being the middle
aisle When the Republicans have large
majority in the House, many of them are
Obliged to take seats on the Democratic
side of the chamber, and the practice is
reversed when the Democrats are in the
majority. When a leading Republican is
l.. tE.a nnFr 20 ts7
because his name is drawn out of the box
late he is greeted invariably by such
pleasantres from his associates as, There
goes a deserter over to the enemy's camp.
''Good-by, old boy, you're leaving you par
ty for your party's sood!'
on the other hand the Democrats
welcome him with, Come into camp,
wandering boy, Wen take you on
proba lion" and similar playful remarks.
In the last Congress Gen. Henderson
was among the last to draw a seat and
he had TO be contented with desk near
the back row on the Democratic side.
Several others, prominent Republicans,
including MIR. Hit, chairman Of the COM
mittee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Cannon,
chairman of the Committee on Appropi-
atoms and Mr.. Wadsworth of New York
formed little colony near Gen. Hend r
son in what is known in Congress as the
Cherokee strip"
The Senate's Proceedings.
II usually occupies all of the first legts-
lative day of the session to elect the
Speaker, swear in the members and COM
plete the lottery for seats. The proceed
ings next Monday may have additional in
terest by some sensational development
growing out of the Roberts case.
The proceedings of the session of the
Senate on Monday will be brief because 1t
has been decided already to adjourn inn
mediately after meeting out of respect to
the memory of the late Vice President
Hobart. There is no lottery for seats in
the Senate. The desks are assigned by
the deputy sergeant-at-arms upon the APP
plication of senators. The unwritten law
is first come first served" The
sergeant-at-arms keeps a little book
containing the names of all the sena-
tors and senators-elect. That book is
regarded as one of the most sacred
secrets of the Senate. Thus SEATS are as
signed the selection being known ony 10
the senator interested, and the sergeant
alarms, until the little silver plate bear
ing the senators name, is attached to the
desk. AS long as a senator remains
member of the body, he may occupy the
same desk if he so desires. Should he
wish to make change he watches his
chances and Du,s in a claim for the first
vacant chair. The selections are some
times made before II Is determined tully
whether a senator will be retired or re-
elected. Upon one occasion the New Hamp-
shire Legislature had a long deadlock
over the reelection of Senator Blair, who
was the father of the Blair educational
bill which occupied so much Of the time
of the Senate without result being reach
ed. Mr. Blair occupied the 70 mer seat OF
the late Roscoe Conkling on he middle
aisle, and tending the &C ion of the Leg $
lature another senator filed a claim for
that most dtsirab and conspicuous seat.
When Mt. Blair finally relu ned to he
Senate he eXpec ed TO resume his I'D seat.
The new occupant, however, de lined o
give ii up and Mr., b air, a Republican,
was obliged TO break he record and nd a
seat On the Democratic side of the cham
her.
In view Of the brief session of the Sem
ate on Monday there win Re, probably, a
terrific crush at the House wing of the
Capitol. Seats in the reese we'd and public
galleries are already at premium and
tie. demand is far in excess of he supply.
CHANCELLOR HILL IN ATLANTA.