Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-10

preferences when they do not accord with the
views OF the majority in his party, and there
is no probability that he will set up in op-
position both to it and the administration
policy, as his predecessor did on several
noteworthy occasions. This of itself will
facilitate the expedition of legislative bust
4 ness amazingly, and will relieve the ad-
| ministration of much embarrassment.
! In still another direction Colonel Hender-
son will promote the rapid transaction of
! legislation No one need be told that fully
/ nine-tenths of the measures brought before
/ the house are entirely non partisan in char
acter. 1t has been said Mr.. Reed could never
seem to accept this obvious fact; his parti-
! sanship was so intense that his treatment
! of many bipartisan measure was in
huenced in come degree by the politics of
the member behind it. In sense Colonel
Henderson is as intensely partisan as MIR.
Reed but the colonel's partisanship will not
| influence his treatment of purely non -parti-
san measures.
HcndcrsOn's Ability 10 "Mix."
Colonel Henderson's extensive personal
popularity with members of all political
! faiths will be help to him as speaker un-
doubtedly. Mr.. Reed had friendships outside
his own party, but, all told, his friendships
less attention to the companionabe side of
life than Henderson always has. The social
proclivties of the new speaker are well
understood in Washington. He Is never so
happy as when surrounded by men of con-
genial tastes and is as likely to find agree
able personal qualities among opponents as
supporters. His devotion to the business OF
being speaker will in no wise be less than
Reeds was, but unless there is a radical and
unexpected change in his routine, the colonel
will continue to circulate daily among his
friends of all parties to the pleasure and
profit of all concerned.
He likes to drop the pursuit OF politics
in his hours of relaxation, at least ostens-
bly, preferrng ory-telIing, the cracking
of jokes and the singing of songs to the
discussion of measures "out of hours"
Nevertheless his daily mixing" time will
enable him to keep a much tighter grip on
the general situation and the individual
sentiment of the congressman than he could
possibly maintain were he to practice the
semi -seclusion that was characteristic OF
Mr., Reed when the house was not in session.
Some of his strongest admirers even have
deplored the fact that he was often hard
to approach; that it was difficult to present
facts or prefer requests to him in other
IMAM LID bliihldl tdpdNlly. i utSe uOl0 lndl,
while Mr.. Reeds comparative "standofflsh-
ness" was undoubtedly maintained from the
highest motives, it was in reality a him
drance and not a help, as was also his fire.
quent abrupt way Of saying mo" His
friends do not believe that Colonel Hender-
son will be chary Of negatives when they
should be spoken or that he will be unduly
influenced by reason of his freer Intercourse
with the members but do believe that It will
rob the "No" of its sting in many in
stances and prove a source Of extraordinary
strength to the speaker and his party. They
are expecting the speakers negative to
become as famous as those OF the president
Mr.. Mckinley has not many OF the qualities
that distinguished Mr.. Blaine but he can
say mo" quite as sympathetically as the
Plumed Knight could. Like him, Mr. Nc
Kinley always explains his declination to
accede to any given proposition in such
way that the man Offering the proposition
goes away feeling good. Reeds negatives
were never or rarely accompanied by ex-
plantations and he sometimes said "Yes" SO
curtly as to cause bewilderment and surprise.
IT was characteristic Of Mr. Reed that,
once having decided point, he rarely or