Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-02-28
Able to Hold Up Necessary
Legislation.
Last Days Of Congress--1exas meV-
ber's Woman Private Secretary.
Hears Bill Tor Election Of Senators Net 70 b
Acted Upon.

|
itv can defeat measures without . great
deal Of effort. Sometimes 1t happens,
when principles are involved, compromises
| are not allowed, and the legislation falls,
INIT onlv in extreme cases. It has been
many wears since the failure to compromise
has defeated any necessary legislation ana
forcM an extra session Of congress, yet for
two or three weeks the air has been ful! OF
EXTRA session talk, with intimations that
the president would call such a session II
this congress failed to pass the Hull army
reorea nizstion bill. It was even suggest
ed that no compromise would be accepted
No one quoted the president direct on the
matter. but the intimation was very strong
that he had made up his mind to have
that. hin and no other, yet when the two
bills were presented by the military COM
| mittee of the senate there was at once talk
o. compromise, and some Republican SEN
ators expressed themselves a. surprised
| that the Democrats had made such an adj
| vance in that direction az the measure
known as the Cockrell bill. 1t was at
once taken for granted that having gone
| that far, q still further concession would
be made when the bill was in conference
| between the two houses, and the result
tory to most Of the Republicans and one
extra session be avoided.
To Prevent Deadlocks.
In the next congress, no doubt, some at
| tention will be given to a bill which Sen
ator Hoar Of Massachusetts has introduced,
| but which has not received any particular
mention because Of the impossibility Of
doing anything with 1t ut this session. II
| provides for the election Of United States
senators by q plurality Of Legislature
when the joint session Of such legislatures
have failed to elect after bAlloting seven
successive days. 1t is possible that Sena
tor Hoar has in view the enactment of
some measure which will tend to dscour
age the favorable discussion Of electing
senators by direct vote Of the people. The
Massachusetts, senator has always opposed
any such innovation, yet at every legisla-
tive deadlock which prevents the election
Of senator the discussion is renewed.
just now, with deadlocks in five state leg
islatures, there is little doubt that the de-
mand for change in the method Of elect
ing senators will be greater than hereto
fore. If provision is made for the cleo
ton by plurality Of the legislature, it
might tend to force a majority to agree.
| A large minority could secure the election
of senator if the majority did not come
| to some agreement after the seven days.
| balloting
Not . Pleasing Prospect.
The prospect Of five vacancies in the
senate in the next congaess is not pleasing
to members of that body and is especially
displeasing to the Republican majority, as
| in four Of the states where deadlocks con-
tinue the Republicans have a majority In
| the legislatures. The loss of these four
votes will not prevent the Republicans
having full control, but they fear that in
| the succeeding elections the senatorial
seats may be lost to their party. While
such a result is not anticipated In Penn
| sylvania, the states Of Delaware, Nebraska
and California ere as likely to go for one
party as another, and this Is somewhat
disturbing to the Republicans, who believe
that they would otherwise enter upon a
long lease Of power in the United States
| senate.
| Goes Home to Work.
| One Of the young members of the house
who has made a very good record, but who
! failed of reelection, will return to his
home and enter earnestly into the practice
of law. I refer to Ferdinand Brucker,
who represents the Saginaw district of
Michigan. He came to congress absolute.
| ~ unknown, but by his activity and at.
tentiveness to all business of the house has
won way we'll up to the front. He has
one thing to his credit which few mem
hers can boast of, he has attended every
session of the house during his term,
whether the meeting was in the daytime
or in the evening BY being on hard at
evening pension sessions he has cleared up
nearly all the pension bills coming to him
from his district which could be passed
Mr.. Brucker's partisanship has sometimes
been questioned because he did noedfways
stand with the majority of his party, but
voted for the annexation Of Hawaii and
was early in the field advocating the rati-
f1cation Of the Paris peace treaty. Com
pared with the majority of men in the
house, he is young having just turned 49,
Mr.. Bruoker is younger looking than his
years, and for a time there was q DISPOSE
ton in the house to refer to him as one OF
the "boy members ON account of his
youthful appearance.
| A WOman's way.
| am told that the most efficient private
secretary to any member of the house of
representatives is lady. A Texas men,
her possesses this paragon, who combines
the qualities of u first. class: stenographer
and typewriter and a head for politics and
business affairs. It Is not always that
these qualities can be found combined in
any one of the young men who are engaged
as private secretaries for senator's or repre-
sentatives,. and it Is q still more rare quail
ity in woman, because that Sex does not
naturally tend toward business or politics
The lady referred to aremains in Washing
ton during the congressional vacations
and looks after the congressman 8 business
affairs with the utmost care She visits
all the departments and is able to talk to
a cabinet officer id manner equal to the
congressman himself. In some ways the
lady has advantages over other private
secretaries. The average private secretary
has great deal Of difficulty in seeing o
cabinet officer or other high government
| official Tshia lady hOvcovop he's . .,,ro