The age-herald., 1900-04-30
DEMOCRATS HAVE
 GAINED TWO VOTES
Roberts Successor and Judge LaSsiter Increase the List.
PETTUS WILL BE: 79 IN JULY
Has the Vigor of Youth, and Seems to Enjoy Performance
 of Senatorial Work

Washington, April 29.-(Special.)-By the coming of Representative Rink of Utah, who succeeds Brigham H. Roberts, who was expelled because a polygamist. and of Judge Lassiter who succeeds the late Representative Epes of Virginia, the democrats have gained two votes in the house. They lost one vote early in the ses- sion by the withdrawal of Representative Sibley of Pennsylvania from the demo- cratic party and his utilization with the republicans. That makes the republicans have membership of 1S6, the democrats 160 and the populsts and independents s. The populists and independents in the present house have invariably acted with the democrats For all practical purposes the house can be regarded as being com prised of 1S6 republicans and 169 demo- crats, a republican majority of 19 There are four vacancies, two republicans, farmer of Pennsylvania and Chickering of New York, having died, and two demo- cratic, General Joseph Wheeler, who never qualified for membership, having resigned, and Smith of Maryland, having resigned to become governor of Maryland. The re- publicans have gained two votes, the democrats losing two by the unseating of democrats from Alabama and Virginia and the seating of republicans from those dis tricts. The nineteen majority held by the republicans is a good working majority, but some times absence makes the votes on partisan question close and exciting
 Pettus Nearly 70
 Senator Edmund Winston Pettus of Ala bama will be 79 years old on July G. next, or just three years older than his col league, John T. Morgan. Yet to judge by MT. Pettus' activity and vigor he would not appear to be over 65 He is an in cessant worker, at times, when particu- larly interested in some subject, going without sleep for twenty-four hours and working all that time. When he speaks in the senate it is with the force of man of 60. He gestures frequently and vigor- ously and yet never seems to tire. He has the sparkle of a young man in his conversation Ever since he surprised and destroyed the dignity of the senate by a humorous speech. adroitly hitting at Sena- tor Beveridge of Indiana, the young man of the senate, MT Pettus has seemed to grow younger every day and to enjoy to greater degree his senatorial duties. He now seems to be good to complete cen tury of active work.
 One of the amusing things in the senate Is the eagerness of senators with compara- lively poor seats in that body to secure those of their colleagues who are about to retire. According to the unbroken prece- dent of the senate, the senator who makes the first claim on a prospective vacancy gets the seat. Senators are very careful not to let their colleagues know of this quiet plotting for the chairs they occupy and nothing makes senator with fight on his hands more angry than to discover that some other senator has put in claim for his seat.
 Now Senator Platt of New York worked earnestly to secure the seating of Matthew Stanley Quay of Pepnsylvanis. None was more anxious that Quay should win; yet when the Pennsylvania legislature failed to elect MT. Quay, MT. Platt put in a claim for his seat Then Senator Penrose of Pennsylvania, Quay's lieutenant though claiming to the last moment that Quay would be seated, took no chances, and knowing that Senator Platt was after the Quay seat, which he (Penrose) had been keeping for him, he put in an appli- cation for Platts seat, which was de- sirable one, but not so good as far as po- sition goes as the Quay seat. So 1t goes
 Nomination of Pattison
 It Is intimated that one result of the