The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-05
Chat Of the Capital.
Washington Gossip, Political and
Otherwise, for the Readers
OF the Globe.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4.-(Speeial)-
Inc new sergeant-at-arms Of the senate
mas the ONCE, in much better condition
tnan his predecessor found 1t on assum-
ing his duties seven years ago. Up to
the time when, Richard j. Bright was ap-
pointed the senate was honeycombed
with sinecures.s The contingent fund had
LOT years been used to furnish pay to
lrienas OF senators for services never
rendered. The, old reports show. for in
stance, that one maa who had for years
been connected with 1.-THE newspaper gall
iery was paid monthly salary as laborer
IN the senate blacksmith shop. Another
was paid $l,oo0 per annum for wheeling
ana storing fuel" and still another re-
ceived a like amount for "oiling and pol
ishing furniture
Inc amount paid out ostensibly for
wheeling ard storing fuel was greater in
one year than the cost of the fuel itself.
IN Iacf, the manner In which The contin-
gent Iund was expended was a source
or constant scandal. Senators whose
committee work required more help than
the rules provided for were compelled to
resort to all sorts of questionable prac-
tlees to secure the necessary help. Ste
nographers employed legitimately were
recorded as folding 100000 documents. %
ana messengers were put down as labor
ers IN the senate stables.
Col. Richard ]. Bright began as soon
as he was Indicted into Office to clean
these Augean stables. He insisted that
every man who drew pay for any kind
or work must perform that work. and
that each individual on the rolls of his
office must report daily his presence in
the capitol Within a month he had
abolished the sineeure list entirely and
had begun to organize his force upon
a thoroughly businesslike basis.
Having established a system, Col.
Bright Kept his employees at work con-
stantly, and he worked himself. The re-
suit OF his incessant labors Is that the
senate is the best organized branch of
the government today. Every employee
KNOWS just what is required of him, and
each one realizes that he must give value
Tor the pay he receives. The police force
is we'll equipped body of men who are
compelled to remember that gentlemanly
conduct and a strict compliance with the
regulations are prime essentials for the
retention of their places. If Col. Rams
dell maintains the efficiency established
by his predecessor the senate itself will
have no causesto demand more.
The New York delegation in the house
OF representatives has been particularly
unfortunate recently. Some time during
the last congress Congressman Charles
Cfickering was taken ill and was COM
PEELED to go to his home in the northern
part of the state. where his malady
seemed to increase rather than diminish
He is back in Washington. but he seems
to be unable to shake off the disease, and
his old time gayety is missing among his
associates. Representative Gillet, of the
southern tier of counties, hurt his leg
many years ago-in fact when he was a.
boy. The injured member bothered him
somewhat when he was in the Union
army, but from the close of the war up
to last summer he seldom had occasion
to remember the old injury. even through
slight twinge. Last summer, however.
the old trouble came back to him and
necrosis set in. The surgeons attending
Eir- Gdilet decided that amputation would
be necessary to save his life, and the
result was that on the Doth of November
Mr. Gillet parted with a foot. 1t was not
altogether new experience, as the con-
gresham tried to start the lubricant in
a piece of machinery by inserting his
finger in hole only meant for the afore-
said lubricant. That was some years
ago. and he hasn't seen that finger since.
Whether 1t was familiarity with the
sensation OF parting with pieces of his an
u
but Gillet has eyinced no apparent re-
gret, and he is as clipper and active to-
day as he was before the accident oc-
Cured in his boyhood. He still uses
crutches, Of course, but he attends the
house sessions every day and succeeds
in covering as much ground in the de-
psrtments as any member of the house
with full supply Of bones and joints.
Another New York member who has
played In hard luck is Mr.. Alexander, Of
Buffalo. This gentleman had planned a
whole lot of important work for the past
two weeks. He was to have met several
delegations from his district, and to have
attended to many important matters
connected with the Pan-American expo
sition. But two weeks ago a servant in
his house was discovered to have the
smallpox. TheF congressman was imme-
diately quarantined, and not until mid
night of grounding cay was he permit
ted to leave his apartments. He suffered
no particular Inconvenience, aside from
the irksomeness of the confinement, but
he does not care to go through another
similar experience for some time.
I am told today that the Clark side
in the Montana senatorial contest will
take up at least three weeks time be-
fore the committee on privileges and
elections in submitting it's side. Wheth-
er or not his attorneys will be able to
prove that Senator Clark did not pur-
chase seat in the senate at the last
session of the Montana legislature is
a question which will not only be decided
by the committee which has heard the
evidence, but by the full senate Figur-
ing from an expense standpoint, the
Clark case is certainly waste Of money
by the government. If he holds his seat
as it is now thought he will, the United
States will be compelled to pay the wit
nesses, lawyers and others a sum not less
than 100000. This argues that 1t will
be wiser to have pending bills consolidat-
ed into one practical measure providing
that senators in the future shall be elect
ed at the polls the same as representa-
tives in the house and the president of
the United States That some measure
Of this kind Will pass In the near future
is conceded by all political factions In the
senate and house. although action may
be postponed until the last session Of
this congress and possible until the Fiji
ty-seventh congress. There has been so
much trouble over the failure Of legiS-
latures to elect representatives to the
upper branch Of congress and in many
instances so many charges have been
made that money was used to either
further or defeat the chances of candi-
dates that the outlook foreshadows ac-
ton in the near future providing for the
election of members of the upper branch
of congress at the polls.
j. s. Van Antwerp.