The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-08
SOME WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
PEN PICTURES OF THE OPENING
OF CONGRESS-.


Relatives and Friends of Members
Got the Best Sents-The Floral
offerings Were Finer Than Ever
Uefore-senator Billy Mason Con-
sDfcuOus Because of His Moon
Face-SenatOr Bailey of Texas Has
Discarded His SLOUGH Hat-Thc
New Garnet on the Senate Floor Is
The Greenest Green Ever Woven.
other Matters of General Interest.
washington, D. c., Dec. 5.-The same
old scenes that have characterized the
beginning of every previous Congress
were faithfully enacted at the opening
If the Fifty-seventh, with only slight
variations in the personnel of the
crowd. Fully 10000 people packed the
chambers and corridors of the capital
on Monday morning, although it was
we'll understood that not one-tenth of
that number could squeeze into the
eallaries to view proceedings. There
will be no more brushes, by the way,
in that -eFstwhile popular aaeISlafal gSiiness
place. the galleries of House and Sen
ate, anu tuE COlOIGQ man anu DIOlll-
er," who for many years has pre-emp-
ted the warmest and cosiest corners
for long afternoon maps, must hence
forth take his siesta elsewhere. I'm
der the new arrangement of opera
house chair in lieu of the long, cush>
toned benches, there are exactly forty
seven seats left to the dear public, -
all the rest being given over to the
senators and representatives for their
friends and families, the diplomats, the
press and others in authority. Admis-
sion to those reserved seats can only
be gained by card; and for the average
citizen to acquire one of those coveted
bits of pasteboard, on special days
when he most desires it, will be about
as easy as the feat of the typical camel
concerning the needles eye. Here, at
headquarters, we are growing more and
more exclusive in our Republicans
simplicity" Time was when the visit
ing stranger could walk freely into the
Capitol galleries to view the menagerie
below and gaze with pride upon the
men whose fame his votes helped
make; could run over to the White
House and shake the Presidents hand,
and call upon the members of the cabi-
net in their respective offices; while
the wife of his bosom was going the
same rounds on the feminine side of
official life. But all those pleasant in
Cidents have gone to the melancholy
limbo of things that were, and nova
days the visitor to the nations capt.
tai feels himself so coldly regarded,
so hedged about by restrictions and
eformalities, that he cuts his stay to-tle
shortest limit. Talk about red tapel
rg1Stg o1d-fashioned barrier was as
nothing to the barbed wire fencing,
stone-walls- with glass atop, that en-
viron everything nowadays in which
the public takes an interest.
The floral offerings" of this year
from devoted constituents to their leg
islators with an eye to expected bene-
its-were finer and more numerous
than ever before; but, as usual, in
strict accordance with the Scriptural
idea, ITO him that hath shall be Civ
en- Thus the richest man in Con-
gress, Copper King" Clark of Mon
tana, had the most elaborate showing.
His desk and chair and the aisles round
about were so piled and crowded with
hve-foot high baskets of flowers, man.
moth roses, ragged chrysanthemums,
etc. that his. pleasant, but by no
means imposing person, was quite lost
behind them. OF course it was down.
right irreverent on the part of behold
ers to be reminded of prize creatures
at a country fair by the sight of big,
oeefy Senator Hanna and full-moon
faced, cherubic Senator Mason, thus
garlanded and bedecked. In the Presi-
dents gallery sat Sister law Cowles
and three of the Roosevelt children,
Mrs. Roosevelt being just now on a
visit to Philadelphia, and Miss Alice
WIN her grandmother in Boston. Beau
TRULY dressed ladies occupied all the
other reserved seats. and their smiles
ana happy faces told the natural pride
they felt in husbands and fathers
on the floor below. The one
note Of sadness in the gay scene was
contained in the blind chaplain's
PRAYER: with a sense of sorrow at the
ulspeakable loss of our father, our
TREND and brother, our President-by
me hand of an assassin. Oh Lord, let
my pity and grace come to all the
people of the land by reason of this
calamity. Let the widow, as she sits
alone have comfort and consolation.
Grant that the senator from New Jer-
sSey' (Mr SewelD, may have thy bless
ing IN his present affection, and let him.
return to his duties here"
OF million dollars can do toward
oeautfying the interior of a building
mas been done in the Capital since Con-
gress adjourned last March; and the
result is eminently satisfactory. Re-
turned members who were familiar
with the old scenes gaze about in Won
oer before venturing to sit down in
Inelr new mahogany chairs, behind
,nelr shining mahogany desks. The
name is neatly engraved on d silver
Wate on the top of his desk. remind
ing one unpleasantly of coffin-plate;
ana directly underneath it is q glass
opening into the white tiled air cham
ner beneath the floor. For the first
lline IN its history. the House can now
rival the Senate in the matter of bath
rooms. The outside world knows very
nttle about the elegance of those bath
rooms. They are in the sub basement,
= considerable distance below ground
nut accessible from the elevator. Por-
celaine and imported tiles, silver plat
ing and the handsomest plumbing OBJ
talnablc. have done all they could to
make them equal to the bathing places
OF King Edward himself. AS an ex-
ample of the general decoration of COM
mlttee and other rooms, let us take the
private sanctum of Speaker Hender-
son When sitting in it bordering on
ne veNing ms and outs of legislation
ne will always be looking con the
bright side" If gold-leaf amounts to
anything. The apartment is probably
ntteen by twenty feet in dimensions,
ana on its ceiling alone little more
man three thousand dollars has been
applied in gold-leaf. A shlmmering
a aa.af. 4