The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-17

the great men on the floor below as little
short of demi-gods. 1t is largely with an
eye to seeing their Gown" representative
in his seat or their own" pair of sem
ators in the yet more sacred temple of
greatness that most Of the strangers in
the city repair to the galleries. Very
properly, they feel vast personal apride
and a certain proprietary interest in the
man whom they helped to elect. 1t makes
no difference how obscure or bashfu the
representative may be- he is the one great
figure in the whole scene, in the mind
of his visiting constituents. IF he would
only get up and say something" They
murmur 10 each other. Goodness knows
he can talk! Haven't we heard him at
mass meetings and Fourth of Julys, and
don't we know that he Gould beat that
other chap all hollow if he only would?"
And they gaze at him with deep sorrow
and reproach, as al one who has squan-
dered his birthright, when in the course
of a whole afternoons session he gives no
other manifestation of being alive than
to apologetically clap his hands for a page
when he wants some letters mailed. There
have been well-remembered occasions
when blunt backWoods constituents have
called their representatives to task for
this glaring remissness to duty. When
the member appears in the corridor, in
answer to a peremptory summons, he was
hailed, to the amusement of bystanders,
with something in this line: "Gol darn
it," man alive! Hain't you never goin' to
do nothin? Why do you let them other
fellows do all the talkin? You cert'nly
could take keer o. yourself well enough
when it come to sassin' back at home
But then there are compensations, even
to victims of constituental visitations. No
matter how Others of the great and wise
colossi of the Senate may tower above
the puny statesman whose home-district
is represented in the gallery, the latter
never see any other togas than those that
mantle their Gown" senator. They watch
his every movement with rapt counte
nances; and If they can muster the nerve
to send in their cards to the toga-wearer
and get him to show them around the
Capitol, and perhaps introduce them TO
another exalted being or two, Joy that
is almost pathetic irradiates them.
1t is a great place to study human ma
ture, those House galleries, both above
stairs and below. Most of the ladies' who
come for diversion. develop a lively ami
mostly toward the unoffending. reading
clerk, after an hour or two. The poor
man is of course attending strictly to
the duties of his Job; but the ladies find
him as a thorn in the flesh and feel that
I'm stage phrase, he IS "hogging the Sit
uatlon." Gracious sakes alivew is he
They impatiently exclaim, when he is
merely getting in his regular work in
succession of roll-cals on a particularly
monotonous bill, or Petition The reading
clerk has driven thousands of ladies in
despair from the Capitol. Indeed, he has
even been known 20 vacate the seats OF
men, who have suddenly deserted amid
muuerings OF sulphurie character.
soddesscs that they are unable 70 give
any gentleman on the floor credit for
greatness who does not Took great'-for
distinction. n IN their view, he does not
look distinguished. Now q Is sin
gular fact but none the less capable OF
Demonstration. that the majority OF the
most eminent men. who have adorned the
two floors Of Congress during the last
auarter-ccntury, have AZ the eaIua time