The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-12-07
A BIG TASK FOR
SENATOR @. 4. PLATT
TO ASSIGN HIS FELLOW-MEMBBRS
He Accepts the OnerOus Duty of Ar
ranging Committees of Upper
House of COngress-LIght on
Chairmanshipz


cant committee places. task that might
well appalI the strongest man.
The Rule of Seniority
There is probably no body Of men on
earth who stand on their rights so strictly
as United States Senators. and there is
no end to their weaknesses and whims.
Mr. Plat will have little or no trouble
IN settling the chairnza Rships, for there
IS an unwritten rule in the Senate. 10
more breakable than diamond. that Sc
niority Of service shall determine Sen
atOr's rank on committee
So il is easy to take the list and say
who viii get the vacant chairmaEshfps.
but the patience. good nature. and di-
p!omaey Of Mr., Plat and his associates
Will be strained to the utmost to arrange
the other places so that their colleagues
| viii be satisfied.
Mr. CuiIom's Chairmanship
It is because the rule Of seniority OF
| service is iniexible that Mr.. CuIIom Of
| Illinois becomes Chairman Of Foreign Re
| iations, and his colleague. Mr.. Mason of
! Postofiices and Post Roads.
| MI Cuilom, although a man Of long ex-
/ pcTicnce in national affairs is not very
: ''-A- fNi9Nu III AOl tAEl dAdlI5. ana lie was
| very well content to remain as Chairman
/ OF the Committee on Interstate Commerce,
! but Tor personal reasons, growing chiefly
out Of the desire of members Of his family.
/ he asserted his right Of seniority and VIII
/ therefore, 90 TO the head Of the Foreign
/ Relations Committee.
Mr.. MasOn's Committee.
| His colleague. Senator Mason, VIII be
| come Chairman of the Committee On Post
| Offices and Post Roads, one of the most
| important in the list. and which handles
an appropriation bill Of gigantic size, sim
/ ply because three Senators who outranEed
| him on the committee in the last Con
gress-Messrs- WCiCOtJ Of Colorado Chan
der or New Hampshire, and Carter of
A0nLana-were defeated for reelection.
Mr.. Mason has been in the Senate only
1 four years, and under the ordinary rule
! he would have served 4 much longer pro
( baton but luck came his way and he
viii be the new Chairman Of the Pcsroffice
Committee.
In Ike manner M EI5ins Of West Viz
gInia VIII become Chairman OF the Com
mittee on Interstate Commerce. BIT. stew
art OF Nevada. who came hack TO the Re
publican party only recently viii get In
dian Affairs. and so on down the list.
Bount- to Re Hair Pulling
But no matter how inexorabIy the Sc
niority rule viii be applied. and no mat
ter how fine the game viii be worked BY
Senator Plat and his colleagues. there is
bound to be a lot Of hair pulling over the
IearTangemCnt OF the. committees not
alone because Of Jba naming OF the per
sonnet. but over the distribution OF the
committee rooms
Twenty years ago only the chairmen of
ElF r1- - 80
now every Senator. whether he is
chairman Of big committee or q little
one, or none at all, must have a room
and two OF three clerks. and indeed
they have become so particular in this
regard that no Senator Is satisfied now
unless he has two rOOms-a public one
for committee business and q private
one for himself
Job for Rules Committee
To meet this demand. the massive walls
Of the partitions Of the Senate wings
are knocked full of holes to make pri
vate rooms. and all the Senators who
have them are looked upon with envy
by those who have them not.
This state of things has brought about
something OF a row that viii have to be
settled by the Committee on Rules.
When Senator CuIlom decided, for per
sonal and family reasons. to become
Chairman of Foreign Relations Commit
tee. which has only one room he figured I
Oh moving the committee up to the gal
IeTy floor Of the Senate, where the Com /
mittee on Interstate Commerce has
two rooms, but Mr.. EIkins, who is TO be
Chairman Of the Interstate Commerce
was Just as anxious to have two rooms /
as Hr. CuIlom, and objected to giving /
up his place for the one room of For |
eigu Relations.
Where Mr. PIatt Interfered.
During the controversy over this point. |
it was discovered that several months ago
the beautiful suite of rooms in the new
part Of the building. now occupied by Sen
ator Platt of New York as Chairman Of /
the Committee on Printing. had been spe-
clailY furnished with the view to turn
ing 1t over to the Committee on Foreign
Relations in order to give Mr. CulIom the
desired two rooms and at the same time
crafty the wishes Of Mr.. E.Ikins, leaving
the undesirable one room of Foreign Re
latIOns to some Senator without much of
a pull
But Senator Plat put his veto on this
by declining TO give up his fine rooms that /
had been so beautifully furnished Pos
session IS nine points Of the law. he SAYS.
and he refuses to move.
The result Of II all is going to be that |
TX CSAlAilAtttCE Ou IAulGS VIII decree that J
the committee rooms belong to the Sen
ate and not to the individual Senator's and
that when man accepts a chaIrmanship !
he must take the room that belongs to it.
As to Counting Chickens.
Counting chickens before they are
Matched" is species OF amusement
which has the formal approval OF Sena-
.oriaI custom
The Senate adjourned last March with
1ut reoTganizing the committees. but
he Senator's who knew that they were
entitled to ehairmanships by reason of
seniority Immediately took possession Of /
he rooms and have had them refurnished
o suit their individual tastes. although
he committee TO arrange committees was
appointed only yesterday. The embryo |
;hairmen have taken possession of the !
business as we'll as the rooms. and mat |
ers Of legislation are being formally
considered, Notwithstanding the fact that !
many Of the committees are short of
membership as well as short Of chair
nen by reason of the expiration Of Sena-
oTiaI terms
All this is made possible by the con .
titutionai provision that the Senate is .
continuous body