The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-07
TO FILL SENATE COMMITTEES.
THE TASK ACCEPTED ny SENATOR
PLATT or CONNECTICUT.
His Pa thence and Good Nature idkely TO
lie strained IA the Utmost In Assisn.
Ing senators TO Vacant Places --Trou'
HE over the Distribution NJ Rooms.

Ing senators 10 vacant tIuCtr sIV'-
HE over the Distribution of Rooms.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-Senator Platt
of Connecticut Is "a years OF age, but the
or,ality of his nerve Is shown by the fact
tina, ne has accepted the craftsmanship
of the Committee on Committees. This
means that he has assumed the RESPONSE
bilitv of assigning Republican Senator'S
10 the vacant places, a task that might
well appall the strongest man There IL
probably no body Of men on earth who
stand on their prerogatives 80 strongly
a. United States Senators, and there IL no
end TO their weaknesses and whims. Mr.
Platt will have little or no trouble IN set
Ting the chairmanships. for there IA an
unwritten rule in the Senate that seniority
OF service shall determine a Senator'S rank
ON n committee. So II Ia easy to take the
ist and say who will get the vacant chair
manships, but the patience, good nature ana
diplomacy Of Mr.. Plat and his associates
will be strained to the utmost TO arrange
the other places so that their colleagues
will be satisfied
II is because the rule OF seniority Of service
Is infexible that Mr.. Cullom OF Illinois be-
comes chairman Of the Foreign Relations
Committee and his colleague, Mr.. Mason
OF Post Offices and Post Roads, MIR. CuDom
was content TO remain as chairman OF the
Committee on Interstate Commerce. but
far personal reasons, growing chiefly out
III the desire of member OF his FANNY, ne
asserted his right Of seniority and will there
fore 30 to the head of the Foreign hela-
items Committee. His colleague, Senator
Mason, will become chairman OF the Com-
mittee on Post Offices and Post ROADS,
one of the most important in the list, simply
because three Senators who outranked
him on the committee In the last Congress
--Wolcott of Colorado, Chandler OF New
Hampshire and Carter OF
defeated for reelection. In like manner
Nj Tlkins of West Virginia will become
chairman Of Interstate Commerce; stewart
of Nevada, who came back 10 the Republican
party only recently. will get Indian Affairs,
and 50 on down the list.
But no matter how inexorably the seniority
rnle will be applied and no matter how
fDe One game will be worked by Senator
platt and his colleagues, there IL bound 10
lie a lot of hair-pulling over the rearrange-
81 the naming Of the personnel, but over
the distribution Of the committee rooms:
Twenty years ago only the chairmen, OF
big committees had private rooms, out
now every Senator, whether he Is chairman
"A a. big committee or a little one or none
m must have a room and two or three
clerks. and, indeed. they have become
70 particular in this regard that no Senator
il satisfied now unless he has two rooms.
a public one for committee business and
a private one for himself. During the
last few wears, To meet this demand, the
massive partition of the Senate wing has
been knocked full of holes TO make private
rooms and all the Senators who have them
are looked upon with envy by those who
have not. This state of things has brought
about something Of a row that WIZ nave
10 be settled by the Committee on Rules.
When Senator Cullom decided for per-
sonal and family reasons to become chair
man of the Foreign Relations Committee,
which has only one room, he figured, on
moving the committee up to the gallery
foor OF the Senate, where the Committee
on Interstate Commerce has two rooms,
but MIR. Elkins, who II to he chairman OF the
Interstate Commerce committee. was Just
as anxious to have two rooms a. MIR. Suilom
and objected to changing rooms. During
the controversy over this point il was dis
covered that several months ago the beautl-
fu, suite of rooms in the new part OF the
building, now occupied by Senator Platt OF
New York a. chairman of the Printing
Committee had been specially furnished
with a view 10 turning II over Ia the oofn-
mittee on Foreign Relations. in order 10
give Mr.. Cullom the desired two rooms and
al the same time crafty the wishes OF Mr..
Flkins, leaving the undesirable one room
of Foreign Relations to some Senators
without much Of a pull. but senator Platt
mt his veto on this by declining Ia give up
his fine rooms thai had been 80 beautifully
furnished Possession II nine points OF The
law, he says, and he refuses 20 move. lhe
result Of II b. going To be that the oom-
mittee on Rules will decree that the com-
mittee rooms u"long Ia the Senate and not
10 the individual Senators and that when a
man accepts "A Craftsmanship he must take
the room that belongs - u.