The Washington times., 1901-12-20
PUZZLE, = FOR
The SENATE.
Who Is Entitled to the
Committee Rooms?
NAY RESORT TO PHYSICAL FORCE,
Government May Have to Build,
Equip, and Furnish Private Resi-
dence for Each Senator-Com-
mittee in Charge of the Matter
Has No5 Sufficient Power.

The Senate convened yesterday for the
last time until the holiday recess has end
ed. and adjourned over until January 6.
Little business was transacted on the
last day. as. many. OF the members of the
upper body left the city for their homes,
and little interest was manifested in the
proceedings.
The House also adjourned after enact
ing one piece of legislation, the Philippine
Tariff bill.
Congress has been in session jus; seven
teen days, and the Senate succeeded in en-
acting One Important piece OF legislation.
the Hay Paunceiote Treaty
When the lawmakers reconvene on jan
uary 6 both the Senate and the House. ac-
cordiDg torthe present programme. will
proceed TO the consideration of a canal
construction bill. Mr.. Morgan being the
godfather of ene in the Senate and Mr..
Hepburn pibGrnn Of one in the House of Repre-
scntatives
The Com aiittee Room Puzzle.
Little or no. committee work has been
mapped out to be done during the recess
beyond the preliminary work of preparing
come of the advance annual appropriation
bills, A very serious problem, however,
confronts the Senate, and a few of the
older and presumably wiser heads have
been left on guard to study out a plan for
solving it. 't
This is the committee room puzzle.
which has become acute and more bother
some than the famous fifteen puzzle or
the pigs in clover" that worried the
heads of the American people few years
ago. The committee room puzzle is, how
ever, serious, and the Senators are abso-
lutely at loss for plan that will solve
IL SO that they may live together In peace
and harmony.
Committee Lacks Power.
The Senate has a committee on rules,
but it possesses no such autocratic power
as belongs to the like committee in the
House OF Representatives. whose word is
law and whose members are themselves
the creatures of the Speaker. The Senate
Committee or Rules suggest, orders, and
recommends, but the Senate pays no more
attention to the commands than to those
of any other committee Of the body. and
that in some cases is very little
The attempt Of various Senators to
preenpt' IN" advance certain desirable
committee rooms as soon as IL was
learned by the expiration of various Sem
atorlal terms March last what chair
rnanships would be vacant, by anticipat-
ing their promotion to the committee
chairmanships, grew into such fragrant
abuse that the Committee on Rules or
dered that II should be held that the
committee rooms belong to the commit
tees and rot TO the Senators who might
happen to be chairmen Of them.
Meaning of the order.
The effect OF This order was to say that
Senator Plat of New York, for instance.
the, Chairman of the Committee on Print
ing, should retain the desirable room
that he picked out last year. instead of
having to give it up 10 new chairman
who had been squeezed out of his own
room
The order meant that Senator Cullom
should vacate the room of the Committee
on Interstate Commerce and turn II over
10 the new chairman, Mr.. Elkins. instead
Of keeping 1t himself. on account of its
size and accessibility.
The order meant. in fact that every
committee room should belong to the
committee the name of which is painted
over the door and as 1t interfered with
the convenience and comfort Of Senators
they simply paid no attention to il.
The Senators who picked out the com
mittee rooms they thought they were en-
fitled, TO under a liberal construction of
the old rules are standing guard over
them and are swapping their fingers at
the Committee on Rules. II looks now as
II IL would be necessary to resort to
physical force 10 get matters into smooth
running order again.
--------Rcai Cause of Trouble.
The cause OF all this trouble about
committee rooms Ia that every Senator
nov feels that he must have two COM
public business and one adjoining in
which to receive his personal friends and
transact his private affairs.
The present room OF the Committee on
Foreign Relations is beautiful one
which Yas ornately and eXpensivoly dec
grated about two years ago under the di-
rection Of the then chairman, Senator
Davis. But there Is no back room at
tacfied. as the Senate postoffice is next
door II is impossible to punch a hole
through the massive wall in order to make
another room. as has been done for the
past two or three years all over the
Senate wing Of the Capitol.
All the Comforts of Home.
The Senator's now have every facility
for agroeably transacting the public busi
ness provided at Government expense. in
addition TO many ersoral comforts, in
GLIDING free baths and BARRIERS, tele-
pkoasa galore medicines in emere cncy
pHs~& lemonade IA the summer. public
.sSd private secretaries, the free delivery
OF mail several times day at their resi-
dences, and many like adjunots TO an easy
life, but each must have two committee
rooms or they viii not be happy.
II Is thought that the time is coming
when proposition VIII be seriously made |
20 build in the neighborhood OF the Capt. |
fol grounds twice as many fine private |
residences as there are States iL The |
Union and give one TO each Senator. com
pletely furnished. and fully equipr cd with |
rervants free Of expense. II this should |
be done the houses would all have to be |
built exactly alike. and all face south, or |
else there would be the same scramble |
for preference, as is nov going on over the |
distribution OF the committee rooms.
Efghf-1Iour Bill 10 Come Up.
1