Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-23
WHEN HARRISON WAS SENATOR

Benjamin Harrisons term in the sen ate expired on March I, 1887, only fourteen years ago. This is not d long period in nations life. but, meas ured by the changes which have oc- cured in the body of which he was q member, it seems q century. One uncOnsciously regards the senate as largely composed of men who have been for years in their familiar seats, and yet when one compares the mem- bership of 1887 with the personnel of the senate on March 4, 1901, the result is almost startling.
 In the first place, out of the forty five states-not forty-tve, to be sure, when Harrison was senator-there are only three which are to-day represent ed by the same senators who were in their seats when Harrison's term eX- pired. Frye and Hale of Maine. Platt and Hawley of Connecticut and Vest and COckrell of MiSSOuri-these are the six men who in 1887 were side by side in the senate with the now dead presi- dent. The list of other senators who are still in the body is very meager, almost to be counted on ones fingers. Morgan, Teller. Cullom. Allison. Hoa1. Sewcll, Aldrich, SpoOf1er, Jones of Ar kansas and Jones of Nevada consti- tute the small remnant of remaining senators. Mir Morgan, now in his 77th year, has just been reelected for an- other term. and with Allison. Hoar, Spooner, Aldrich and his other col leagues. seems destined to round out his noble career in the body which has so long been honored by his presence. But what q sermon is this mere hand full of names. Evarts. Vance, Sher- man. Morrill,. Ingalls, and other bril- liant and able men who were in the senate in Harrison's time are dead and gone. Others have been relegated to private life and are forgotten. In fourteen years there has been almost a complete revolution in the personne, | of the senate.
 1 The unrest which has pervaded | American politics in the last fourteen | years has been reflected in the senate body which formely prided itsen | upon it's immunity from the disturb ances of political mutation From the south has come an entirely new set Or men, some of them. like Tillman, through the overturning of long estab- l lished regime, and others, like MT Laurin, typifying departure from the views which southern democrats have always regarded as sacred as the gos- pei. The upheavals in the west brought to the surface men who ad- | yocated strange, impractical ideas in
 
 and Vest remaining as the only land- marks. The north, usually conserva- tive, has manifested the same desire for q change. Only in New Englanu is there any steadfastness. Out of the twelve senators from the New Eng. land states no less than siX-frye. Hale. platt, Hawley. Aldlich and Hoar who were in the senate in Harrison s time still remain. The result is that their seniority of service and accumll- lated experience give them command ing power. All of them are chairmen of great committees-Aldrich of finance. Hoar of Judiciary, Frye of commerce. Hale of naval affairs, flaw ley of military affairs and Platt of re- lations with Cuba. New England has gained an unparalleled domination in national affairs in the senate because the New England senators have not been Washington Post.