The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-29

| POI IdHl pOSlllOnS III the Rouse Dy term
| of service, it is no wonder that the in
| Philadelphia and Pennsylvania were so
carefully fostered and nourished in all
! tariff and other upheavals. No city
| ever Jared better in the Committee on
Appropriations. A mint of .money was
spent in harbor and other improve
| ments. Islands were sholeved out of
the Delaware to improve her ship chan
nel and her great shipyards were fed
with government contracts aggregatinS
millions upon millions. One night al
most say that the new United States
navy was a product of Philadelphia.
! Alfred Harmer, one of her congress-
men, was a member of the Naval Com
mittee for twelve years. Unusually
rich was the reward reaped by the
foresight of her citizens in retaining
their delegation. O'Neill was a men,
Der of the Committees on Commerce
and Appropriations and Gen. Bingham
| has been on the Committee on Postof-
| fees and Post Roads fourteen years.
! For eight years he has held a leading
| place in the Committee on Appropria-
| lions, and for six years has been In
| the direct line of succession TO joseph
| G.. Cannon. Philadelphia has furnished
| successfully four fathers OF the House.
| Charles O'Neill succeeded William d.
Kelley, Alfred Harmer followed O'Neill
! and Harry Bingham Harmer. Rarely
did a delegation work more harmonl-
ously than did this from Philadelphia
in its long years of public service.
There seemed to be no jealousies
among them. Each did his level best
for the city he represented. II an APP
preparation for public building or Tor
League Island was sought each MEM
Der turned to and worked like beaver.
All understood the science of log-roil-
ing, and never were they defeated.
Their successors are young men who
have already acquired places on lnliu-
entail committees and are yearly De
! corAing more useful.
Reason of the SOuth's influence
It was term of service that gave the
South a preponderating influence IN
| legislation before the war. Indeed, II
has retained it since the conflict. In
Randalls first term as Speaker cine
| Forty-fourth Congress), the South helo
SO committee chairmanships and the
| North thirty-one In the succeeding
| CONGRESS- Southern Democrats had
thirty chairmen and Northern twenty
five. For his last term as Speaker,
| Randall selected thirty-two Southern
| members and tMenty-six men from the
North. Carlisle was Speaker OF the
| Forty-eighth Congress. His chalrmen
| included twenty-nine Democrats from
the South and twenty-six from the
| North In the Forty-ninth they STOOD
| South thirty-six to twenty-five North
In the Fifty second Congress the re-
cord stood thirty-six to twenty-four.
Charles f. Crisp presided over the Fiji
ty-second Congress. His chairmen
were thirty-two Southern Democrats
and twenty-seven from the North
This was in face of the fact that the
Democrats from the North exceeded
those from the South by a majority
of two. In the Firty-third Crisp divided
them-thirty- four to twenty-three, the
latter being the number allotted to
the North. These figures apparently
indicate that the speakers from the
South favored their own section at the
expense of their Northern colleagues
The truth is that the assignments We're
made, with very few exceptions in ac-
cordance with precedent those having
the longest service having the prefer
ence. Indeed, Crisp, if anything, ia
vored his brethren from the North
as they were at one time in the ma
jority.
Georgia has always recognized the
benefits to be derived from long serv-
ice. James H. Blount was twenty
years a member of the House and
served for years as chairman of the
|
roads, winding up as chairman of the
Foreign Affairs. He also served on the
Ways and Means and on Appropria-
tions. TO Paramount Blount was Geor-
gia indebted for many legislative It'd
bits. He was a Holman economist
with Indiana left out. Nor is the EN-
pire State of the South needless of the
lesson learned so many years ago. She
is enc of the few states that reelected
her entire delegation last year. Hei
oldest member in legislative experience
to-day is Rufus E. Lester of Savannah
| He has served twelve years, and was
favorite presiding officer in Commit
tee of the Whole when Crisp was
speaker. Savannah has reaped her re-
ward for his long service in liberal APP
preparations for her harbor anc
| public buildings. Leonidas f. Living
) sion, who has represented the Atlanta
; district for ten years is already in line
for the Craftsmanship of the Committee
. on Appropriation whenever the Democ.
racy regains the House. With Tate or
Naval Affairs, F'lemong on judiciary
! Lewis on Banking and Currency, Griggs
on the Postoffice and Post-roads, Adam
son on Interstate and Foreign Com
merce. Lester the head of the minority
on Rivers and Harbors. Howard on For
eign Affairs, Maddox on Insular Affairs
Brantley on Public Buildings anc
; Grounds, and Bartlett on Accounts, hei
representatives must have powerful in.
fluence on legislation when a Demo
cratic speaker appears.
Nor is the Northwest behind in the
procession. Minnesota has evidently
taken in the situation. She is THE only
one of the great Western states who
. has reelected her entire delegation
With Tawney on Ways aud Means anc
Insular Affairs, McCleary on Appro,
priations. aside from the chairmanshir
of the Committee on Library, Morris
of the Duluth district. on Rivers anc
Harbors: Stevens on Military Affairs
Heatwole on Foreign Affairs and chair.
man of the Printing Committee
Fletcher on the Mississippi Levees, and
Frank Eddy, chairman of Mines anc
Mining, IL would look as though sh,
, had bitten off more than she coulC
chew. At all events she is in a fan
? way to reap her reward for keeping
the most of these gentlemen in tn,
, House for the eight years past
And there are two Eastern State.
! who have had keen eye to their owl
interests. They are Connecticut ant
New Jersey. Both have sent back al
their old congressman. The dean o
the four from the Land of Steady Hab
: it's is Charles A Russell who has pu
in fourteen years in the House six o
which have been on the Ways an,
, Means. Hill, Henry and Sperry n
longer wear swadding clothes. an,
are fructifying i'm committees that will
inure TO the benefit OF the state
there is no sudden political frost. A
! for New Jersey delegation headed b,