Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-22

time absolutely from that devoted to recre-
alton. Consequently his ONCE in the hotel
is some distance from his suite Of living
rooms, although near enough to be con.
venient. When he steps into his office In
the morning he finds there his secretary,
Julian w. Richards, his clerk, L. J. Nc
Nicely, and his stenographer. Mr.. Rich
ards calls up matters in connection with
the house, to which he has been assigned,
Mr.. McNeely presents the speakers let
tiers and private correspondence lis stem
ographer, Johnson, takes whatever dicta-
ton the speaker desires to give and by
1890 all Of the speakers private business
is cleaned up and out Of the way. At II
o'clock he is down at his office in the cap
itol. where the same force surrounds him.
with the addition Of A. G. Kinds, clerk at
the speakers table. and Omitted to be
the most competent authority on matters
Of parliamentary law and procedure known
to the house. From II to u the speakers
office is open to members Of the house in
discriminatory. who lay before him such
matters as they may see At. In addition
to his office at the Normandie and at the
capitol, the speaker has another office,
which might be termed a sort of retreat.
It Is downstairs underneath his office on
the floor Of the house. 1t is here that he
takes his lunch and where he receives
only such visitors as he himself designates.
This is the only place where the speaker
has absolute privacy. Here II is that he
holds his conferences, usually with such
men as Representatives Dalzell and Gros-
venor Of the committee on rules, Represent
alive Payne, chairman of the committee
on ways and means; Representative Cannon,
chairman of the committee on appropria-
| NfDnu anH AfhnHo fn11VVaNn1 gnnnfnrz aah-
met officers and others who seek him pri-
vately on matters of legislation.
Social side Of His Life.
As stated, It is the custom OF Speaker
Henderson to divide his private life from
his public business absolutely, and when
he reaches the hotel after the days ses-
sion his work is practically over for the
day. This does not mean that there are
not many affairs of public character dis
cussed over little dinners or suppers dur
ing social entertainments of various kinds,
but as far as the direct business Of the
house is concerned it is set aside when
the gavel falls. From 8 o'clock on during
| the evening the speaker is not the speaker,
but the genial David B. Henderson, mem
Der Of congress from Iowa, fond Of a good
story, ready to laugh at a good joke, who
sings a good song and is not averse to
other social recreations. No speaker since
the days Of James G.. Blaine has been so
fond of social diversions as Speaker Hen
derson, who rarely spends an evening
alone. His social life is divided between
the immediate circle of his own personal
friends and the general official and So
cial world, with which he is thrown in
contact largely through his position.
In official society the speaker is most
,A-JIoI hNN ofnndd nnngiHnrah1y IN Tho
dignity Of his position. On this subject
Mr.. Henderson has been more frank than
his predecessors. He believes that as
speaker OF the greatest popular lssisla-
tive body in the world his position is sec
ond only to that Of the president, and be-
lieves that he should maintain the dig
nifty Of the Office accordingly. 1t is not
so much the man as the position to which
he insists that proper respect should be
paid. In private life, however, the speaker
throws aside all reserve and enters into
the spirit and humor of those around him
with as much zest as though he were an
ordinary member of congress. In his i'm
mediate circle the speaker knows no diff
ference Of position and never takes into
consideration the oficial character Of
those who surround him. On such occa-
sions, when the speaker is really seen at
his best from a social view, his title is
very seldom mentioned, and 1t is General"
or "Mr. Henderson" and to his old friends
Dave" Just as he addresses them as
Uncle Joe" (Cannon), Uncle Pete" Hep
burn), Jim" (Sherman) and so on through
the list.
Domestic in His Tastes.
The speaker is especially devoted to his
Scotch song, his liking for this being in
kz-l4.a 49,, hi. Confnh ancagtry and he
ing the possessor Of a good voice, an ear
for music and a retentive memory, he
often leads the chorus and always p~artici-
pates in 1t when the opportunity affords.
He is devoted to his family, and 1t was a
source of great discomfort to him that
Mrs. Henderson was obliged to be absent
from Washington during the greater part
OF the last session in attendance on her
aged parents in California and his daughter
should be abroad completing her musical
education. While not a maj Of large
means, the speaker has a private Income
in addition to his salary, and although
unable TO maintain a luxurious establish
ment in Washington, he is very fond Of
entertaining and gives frequent dinners at
the Metropolitan club and elsewhere. The
speaker is Of a most genial disposition,
and those Of his friends who have IA
vors to ask seldom find their requests de-
MED unless they conflict with his concep-
ton of his duty to the public and the
house, and on this point the speaker is
immovable. A striking illustration of this
is the fact that in making up his list OF
committees for this session the speaker
first gave an opportunity for every mem
Der to be heard who wished to present his
desires as to committee places and then
he practically withdrew from all contact
with members of the house, and even the
chairmen OF the committees themselves
had very little to say in regard to the per-
sonnet of their committees. The speaker
preferred to place men on committees
where he thought they would fit, forming
his opinion upon his personal knowledge
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