The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1903-03-26
At Washington.

corning conditions at Washington,
William Allen White, in the Satur-
day Evening Post, says:
The new Congressman upon arriv-
ing at Washington takes header in
oblivion. No matter how much
fame he may have at home, no mat
ter what may be his achievements
in other than political work, no mat
ter how much or how little money
he may have, and no matter what
may be his family, the new Congress-
man ia Washington is unknown.
Department clerks drawing hun
dred dollars month sniff at the new
millionaire member of the House of
Represen tatives, and refer to him as
"a little old dinky Congressman. "
His wife, who may be Van Rensse-
lear, Pierpont or a Jonse, has to
make the first call ON the wives of
Senators and the wives of mem oers
of the Cabinent before the family
can have the slightest official recog-
milton! The new Congressman can't
second a motion or move to adjourn
without getting some ones consent:
his bills are buried, and his resolu-
tions come to naught. Eie is the
parasite on the flea on the end of the
hair of the tip of the tail of the dog
of the boy of the wife of the Wild Man
of Borneo! 1t barely possible that
he may agitate thef1ea, and ruffie the
hair, and wag the tail, and animate
the dog, and attract the boy, and
startle the mother, and move the old
man and getsomething done, but it is
highly improbable. The Congress-
man is at the bottom of the ladder:
and the only way he can climb up is
by hard, well directed work. The
great danger threatening the new
member is that he may spend his
time looking for some other kind oil
work than that wIichlies before him.
4 There are sixty-twO committees il
the organization of the House.
j About twenty of them are important
committees. They are the commit
tees on Ways and Means, Appropria-
tions, Judiciary, Banking and
Currency, Interstate and Foreign
Commerce, River and Harbors,
| Merchant Marine and Fisheries,
Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Naval
Affairs, Military Affairs, Office
and Post Roads, Indian Affairs, In
sular Affairs, Public Buildings and
Grounds, Pensions. District OF
Columbia, Rules, Public Lands and
Territories. OF course a new mem
Der is not put on any of these com
nj ttees-except in rare cases. If he
lands on the Committee on Election
or on Ventilation and Acoestics he
is doing well. And because his
committee is unimportant the new
member is tempted to shirk his
work. Ii he yields to temptation
he joins the great majority mem
bers who come back to Wash
ington year after year and never
get any place in the organization Of
the House. For work even in hum
Die places is recognized, and a work
er moves up. There are not over
two dozen effective workers in the
House, and they run it. These two
dozen men are Henderson, Cannon,
Payne, Dalzell, Grosvenor, Little
field Babcock, Hepburn, Richard
soE, John S. Williams, DeArmond,
Sherman, Hit, Hull, Burton OF
Ohio. Tawney, jenkins, Mccall,
Foss, Grow, Cooper, Hemenway,
Overstreet and Underwood. Long,
Loud and Hopkins might be includ-
ed in this list, but they leave the
House with this session. Clarke,
Cushman. Lands, Curtis, Lacey,
Littauer Dick and half dozen
other especially active members
may move into the first rank next
year. These House leaders form an
autocracy. They are the House of
Representatives. The other mem
bers seem to be merely a Greek
chorus, coming on the stage at.
times, chanting the praises or be-
wailing the iniquities of the real &C.
4.sss- - L. 2