Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-09
WASHINGTON CHAT.
Rural Sections Have Greatest
Power in Congress.
The Great Cites furnish Few Lead
ers in the House.
"A Plea for the Uniformity of Public
Buildings.

washington, Sept Sit is notable
DIS preparations for the work of Con-
sress are nearing, how adequately the
farmer and his interests is represented
III spite OF all populistic anxiety over the
dominance of the capitalistic classes.
Inc great cities, where corporate power
usually resides, furnish dismally dis
| proportionate number of the men who
do things
Inc eXpectant Speaker of the House
is from country district. Mr.. Cam
non, IN fact. takes pride in his farmer
phrases, ard all his illustrations and
personal interests SAVIOR of a rural
bringing up. He is the most powerful
single personality in the popular branch
OF Congress. The chairmapship which
Mr.. Cannon resigns-perhaps the most
important in the House-that of the
Committee on Appropriations, falls %
James A. Hemenway, who comes, Irom
one of the most rural districts in Indi-
ana. 1t embraces the famous county of
| Posey, also Pike, Gibson and Spencer.
| Hemenway himself comes from the VIII
lage of Eoonville. The House Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs has long been
| presided over by Robert r. Hit Of
Mount Morris, III. He is Il native Of
| Ogle County. and represents one of the
| richest farming districts in the Miss
| issippi Valley.
Other men whose names arc familiar
| to the publit-and that is Il far test of
| influence III conGresS-are the follow
| ing named representatives of essential
! ly country districts Payne of Auburn,
| N. Y, chairman of the Ways and
| Means Committee. ana floor leader Of
| the party; Richardson OF Tennessee,
| leader OF tie minority; Littlefield of
Maine, TaWney of Winona, Mimi, an
| independent spirit of the Committee on
| Ways and Means, who may perhaps be
a member of the Committee on Rules
| in the coming Congress, and Hepburn
OF Iowa. who is a potent influence.
| This list might be greatly multiplied.
| Few of the more conspicuous figures
in public life in this generation have
come from the great metropolitan cen
tres. Mckinley, Blaine, Reed and
Dingley We're all sent by rural constitu-
| encies. The New York city dele
| cation emphasizes the story. Those in
the last Congress We're: Storm, FftZ-
gerald, Rristow, Hamburg, Wilson,
Lindsay. LESSER (of naval scandal
fame). Dreamer, Goldfogle, Swami, Sui
| ger DIETER KNOWN. Mcclellan, Bel
mont, Douglass and RUPERT. The del
egation from Chicago, with the eXcep-
| ton of Mann and Henry Sherman Bou-
| telle is VIGOROUSLY weak. Its other
members We're Feely, Wilson, Foster,
| McAndrews and Mahoney.
| There are exceptions. of course, to
! the rule that city member does not
| count for much. but they are not over
| towering. The farmer has no reason
| to complain of his share of representa-
ton in Congress. either in Senate or
| House. Country congressman are much
closer to their constituents. A country
| district acquires a personality, like an
| old regiment, while q city district is
SO many blocks marked off at each
| enumeration time the city boss as
| signs his candidates to these squares
of patchwork oftentimes when they
have little Identification with district
life. The country congressman sends
out much more government ''litera-
ture" to his district than is sent out by
the urban congressman. Thousands of
residents of the great cities do not
know the number of their district or
who their congressman is; in the coun-
try every farmer has more or less of a
personal acquaintance with his con-
gresham, through the receipt of pack
ages of seeds and tariff speeches.
The country districts, as q result of this
familiar acquaintance with their con-
gresham, keep him in Washington
long enough for him to work up to a
position in the legislative organization
where he has some power. The cities,
passing around the honor as a reward
to members of political machines" are
practically not represented. No man
is allowed to remain long enough. even
if he has ability, and it must be admit
ted that in a majority of instances the
city member is no match for his rural
| colleagues in education or native tall
ent The best intelligence of cities is
not represented by the men who are
picked out by the politicians to come
to Congress, while in the rural districts
nomination is still something of a
prize The salary and allowances seem
more nearly adequate to the rural as
pirant for fame than for the success
full urban lawyer or business man.
This MISREPRESENTATION of the great
cities shows itself when currency re-
form and similar issues come to the
front: the strongholds of business do
not possess the strongholds of legisla
ton.
Why shonld not Government build
ings be constructed on approximately
the same architectural design, in all
parts of the country. SO that the travel
err in strange city would readily dis
Germ a Government edifice just as he
would piece of his country's coin?
Since there is. as a rule, but one public
building in ii city. the objection would
not apply. 1t has been suggested that
lit might be interesting to have the
public buildings of given period OF
| he