The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-02-26

CONGRESS-.
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that palter with us in double sense
that keep the word of promise to our ear
and break it to our hope?" We'll, it look
little as though Congress- might be tryinI
to play double game of,ahe same char
acter. Finding that holding eulogies OIL
a week day kept back the Business Of tn
House, the members decidsa to hold thu
eulogy exercises on Sunday. This custom
has been followed the past year, ant
worked very well. Nobody attended the ex
| ercises except those who had to speak
but that makes no difference to posterity
The Congressional Record, dated Sunday
shows that Congress met, many eulogies
were pronounced, and that as "a token OF
respect, the House then adjourned" and
the reports show up with the usual trim
mings, 'Mr. Blank addressed the House
His remarks will appear hereafter" Then
some member of one or the other Houses
of Congress will offer resolution that
5000 copies of the eulogies pronounced
in memory of Mr.. Blank Blank be print
ed, so many for the House and so many
for the Senate and so many for the be-
reayed relatives" and it will be done.
Posterity will have all this to show; as for
the present, it will not be year before
the name of the members who have passed
away are forgotten. 1t is the way of ma
ture.
All this belongs to past age, and really
it ought to be omitted entirely. The Con-
gressi0nal eulogy ought to have lapsed
with the horrible cenOtaph business, which
something like so or 80 years ago led to
the establishment of Congressional Gem
etery." At the time that this was estab-
lished the ground upon which it lies was
far out of the city, over in the southeast
section near the Eastern Branch. No
Congressman are buried there, and it was
not expected that any would be laid in the
little plot of ground, but some imbecie
conceived The idea that when a member of
Congress died monument to his memory
should be erected in a cemetery in Wash
ngton. So they began to put them up.
They look like caps to a srnokestack. and
are of soft stone of some kind which has
darkened with age. On each is carved
the name, title to fame, u few of the deeds
of the man to whom the ccnOtaph is erect
ed. They stand about four feet high. and
are so hideous that they would make adj
nlirable scare-crows. They stand Just as
close together as it is possible to put
them, are exactly of n size and hight, and
a drearier, lonesomer spot sure never had
its location in one of Gods Acres"
There must be 200 of these crumbling
cenotaphs, and the inscriptions are entire
" effaced from the earlier ones. About
20 years ago it struck some member
Of Congress as the hight of absurdity to
perpetuate the farce any further, and no
new stones have been put mp there since
In all probability the corner will be en-
irely abandoned some day; and all the
friGhtful old stone posts VIII be taken for
1 fence SOmeWlpr yoiug
But there is trouble oSar the Sunday
,nlosies. Sunday is dies non juri1icus,"
n the law, hence BUSINESS transacted on
hat day has no standinrl in. q court of
Justice. On this particular Sunday. the
Journal of Saturday wa4 .pad and ap-
proved, and then Representative Hepburn, |
If Iowa. commonly called :ilpl. Pete Hep
,urn." who is Chairman ofBthe Committee |
N Interstate Commencement in between |
he eulogies with a conference report, |
which he desired, as. the Congressional
Record of Monday duly states. to present |
n order that it might be- printed in the
record of that date. SO THAT it might be
aid before the members Of The House on
Monday morning. - Col Hetptrn was rec |
gnized, got in his report. lind subsidized.
But in the Congressional Record of Mon
lay morning here came the conference re-
he late Senator SewelI. Of New Jersey,
nd the late Representative Joshua S. Sal
non, of New Jersey. 1t showed that the
speaker recognized Col. Hepburn, placed
he matter Of accepting the Conference
eport before the House, and by unani.
nous consent it was accepted
Monday morning Mr.. Richardson
TENN objected to the approval CT the
In,, 81 - |
eference TO mere worldly affairs. The
speaker ruled that the House had right
0 legislate on Sunday if it chose to. Mr..
richardson thought not. The discussion
OF little warm, but the Speaker, on
IT. Richardson's motion, finally put it to a
ote, and the Members went on record
gainst Sunday legislation by good ma
ority.
When the vote was finally announced,
Ir. Richardson demanded q roll call on
is motion to strike out all reference to
ne Conference report in the permanent
.ecord, and this also carried. Then Col
Hepburn lowered up in his seat to ask
where he was at" He said he had
ertainly introduced his Conference report,
had been accepted, and it had been
rinted in the Congressional Record, and
'as properly before the members under
ne Rules of the House. Now by a vote ,
the House, all that concerned the Con-
erence report was to be cXpunged from {
he Record. He was anxious to know the
-atus of his report. Then Mr.. Hender-
IN. who was in the chair, made the fol- {
wing reply, which is taken from the !
congressional Record:
1.-THE Chair will answer. The Chair !
ready to rule. We can not use all the
ny on this sort Of business. The Chair
limits that what has been done is proof {
its having been done. as fact. laugh
~ The Journal has been corrected, and '
lere is no proof that these (the Confer [
ice repOrts) were filed. Uaughter.) The
hair recognizes, and the gentleman. the
hair trusts, will recognize this The Chair
ated that he felt that there was per-
apps question about this, but there is
D doubt of the legal right and of the exer- T
sc of it, and had no doubt at all, until
lie House has just spoken. that what was
'ne was perfectly legal. Yet the sensitive
cling of every member, which feeling the
hair entertained, makes us all dislike to
ave day that is set apart possibly used
II another purpose. (Applause) The !.
hair thinks that is the,ifeeling of the e
ouse, and suggests thai sriie gentleman q
ing in his report and I3aIs statement Q
new, and have it priniedain sweet COM ;
lance with the decision asf the House, C
and applause. ybin &c
Sid II s'~
And SO. that incident sefided. This is $
NV precedent. 1t neyefD1lappened be- [
re in the history of Corfni'eSs, it is said. '
at Sunday was actuallyiealled a ''legis- Z
tive day. Sunday has i,er-y often been {
,secrated by CongresssT1emaining all I
ght IN session., and r,tnA3hg over into