The Irish standard., 1903-10-24

or after Pennington waS Henderson,
In tho long list Clay held the speaker
ship longest. His national political
career WAS n curious one. lie was
first 81 senator for Il part of the term,
and was then elected to the Kentucky
house. of which hc WAS Immediately
chosen speaker: then WAS again sent
To he United States Srnntc for nnotl-
rr part of Il term. after which his
house career began. This was about
as irregular as his SpcnkrrShp terms
in the house of representatives, there
being two intervals during the in
cumhcncy, one of nearly two years
ana the second of nearly four years.
His aggregate tenure was approXi-
matcly 10 years. Theodore Pomcroy.
of New York, was speaker one day,
having been elected on the third of
March. 1869, on the day Colfax rcsign-
cd to enter upon the duties of vice.
president. This is the shortest term
on record. John Bell. of Tennessee,
filled the Stevenson vacancy June ..
1884. and thus served only nine
months Andrew Stevenson, Demo-
rrnt, of Virginia.. was speaker four
times, and is next in record to that
of Clay. Blaine. Carlisle ana Reed
were each six years speaker. ana RAN
DALI served five years. Strange to say,
New York. with its large membership
in HE house has had but one speaker
Mr.. Taylor. leaving out Of account
lomcrOy's single days service. Penn
sylvann has furnished three, Muhlen-
burg. Grow and Rnndall: Virginia
four, Barbour. Stevenson. Hunter and
Jones; Massachusetts four. Sedgwick,
Vnrnum, Winthrop ana Banks; Ken
t''rky four. Clay. White, Boyd and
Carlisle: Indiana three. Davis, Colfax
and Kerr: South Carolina two,
Chccvcs ana James l.. Orr: Maine
two. Blaine and Reed: Tennessee two,
Bell ana Polk; New Jersey two, Day
ton nnd Pennington, and Georgia two,
Cobb ana Crisp. In the opening days
of the memorable Fifty-hrst congress
Charles II. Crisp, the successor of Mr..
Carlisle. was an obscure and cOmpara-
lively new member. He had arisen
| to the foremost position OF the min
GRITTY on the Committee of Elections
at the critical iuncture when Speaker
Reed startled the country with his
decision to count a quorum when
enough members We're present This
brought Crisp prominently to the
front. He Immediately pushed into
the van Of his party associates and
Joined in battle against the issue
created with a force, audacity and
ability, which stamped him as the
natural leader of the minority. even
at the time when Roger @. Mills, Of
Texas, and VIM. M. Springer, of H.
linois, were the veterans and acknowl-
| edged leaders of the house on the
Democratic side. All of them opposed
! Reeds innovation with the most siren
nous voice. They protested and urged
| and gcSticulatcd and vOcferated. and
particularly strenuous member Of
Texas even kicked open the door of
the house in protest against the rul-
ings Of Reed, who kept the even tenor
of his way, while the storm ragged
against him like a tcmpest-tossed sea,
until finally. in subsequent sessions.
the justice of his course was acknowl-
edged by the sincere hattery of imita-
tiOn by the Democrats when they
came into power in the house. In all
this luhbub and conflict Crisp clearly
rose above his Democratic colleagues.
as evidenced in his speech in reply to
William Mckinley then the floor lead
er of the majority. in which he quoted
from speeches by Blaine and other Re-
publican leaders. and closed with
quotation of great power and earnest
ness from a former speech of Speake"
Reed. while he was at the head of thu
Republican minority, ending with iii,
couplet:
II appeal from Philip drunk to
Philip sober"
This peroration set the nnmocrnts