The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-12-20
sovereign. Humility is. of course, only


| the house Of commons would be as much
as a kings throne. not TO speak OF his
/ mead. were worth. Yet in this prosaic
twentieth century the little comedy is
played out with painstakinS precision.
When the speaker of the house of COM
mons has had graciously conveyed to him
through the lips of the LORDS ccmmis-
sioners the soyerefgn's approval, he walks
10 and from the chair in all the ponp and
! circumstanc of full bottom wig and fiow-
ing gown, escorted by the sergeant-at-
arms carrying on his shoulder the mace.
which Cromwell, on a historic occasion,
alluded to as that baubie.
Pending royal confirmation Of his cleo
ton. the speaker is content with wearing
what in English legal circles is known as
"a bob wig with braided coat and knee
breeches. AS yet the sergeant-at-arms.
! direct representatives of the crown in the
house Of commons, does not know him.
! Once royal assent is conveyed everything
! is changed. The speaker, retiring TO his
/ private apartments comes forth arrayed
! in wig and gown. The sergeant-at-arms
shoulders his mace and escorts him to the
table of the house, both living happily
! together ever afterward.
| Elected today by an unuisputed ma
! jority the speaker of congress, wearing in
his coat the red carnation, enlblernatic OF
| a blameless life took his seat in the chair
with as little ado as if it were the pre-
| liminary of having luncheon spread on the
table before him. Not for him the chry-
sails state of the speaker or the house OF
commons, since there was no earlier but
! terry condition represented by the full
bottomed wig, the black silk gown, the
silken stockings shining over shapely
curves between knee breeches and silver
buckles set on oxford shoes. The dress
! Uncle joe Cannon wore when he went
to church yesterday, a private citizen,
he wore in the chair of congress today.
and WILL subject TO careful brushing,
wear every day he is called upon to per-
form the lofty duties of speaker of the
house of representatives.
To one who has lived in the house OF
commons for thirty years, known and
! reverenced three of our greatest speak
ers. there is something furtiveIy pleasing
I'm hearing the speaker of the Fifty-eighth
congress of the United States commonly
called Uncle joe" L suppose that even
might be carried too far
If, for example the gentleman from
Missouri whom / this afternoon was
panied to hear speak disparagingly Of the
gentleman from Ohio, had opened his
remarks by addressing the chair as I'm
Gle joe" there would have been disquiet
In the assembly. According TO the same
severe rule of conduct, when the roll OF
members was run through in the election
of speaker no one called out Uncle joe"
1t was "Cannon," to right of them, Can
non,' to left of them, volleyed and thun-
dered bringing to the chair Uncle Joe"
in triumph over Mr.. Williams, who APP
parently has not yet in public life earned
the endearment of a pet family appella-
ton
Uncle joe having been sworn in took
the chair as u duck takes to the water.
At the outset he had a little difficulty
with his spectacles An old parliament
tary hand, accustomed to exercise the
Huency of public speaking which comes to
Americans by nature, as reading and
writing come, according to Dogberry, he
fixed on his nose pair of glasses that
mad seen long service while he was still
a private member. But they would not
work.
After moments struggle he dived into
the recesses of his breast pocket and
fshed forth another pair These appar-
entity bore the speakers mark. Anyhow
they served. And in voice trifle trem-
ulous he read dignified little speech, as
warmly applauded on the Democratic
benches as it was by the Republican ma
iority With prompt and promising eye
to business, the speaker, having finished
his reading, said, in quite another tone.
reminiscent of the New York surface car
mans step lively" I'm ready to take
the oath of Office
Looking down from the diplomatic gall
lery on the crowded benches and COM
pairing the scene to the more familiar one
at Westminster. noted a marked differ
ence in the general physiognomy. The
average age of congressman is consid-
erably less than that or members of the
house of commons. With us parliament
tary life is the goal of long labor in the
commercial and professional mart We
have a sprinkling of dukes sons, and the
like. who come into the commons be-
cause their fathers were there before
them. In the main the house of commons
is composed of men over sfty. who have
made in other fields of labor their mark
and their fortune. and feel they can afford
TO add to their affluencc the stamp M.
p" which socially and otherwise, is of
substantial value in Great Britain Con- |
gressmen mustered at Washington gave |
an impartial observer the idea that they |
were at full work outside and meant to |
take on congress as a sort of annex TO /!
their own private business. 1
Complaint is sometimes made BY critics
of house of commons procedure that time
Is wasted in the division Hobbies. The
process, especially when utilized for OBJ
struetive purposes, is certainly a little
dreary. When on a question put divi-
sion is challenged the speaker cries aloud.
strangers will withdraw Formerly at
this signal the strangers galleries were
cleared OF late years expulsion has been
confined to strangers seated beneath the
galleries, actually on the floor of the
house. The clerk at the table twho. Mr..
Mcdowell will hear to envy, is wigsed
and gowned) turns handglass which
marks a space of two minutes. Meanwhile /
electric bells are Changing through every
corridor and in every direction and men,
bers come in On the trot. fearful of losing
a unit in their aggregate of divisions.
The speaker. again putting the question.
members pass out into the Yea or
Nay lobby, according to their convic-
tons. having their names voted and their
votes recorded by the exit The perform
ance occupies twelve minutes. But IL Is
complete ana conclusive. II by rare