The Tupelo journal., 1904-01-15
Kate Powers Letter

eagerly looked forward to, has at last
taken place and the legislature of 1904
has, with due ceremony assembled in
the splendid halls built for the two
great law-making bodies in the new
capitol, which is already famed in the
land for it's beauty and perfection Of
arrangement.
Promptly on the stroke of twelve
o'clock-noon-on Tuesday after the
first Monday in January" the gavels
fell, and the two houses entered upon
the organization of their respective
bodies. In the senate Lieut.. Gov. Har-
rison presides until his successor, Hon.
Carter, takes the oath of Office. In
the election of a president pro tenn
he august body honored itself in hon.
oring that knightly Christian gentle
man, Hon. E Fl. Moore, of Bolivar,
than whom there is no man in legis-
lative circles more worthily beloved.
In the choice of minor officials a mark
ed tendency toward bringing the young
men forward was manifest. There
was, however-as God grant there
will be so long as our memories last
strong sympathy for the old soldiers
who had fought and bled and almost
died for our country. This resulted in
a division of the plums in the n
torial fruit basket, as follows: The re-
sponsible position of sergeant-at-arms
was given to a student who has not
yet reached his majority, Mr.. P. M. B.
Selph, OF Tate county, whose educa-
ton at Mississippi College (Clinton)
is dependent on his unaided efforts.
He has, thus far, proven a good Of
fcer, courteous, but firm, and we pre-
dict that he is going to keep order in
the court" no matter how high excite
ment may run, when the fighting times
are at hand. The young sons Cor
gr%andsons) of Senators Belk, Moore,
Sanders, Hicks and J.. Hiram McGehee
(of last SESSION. are serving as pages,
while the doors are guarded by two
old soldiers, who won their badges of
honor-life-long wounds-on the field
of battle, H. J.. Thornton and j. J.
Ball. At the clerks desk, that peer of
his predecessors, John Y. hurry, Jr.,
again guides the helm. That he will
do it well all men know, ,who have
known aught of the senate in recent
years. At the postmistress' desk, Miss
Minor of Noxubee, holds sway-a
young girl of gentle n and IN
usual intelligence.
Across the great corridors, at the
south end of the building, the lower
house was organized with Secretary of
State j. w. Power presiding. Quite a
spirited contest took place for speak
er between Hon. E. N. Thomas, of
G~reenville, and Hon. Sidney Smith, of
Lexington, which resulted in the Del.
ta's man gaining the coveted chair.
Indeed, it looks very much as if
the Delta had, at last, come into some
pectations.
That popular Washington county
editor, L.. Pink Smith, was again elect
ed clerk, to the great satisfaction of
all who have the States best inter
ests at heart. Just here it may be
interesting to state that the two young
men having in charge this important
branch of legislature work are natives
of the same town, both having been
born in the little town among the hills
of old Tippah-Ripley. Here they were
reared and together played and stud
led until their paths, as youths, took
them apart. The combination is a
rarely fine one and does old Tippah
proud. Two doorkeepers are requir-
ed in the house also, thanks to the
very numerous entrances thereto Zone
of these, Mr.. Phillips, has been elect
ED while the army of would-be pages
Cat this writing Speaker Thomas has
not been able to choose the necessary
eight out OIL the one hundred and sixty
two applicants) is truly formidable.
The sergeant-at-arms of this popular,
but unwieldly body, Mr.. A. H. Hutch
inson, isn't going to find his job an
easy one by any manner of means,
and will e@rn every dollar of his sal
airy. Miss Miller, the postmistress-
elected over Miss Olivia Swayze, of
Yazoo City, former postmistress, and
Miss Kate Hemingway. of Jackson
will also be kept pretty busy, as the
families and constituents of the repre-
sentatives seem "uncommonly fond of
their folks" if we may judge by their
correspondence.
The election of state librarian was
the first genuine excitement in which
the two bodies united. Wednesday at
$3.50 p. m. they proceeded to the cleo
ton of a librarian, thus settling at
once and getting off the calendar a
matter that, in other times hung, like
the sword of Damocles, over the as
sembly until late in the session. Since
nine O'Clock Tuesday morning the
candidates and their sisters and their
cousins AID their aunts," with a few
feminine friends for good measure,
have been "cornering" the arbiters OF
their fate. The scene, continually
shifting, has had all along, too strong
a tinge of pathos in it to make &C
ceptable the May jokes about the fe-
male candidate-her methods and her
lack of method. 1t is a dead sure fact
~ - g. - 49,