The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-10-09
WHO WORK WITH
THEIR JUNIORS"
Frye Now Senior Member
Of Congress.
LENGTH OF PUBLIC SERVICE
Supreme Court Justices Have Long Ca
reers-Army OfhceTs' Terms Of
Activity.

"Henceforth I shall work with my
juniorsl"
These were Senator Hoar's words at
the time Of the death OF Morrill, or
Vermont
THE oldest living graduate always
leaves a successor. Who now, It may be
asked, succeeds to the place Of longest
continuous public service IN the Con-
gress OF the United States?
In making this computation Mr.. Hear
trcluded his years spent in the House.
Otherwise Senators Allison and Cock
rel would have outranked him. He also
established the principle that service
must not only be continuous in each
House, but that where the two are
counted together there should be no in
Permission between the close Of a House
career and the beginning OF one in the
Senate. Otherwise Mr.. Allison would
have been the ranking. old man" of
Congressional life.
Proper acquisitions.
But these conditions are obviously the
proper ones IN determining what is
meant by Congressional service. 1t IS
continuous membership that counts. The
old man who comes back to Congress, to
A0AAAAl Jul MS career AAteE an absence
from IL of a decade or two, like Grow Of
Pennsylvania, or Keller of Ohio. who
Will be IN the next House. has no stand
ing comparable with the man who has
been In steadily, If indeed tho returned
eXiles can be said 10 amount TO much
as lawmakers, anyway.
In the House the honor of being
[ father always goes TO the man of
longest continuous service, and that is
why Harry Bingham. Of Philadelphia.
outrauks Ketcham, Of New York, who
/ became a member the first time fourteen
years before Bingham's election. Even
| the Speaker himself outdistanCes Bling
l ham. and would be father OF the
( House IS wei as its Speaker, had he
/ withstOOd the Democratic gale Of 1890.
/ Senator Hoars basis Of computation IS
| thus the established one. Committee
places are regularly assigned by it.
Frye Now Senior.
/ The general belief. that Senator Allison
! now becomes the senior member OF our
/ national legislature proves still an
/ founded, If his career is TO be measured
/ by Mr.. Hoar's rule BY Mr. H0ars
/ standard. fhe man now entitled to say
/ "HeucefOrth ] shall work with my
/ tuniors!' IS William p. Frye of Maine.
who ranks only seventh IN the length OF
Senatorial service.
/ or those who precede him. Allison s
. career IN the House was followe, 10y ara
/ intermissiuu of one Congress, due TO his
failure 10 reach the Senate on IDS first
trial for that office; by CockrelL Nor
gam, and P'att Of Connecticut, who
never served IA the House at all. and by
Hale OF Maine, and Hawley Of Connec-
/ ticut. whose terms in the House 90 not
/ weld into those Of the Senate.
MI Frye was elected TO the Forty
second Congress IN 1870. and he has
been in Congress ever since. although
he did not enter the Senate until Mr..
Blaine was made Secretary OF State IN
ISL
Hale's Services.
Eugene Hale, who became a Senator
the day before in the same year. was
elected 10 The House two years earlier
THAN Frye. out bee ended his career there
with the Forty-ffth Congress. and did
not enter the Senate TIN the Forty
seventh. Names two Senators viii
have had. with the close Of the present
Congress. d service Of tweua -four years
each ia the Senate total of forty
eight years. a record which only Con
necticut exceeds. Plat will have been
Ia the Senate tweuty-six years, and
Hawley twenty-four, or "a total OF hall
a century, on March 4. HaWley's re-
tirement VIII leave Maine in the lead.
The seven ranking Senators are, then
Allison. COCkeH. Morgan. Plat, Hale
IHawIey. and Frye, of whom the sixth
Is not a candidate Tor reelection. moi
: having been seen in the Senate FOL
many months on account Of extreme
disa biities.
! AR g49a,. rs-b1 has .4fa9 efr,1a 0r7o,~az.
adjourned. did not come into the Senate
tul 1887. His service was broken by tht
. failure Of the Pennsylvania Legisla tur,
10 re-elect him ia 1893. While Senator
. Frye, as already explained, is the rank
ing member of Congress, Allison and
Hale were both here in Washington
some time before him.
Stewart Of Nevada.
Stewart OF Nevada took his seat Il
, the Senate In February. 1865. His tern
I Of service expires next March, and 1
would indeed be an intense -Rer2bIicaI
who would not be reconcied TO
o. Democratic victory in Nevada, sine
! that would end his career in the Senate
Z This length Of service in the senat
z is one Of the practices which help tha
d body TO Overshadow the House RAM
% In washington depends on senlorlt
! almost as much as IN the army. an,
the members Of the House are with fey
exceptions colts by comparison witt
/ the Senators
In so staid a State as Massachusetts
Frederick II. Giuett and Samuel W. Nc
Cali. are the ranking members OF IN
/ House delegation they were chosen oil
the dav OF Mr. CleveIand's second elec
/ ton. No member from Massachusett
thus dates back so far as the Harrison
] HF.F a ira In
members OF the House have been her
1 - i L. l.