Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-12-24
CAPITAL CHAT.
Work of Committee on
Public Buildings.
Maine Members Scattered for
the Holiday Recess.
Senator Hale Will Visit Augusta-Sen-
ator Frye's Trophies.

Washington, d. c., Dec. %
| (SpeciaD.-Gov. Bureighs committee
on public buildings and grounds in the
| House has been doing considerable
strenuous work. Although the Holiday
season is at hand and most Of the COM
| mittee members are hieing away to
other fields. the Public building COM
mittee has been meeting and attempt
ing to devise ways and means for
| legislating. Speaker Cannon still turns
a deaf ear to propositions for more
public buildings at this session, but the
| Committee is nevertheless going ahead.
| If the Speaker in the end has his way,
| the work will not be lost for the COM
| mlttce is gathering Information which
| is necessary whenever legislation is i'm
pending and it can be used just as well
| this year as next yea.
| OF course the Maine projects are Of
| chief interest to Gov. Burleigh. but as
one of the leading members of the
| Committee he feels it his duty also to
| look after the general needs of the
| country in public bull !ings, as far as
| the action of the committee is con-
| cCrned, Secretary Shaw favcrs the
| authorization of more public buildings
| a this session and his recommendation.
already placed in writing, will have in
flnence with the Speaker.
! The Committee is also anxious to
| have its legisla ton. whatever is pre-
| Sented to the House 1T this session or
even in the next Congress, carefully
digested. That is ona Of the reasons
| why the Committee has been carefully
going over all pending bills of late.
| Gov. Burieigh has repeatedly urged the
necessity of scanning every line and
| sentence that Snns into a bill,
receiving the Committees approx
al. This is becaus" Of the ten
dcnoy, all too prevalent in the
| House and, to less extent in the
Senate. TO present measures that are
| loosely drawn. In sucn cases there is
ALWAYS danger of the bill meeting with
severe criticism, it's loose provisions
being called to the attention of the
House by some one Of few men, who
assume rather arduous and thankless
duty of mercilessly scoring measures
| that are not wisely framed.
| Because Of the fewer restrictions on
debate and the longer time taken in
considering measures the Senate is less
At fault in i'll advised legislation than
| IIlh HOUSE. tfut even III Ine senate
this session. bills for which some of the
most eminent men in the administra-
tion stood sponsor. haze been found re-
"arkaby faulty. simply because of the
lack of expert knowledge among the
men who framed them. Because Of his
experience i'm framing public building
bills. Gov. Burleigh knows Just what
information is essential and what
| L
wise made Immediately available for
the use Of the House. He and Chair
man Gillct have gone carefully over the
scores Of public building bills, now be-
fore the COMMITTEES. Where there is any
reasonable prospect thai these bills can
be inccrnoratod in an omnibus measure
Chairman Gillet and Gov. Burlcigh
have insisted that the members intro
ducing such bills shall furnish the COM
nlittee with all necessary papers AMI
statements about business conditions in
the localities affected and likewise all
the substantial arguments showing
| why the government should go to the
expense. The task Of collating such in
formation is far greater than might. at
first. be supposed. because of the nee
essity of proving and confirming much
that is presented The Treasury. Jus
tice and POstoffice DEPARTMENTS are the
ones generally most keenly interested
in these measures and the expert Opin-
| ions Of officials in those Departments
has to be consulted quite as much as
the onirions Of the localities asking for
public buildings.
Only Senator Hale and Representa-
tive Allen Of the Maine deloga ton in
Congress. are now IN town. and Scna-
| tor Hale will go 10 Maine early in
January and will probably visit Au-
gusta. about the time OF his recollection
for another term of six ears Senator
Frye is spending the holidays in New
York and New J2r:cv. He left for
| there as soon as the agreement of the
Senate not to tranaa"t any further
| business before the Holiday recess went
into effect, but left Senator Perkins. Of
| California. a native of Maine as the
| temporary presiding officer of the SEN
ate.
As rule the Speaker of the House
and the President pro tempore stick
! very closely TO their places while Con-
| gress is in session but it either has to
| he absent because Of sickness or for
other reasons. he Deputies some other
to serve for him. This has to be done
in writing and the letter is read by the
Clerk Of the Senate or the House. as
tie case may be. formally stating the
presiding officers choice
Mr.. Perkins is one of the good presid-
ing officers of the Senate, having a
natural aptitude for the task and also
having a clear Understanding of par
liamentary law Az il Vac fully ,1nder-
stood that the Senate would convene
but twice during Mr.. Frye's absence
and then only for the tormality Of ad-
iournilg Mr.. Perkins has had prac-
] ifcally no work to do, in welding the
gavel.
| There is considerable anxiety among
the pited States consuls abroad about
their status after the beginning of the
nextyadministraticn. 1t is known that
President Roosevelt contemplates some
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