Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-01-20

breath.
No member Is ever heard from II
debate. except by the grace or th'
speaker. He may yell himself
hoarse for recognition while I'M
speaker Is looking him squarely u
the eye and recognizing somebod,
else. Unless he is in" with IN,
speaker. he II a lost child. He cam
spin a thread. He can do absolute
~ nothing and might as Wen be ~ =.
home. His congressional career II
entirely nj the mercy OF one man. In
operation, the house is bear pit
Unless member has lungs like
biacksmith's bellows and IL saying
something which everybody wants
TO hear. he cannot make himself
heard ten feet. Two-thirds OF the
speeches are made In this uproar.
and are not listened to by a dozen
people. The official reporter stands
In the aisle alongside him or occu-
pies a vacant desk as near as possi-
BILE, and he Is the only really ntten-
tive listener. Meanwhile the babel
OF sounds goes up. Members are
strolllng all over the chamber or are
talking together by twos and threes
and half dozens In knots ana
punches all around. Many a time
have listened for an hour TO this
sort OF thing and then gone home
and waited tn morning to get the
official report and find out what II
was really all about.
But--the senate Is different. In
fact, exactly the opposite. II is
dignihed body. not stiff but self-re-
specting and insistent that every
thing shall go on decently. quietly
and In order. The house has perma-
nent seats, while the senate has
n very comfortable leather chair for
each statesman. These are read
justed and pushed around to pro-
mote comfort and conduce TO con-
venience I'm conversation with neigh
bors. and senator's stroll quietly
around the chamber, passing word
here and there and conversing In
subdued tones. A senator Is law
unto himself. The rules of the sem
ate were made for his personal and
benefit, and are his Magma
Charta. They contain his bill OF
Fights. and the l6nger he is mem
Der of the body the more sacred
and inviolable do they become TO
him. As a director and governor of
legislation, the president pro tenn or
vice president has nothing to say.
He presides, that Is all. His power
Is as restricted as is that of the
speaker Of the house extended. A
can claim and obtain recog-
milton at any time when no one else
has the floor, and once on the floor
no power on earth can take him off |
i. He can talk till the crack of doom |
4 he wants to, on any subject under |
heaven as long as he keeps in or
Ter. The senate will not allow Of a
'ule to cut off or restrict debate in |
he least This privilege is most |
highly priced. An instance of this
which will long be remembered oc-
,urred six years ago the coming
March. Then. In the closing hours
# congress on the third of March.
oon after midnight, Senator F. III.
carter of Montana took the floor in
opposition to the passage Of the
river and Harbor bill, which car
led an enormous appropriation and
lso the hope of many senators for
zig sums to be expended In their
tates. But-Senator Carter began
0 speak in opposition. He spoke for
n hour and attracted little notice
hough many other matters were
ressing for consideration as a mat
ar of life and death in the few short
ours before congress died. And yet
enator Carter spoke on. When the
'intry twilight of the dawn of the =
peaking haggard and drawn. Those
hose hopes were bound UP in the ,
III and those whose other measures .
ere rapidly nearing the dead line !,
rev pale and shaky and begged of /,
arter to stop. But he spoke on, and =
4. Hour after hour passed. II =
clock arrived. The Montana sena- :.
n was apparently a physical wreck. !,
1t grasping a chair with one hand =
I'd leaning on his desk, in a trem- ),
ing whisper he continued his
'eech. Finally after so agonizing !
inutes the hour of ~ arrived and !.
e senator fell into the arms of the y
aiting attendants. The bill and .
ngress died together and the
nator's six-year term expired at
e same instant. AS l write. he is D
st being reelected by the Mon n
ma legislature, after a rest of six m
ars. a
The appropriation bills are BOOM al
g right along, and going through al
tn houses with little debate. The lo
wayne Impeachment case hangs II
er congress yet, but ii is in the
: that 1t will be avoided in some
W. According to black and
lite poll of both houses there is an pl
erwhelming majority against an ei
ira session for tariff revision, and CT
; president has evidently seen the pt
ndwriting on the wall. The entire W.
rmont delegation is down as OPP Tn
sed to an extra session for tariff w
lnge purposes. 1t is barely pos Is
lie, however, that there may be an IN
ra session to correct railroad en-
light rates. The arrangements for W.
are going on SWIM tn
ngly and the event is bound to be 1t
largest thing of any kind that ne
r came down the pike. The capt. or
dome and the monument and all pr
public buildings will be gor- WI
usly Illuminated by night, and so
W many rare innovations are be- fat
scheduled to add to the eclat of go
momentous occasion. att
-mong the recent visitors from col
mont l note Gov. Woodbury. of
aington, Col. F. d. Proctor and No
A. Morse of Proctor, Esquire
'ry Blodgett Of st. Johnsbury and 7
j. Boynton, formerly we'll w,
wn Vermont democrat, but lately o#
Boston. ulii
he Brattleboro and Ludlow con- ia,
rent seem to be behaving fairly ne
l. considering their temptations. fnr
rsa and Massrs DV r susplcioI, OF the
n to be holding fairly level The -
latter live just across the street VIII
me, and I haven't missed my
can any morning yet. Perhaps
Is because get up first, though. "Ne
orally speaking, however, I
they do as well as they can. IT
ar the circumstances. ia be s.,a
ned If I'll give them any strong tha
Col. Markham is do s,,.
splendidly this winter, as both out
elf and Mrs. M. are "onto" him. AZ
j. E. Harris. for
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