Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-09-29
coNcREssMEN's VACATIONS.
ScSA Hunt or Fish, But Many Prac
d tice Law or Mend Their Political
Fences.

v3The summer vacation Of senators
and representatives are not what
some people think they are. To the
average individual the senator and
representative works" six or seven
months one year and three months
the next They are prone to doubt
whether he works" at all, as they
have visions Of him being tardy in his
atts6ua e on morning prayers at
high noVA and thend spending the bal
ance of the day swapping stories in
the cloak rooms and eating extrava-
CANT lunches with more or less mys.
terry as to the contents of his tea cup
And they are convinced that when
congress adjourns the national legis-
latOrs rush off to the mountains, to
the seashore and to every variety of
luxurious ease or in strenuous sport
The fact is, says the Washington
Star, the man who holds a seat in the
senate or the house of representa-
tlves has as many things to think
about in the summer time that do not
smack of vacation ease. There are
only few of the men who hold these
Iositions who have a very secure ten
ure on their places, and the good old
summer Fme is largely devoted to
the me1f ing of fences by many Of
them. Ne1rly every man of them has
to convince his constituents that it
was utterly impossible to get that pub
lie building Or that river or harbor
improvement. They have to explain
TO thousand men and women the
c1fficulties of securing public office
under the civil service system. and TO
persuade them that they have done
all that mortal man could do in order
to promote their ambitions to serve
their country in some job a little bet
ter than they ever occupied previous.
II There are local faction fights, too,
that have to be discussed, and inter
ests that have to be harmonized in
order to avoid disruption of the politi-
cal machine on the next election day.
Two years is an awfully short time
between political drinks, as every rep
resentative in congress can testify.
In these ways the vacation months
ofmany ? statesman are whiled away.
There is still another and quite as
exacting task to be considered by
many of these men who figure in the
uplfc eye. Not few of them are
he'd pressed for money all the time.
Eery two years their campaign e..-
peases have to be met, and it is not
UNUSUAL fer that drain on their in
cones to consume half of what they
r9feive from the government in
ye4r: For that reason the lawyers, es-
peMhlly, expect to keep some sort of
cq4nection with an Office at home and
make good in it during the vacation
9nths They have partners who
p the business running, and they
Qe into especially important cases
lend their prestige to the entire
dertaking.
N Other men have private interests
Il are neglected during the time
M n
real estate men, professional men
Eall classes, and men of large inter
N rs of every kind. They have general
been accustomed to keeping in
(ch with their business affairs, and
1dey feel uneasy when they leave
n them for six months legislative duty
In Washington. When congress ad-
j0urns they have to take up the thread
of their affairs and to straighten out
all sorts of tangles., Some of them
find that other men are gradually alb
III sorbing their interests, and that their
II presence at the capital was a costly
Isl honor.
But there are also a large class of
s8men who are enabled by the employ
aent of high-priced secretaries and
yther assistants to attend to their con-
X sttuents' wants and to keep in touch
"A with all their affairs without great
N &lpersonal labor or Inconvenience
d vhese men frequently drift away
fNpY their legislative duties, and into
= TIL lurements of vacation days. with.
Hrs1 D care worth considering.