The Republican journal., 1906-05-17
Letter from WASHINGTON.
Senator Frye's Continuous Service in
Congress. Mrs. Burleigh's Illness.
Hurry to Get Away from Washington.

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Correspondence of The Journal]
WASHINGTON, D. c., May IA. pr.
Woodbury. Pulsiter, clerk to the Sen
ate Committee on Commerce, of which
Senator Frye is chairman, took look
the other day over the records of Sena-
tors and members who have served a
long time in the Senate and House of
Representatives. He discovered, what
everybody else seems to have overlook
ed, that Senator Frye has served longer
continuously than any other man in
either branch of Congress. There are
few others who have been more years
a member of the House, and Senator,
but in every instance there is hiatus
in this service. Senator William B.
Allison of Iowa, for instance, is the
senior member of the Senate. He took
his seat March a, 1878, more than
thirty three years ago. Prior to that
he had served three terms, OF six years
in all, in the House. But he ceased to
be a member of the House March 4,
1871, and accordingly was in private
life for two years before he was elected
to the Senate. He has been in Con-
gress over 80 years, but those were not
thirty nine continuous years. John L.
Morgan of Alabama is second in the
Senate in the matter of seniority. He
took his seat March 4, 1877. He never
was a member of the House. Senator
Eugene Hale of Maine is third in the
matter of seniority. He took his seat
as a Senator March 4, 1881, and has had
over % years service as a Senator-a
few more days service than MI Frye
terms, making ten years in all, as
member of the House from Maine and
has therefore represented Maine in
Congress as a member or a Senator for
thirty-fve years. But there was a
hiatus of two years between his ser
vice as a member and his service as
Senator. Mr.. Frye became q mem
Der of the House of Representatives
from Maine two years later than Mr..
Hale. Mr.. Frye took his oath as a
member of the Forty-second Congress
March 4, 1871, before Speaker James G.
Blaine. He has been continuously
member of the House or Senate ever
since-approximately So years and two
months. This record makes him the
senior over all members and Senators,
in point of continuous legislative ser
vice, by about two years, although
there are two or three others, like Sena-
tors Allison and Hale, who have serv-
ed longer in legislative years.
The continued illness of Mrs. Bur
leigh keeps the representative of the
third Maine district very close to his
hotel Gov. Burleigh has been very
anxious for a couple of weeks to get
out again SO that he could clear away
lot of accumulated work, bat he watches
at the bedside of his wife with all the
devotion one could expect in a newly
married couple and refuses to absent
himself as long as he can add anything
to Mrs. Burleigh's comfort by remain
ing. During the weeks that Mrs. Bur
leigh has been SO critically i'll, the Gov
ernor has been attending to his CORE
spondence and other duties IS best he
could. Most of his letters have been
written from the parlor in his apart
ments, where he could be within call
when wanted. He has shown quite as
much devotion as father as he has as
d husband his daughter, Mrs. Boyd,
having been ill here also. All OF Gov
ernor Burleigh's children are now in
Washington, summoned here by the
serious character of their mothers
sickness. The Governor hopes soon, if
Mrs. Burleigh continues to improve, to
get at his work around the Capitol. He
has lot of it to do. There are several
legislative measures in which he has an
active interest and which he expects to
take hand in before the adjournment.
H. also has lot of accumulated work
on pensions. The requests of old SOL
diers in his district have kept piling up
and lie has had little opportunity of
late to present these requests at the
Pension Bureau. Usually Mrs, Bur
leigh keeps the record of these letters
and the disposition of them in big
book. But this has fallen to the Gov
ernor of late because of her illness. He
will make an effort, before leaving
Washington at the close of the session,
to bring this and all other Department
! work in behalf of his constituents up
to date.
The hurry to get away from Washing
ton is now apparent on all sides. With
the trees in full leaf and a hot sun pour
/ ing down upon the asphalt pavements
the unmistakeable signs of summer are
at hand. Members of Congress from
the colder north do not like the hot
| W Washington summers and they ln=
varibly speed their tasks when the sunl-
;. mer seems near. Last week the final
touches to assure the passage of the
railroad rate bill, over which Congress