The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-24

I
/ ing a strong case, and for the life OF him
/ he couldn't think how TO answer. He kept
4 bis head. however. with his face as imper-
/ turbable as ever but be said something TO
Kinds, who was always within call. that
showed the latter how his chief felt
| Speaking almost ike "a ventriloquist, he
gasped out:
Kinds, ind me something and find it
/ quick
! For a part Of minute Kinds was non
/ piused Then his power to concentrate
came TO his aid and he was able To score
! his first notable victory. To reap the fruits
/ of the perslstently gathered records he
\ had made OF precedents. Almost as if by
/ instinct his hand sought one OF the ready
binders in which he had fled the slips ON
which he had been making memoranda.
/ Almost as if by instinct he turned the
leaves. Having found the place he gave
/ the proper memorandum one quick.
/ searching look. then handed the book 10
/ Reed, his finger on the saving note.
] Reed read the passage with assumed
IcompOsure and saw that II applied to the
/ situation BY the time Bailey had fin
| ished. the opposition cheering him to the
echo. Reed was ready Slowly and in his
1 inimitablc Down East twang, the Speaker
| read from the book a memorandum of q
decision by Crisp exactly parallel to the
| one Bailey had been CritiCising. The effect
was startling
! The smiles that had been wreathng the
! Democratic faces came right off The
angular lines Of chagrin on the Republican
faces We're transformed into curves Of joy
Almost before the echo Of the cheers on
one side Of the House had died away
/ there were even more jubilant cheers on
the other side.
After adjournment for the day had
taken place Bailey went 10 Kinds and
begged him 20 allow the printing Of his
notes of precedeuJs. He said il wasn't
fair for the Republicans to keep the in
formation Kinds had dug out of the rec
ords away from the opponents That was
the origin Of the monumental work. later
printed by the government. under the title
of Kinds Precedents" and used as
textbook by Congressman on both sides
Of the House ever since PROFESSIONALLY
ar Kinds is not only the best .parIia-
mentary sharp" I'm the country. but he IS
now also one of the best posted men in
the United States on American legislative
history.
Authority on Appropriations.
Close 90 the Senate chamber. al one end
Of tie Capitol. and equally close To the
chamber Of the lower House. at the other
end. sit two men who know more about
appropriations than any other dozen men
in Washington. The man who sits at the
House end is James c. Courts The man
who sits at the Senate end is Thomas =.
Cleaves. They are. respectively. the chief
clerks Of the TWO Appropriations Commit
tees, of which Representative Tawney.
OF Minnesota. and Senator Allison, OF
Iowa are chairmcn
Neither % tue appropriation chief clerks
IS young man any more. Indeed. there
are Congressman ou the floor OF the
House who were only boys when these
tind old experts began To do their work
Mr.. Courts accompanied Gen Adkins.
Of Tennessee, To- washington. thirty-two
years ago. in 1870 Two years later. now
thirty years back. he became assistan.
clerk Of the committee under Adkins. and
six years later chief clerk under Samuel
j. Randall, the PrOtectonist Democrat
from Pennsylvania. This committee was
organized ia lS65. on the motion Of Thal-
deus Stevens, then chairman o. the WAYS
and Means Committee which. till then.
not only provided the money for the
coUntry's expenses. bat appropriated it
as well.
Stevens thought the committees dual
duties were too much for any one or
ganization, and chose to go with the new
one thus becoming its first head Since
then the list Of Representatives serving
as its chairman mas included some of tie
most eminent men in the history of the
country ashbuTn, Dawes, Garfield.
Cannon, and Holman being among them,
Cannon serving twice.
AR Courts is Texas born and Teunes-
see bred. and, just before Canuon's in
cumbency-he followed Randall hue
and cry was raised by certain Republi-
cans that Courts was not only "a Demo
crat but "a former Confederate, who was
out of sympathy with the majority end
should, therefore. give place to i Repub-
lican. 1t was not right they said. that
the work should be done. or the emolu-
ments enjoyed. By Democrat. But Can
non would not see il in that light
Gentlemen he said. Il have been
member of that committee and I know
the work the chairman has to do. He
must have the help of a clerk who knows
his business. Mr.. Courts has had ex-
peTieHCe and lie knows his business
There viii be no change in the clerkshtp
Of the Appropriations Committee while l
am chairman
And there wasn't That is the only
time but one that any attempt Was ever
made TO Gust Courts. When Frank His
cock, of New York. later "a Senator, was
made chairman, just after Adkins retire
ment. it was proposed that constituent
of Hiscock, a SyracuSan, should take
Courts place as assistant clerk. The
man from Syracuse joUrncyed to Wash
inSton. looked over the situation. took
no,e of the work and the special knOwl-
edge il involved, and declined the place
with thanks.
Mr. Cleavos. the Senate Appropriations
clerk. entered upon his duties under
Senator Lott NJ. Morrill, as chairman.
The committee was split from the Senate
Finance Committee in 1861 which till
then, like the House Ways and Means in
the early days. had both found the money
ana appropriated it. When CIeayes be
gan he was the only clerk, and the COM
mittee made all the appropriations, while
now the appropriations for the Agricul-
tural Department, the army. the navy,
pensions, the Post-office, and the improve
mcnt of rivers and harbors are made by
other committees. A situation almost the
same obtained in the House, and in their
early years Of service the two clerks had
to work days, nights, and Sundays to get
through.
These two men have studied the bust.
ness Of making appropriations for the ey-
penses Of the United States government
ever since they We're comparative young
sters. They know how to frame up ap-
preparation bills better than any member
of either House. They know the needs
of every part of the country They CON
fer together daily, and whenever bills APP
propriatingi money for any purpose not
included in the catalogue given above
come up, their places are on the floor at
the elbows of the committee chairman.
whore their expert knowledge may be
available at a moments notice