Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-31
Miseellansuas 8saains.
OUR NATIONAL LAWMAKERS.
Composite Picture Of the United States
House Of Representatives.

Were the members of the United
States house of representatives put in
to a pot, boiled down and the residue
scientifically analyzed and resolved in
to it's component parts, the formula
for the ideal American citizen, as far
as 1t Is possible to select him from the
material in existence and as viewed
from the standpoint Of his fellow coun-
trymen, would be discovered.
This man Of the people would be
found to be two-thirds lawyer, one
tenth merchant, one-eighth soldier,
one-fifteenth politician, one-sixteenth
newspaper man. one-thirtieth farmer
and one-thirtieth banker. There would
be touches Of all kinds Of callings,
from cowboy to college president,
from ward politician to minister, but
those given dominate the others, and
make up the qualities of the mass OF
the members.
AS far as 1t is possible to determine,
there are i'm the new house 255 law
yers, "a merchants, 90 politicians, 20
newspaper men, 10 farmers, 9 manu-
facturers, IA bankers, 4 insurance
men, 3 engineers, doctors, real es-
tate men, cowboys, 2 authors, la
Dor leaders, an actor, a naval officer, a
teamster, a horse trader, an auction
eer, a hotel man, preacher, prince
of royal blood and some others Of
such uncertain attachments as to make
their classification impossible.
Aside from the callings which the
members of the house were follow
ing at the time of their election, there
are many who have run the gamut Of
trades and professions with such rap
idity and variety as to make their lives
look like a stereopticon entertainment.
One prominent member was a hired
man on farm, and later the president
of a college, with the stretch of many
things between. Another progressed
from jockey to lawyer, and yet anoth-
er from newsboy to politician. AL
most all rose through adversely and
fought their own ways from obscur-
ity. Very few were assisted by wealth
or family position and none inherited
their honors.
The average age of the members Of
the new house of representatives Is 46
years. Strange to say, this average Is
greater for the introduction Of the
har nf no
these new men are on the average so
years of age.
Despite the fact that congress Is
made up of the representatives Of the
people absolutely, there is high
standard of education among them.
There are three men with a college
training to a greater or less extent to
two who are without it. The per cent
of college graduates among the old
members is higher than that among
the new, which leads to the conclusion
that these men are more acceptable
and more apt to stick after having
once been chosen to the house. The
small percentage Of college men in the
active walks Of life and activity and
the high percentage among these
picked men of prominence throws d
strong light upon the value Of such
education.
These college men, however, are not
graduates of Harvard and Yale and
Princeton. They are men who have
attended the remote institution OF
their given section or their state uni
versities. Most of them were we'll up
in their twenties when they finished
school, and there were years between
terms when they worked at all sorts
of labor and laid aside the hoard for
more study.
The most remarkable predominance
of given life Of activity that entered
into the lives Of great numbers of eni-
bryonic congressman was that OF
teaching. Two-thirds Of the men who
sit on the house side have at some
time or other taught school. In many
instances they read law while they
taught. In other cases 1t was the
money they earned through teaching
that paid their way through college. In
great numbers Of cases the teaching
was succeeded by business careers, but
the return was made to public life.
The stamp of the pedagogue Is
strong upon the member of congress.
There seems to be some subtle influ-
ence welded by the schoolroom that
leads to the halls Of congress, or there
are traits Of character WHICH, leading
a man to teach school, lead him fur
ther to assay politics.
Another character who finds the
gate wide open that leads to political
pastures green is the old soldier. There
are forty-eiSht soldiers in the house or
representatives despite the remoteness
of any war Of importance and lack
of representation of the regular army.
The elections of the new members
seated this year for the first time have
succeeded in finding nine men who
had worn the uniform and bundled
them as new members into congress.
One Of these, man Of ~, has this
week made his bow for the first time
in Washington.
The lawyer who finds himself in
congress can in the majority of cases
look back on his career and see above
all landmarks the point Of his turning
into the office of district attorney.
There are probably hundred district
attorneys in the house. The farm orr
gin of great men is also strongly in eV-
idence, and is a favorite theme of ma
tional politics. Many Of them origina-
ted in the rurals and all are proud OF
it and always dictate it into any sketch
of themselves. The word farm oc-
ours in almost as many Of the Con-
gressional directory biographies as does
the word born" In many instances
the representative states blushingly
that he is known as farmer. There
Is always a log cabin, much struggling
l.. CO. O.