Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-11-22
11s YEARS OF CONGRESS.
Interesting Figures Showing Some of
 the Things That Have Occurred.

Since the first Congress met in 17S9
 HIS years ago, there have been 134
 sessions of the national body of law
 makers. There have been 1l9 regular
 and fifteen extra sessions; thirty nint
 different Speakers and Speakers pro tempore and twenty-five clerks. The longest regular sitting was the frs, session of the Fiftieth Congress, which met December ,, 1887, and adjourned October 20, 1888, period of 32l days Other long sessions were the first of the Fifty-frst Congress, BOA days, and the first of the Thirty first, 302 days.
 The second regular sessions of each Congress are always short, both houses assembling according to law on the first Monday in December and adjourn ing by limitation the 4th of the follow ing March These sessions last from ninety, to ninety-five days. Aside from these the shortest ever held was the first session of the Thirteenth Congress, which covered l34 days and came i'm. mediately after an extra session. Other notably short sessions were during the Fifteenth Congress, HI days; the Fifty-eighth, IA days; the Fourteenth, l4S days; the Eleventh, l56 days, and the Fifty fifth, ls4 days.
 Extra sessions are as old as Congress itself, the first having been called to- gether January 4, l790, little over three months after the first session ever held came to close. Next came the extra session of the Fifth Congress, then others during the Eleventh and Thirteenth, after which there was n lapse of twentyfour years before it was deemed necessary to meet more than twice in two years. The next ex- tra session came with the Thirty-fourth nearly fifteen years later.
 Others were during the Thirty-sev- enth, Fortieth, Forty-frst, Forty-ffth. Forty-sixth, Fifty-third, Fifty-ffth, and Fifty-eighth Congresses.
 The longest extra session was during the First Congress and continued 22l days. The next was a part of the Ffty-ffth Congress and lasted 142 days. The shortest was of ten days duration, during the life of the Thirty-fourth Congress. Altogether Congress has, since its beginning, been in extra ses- sion 1885 days, or about three years.
 Only seventeen states have furnished Speakers of the House of Representa- tives. Pennsylvania leads with five, Massachusetts, Virginia and Kentucky coming next with four each. Other states have been represented as fol lows; New York, three; Tennessee, two; New Jersey, two; Georgia, two; Maine, two; South Carolina, two and Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Illinois have each sent a man to the Speakers chair.
 James c. Blaine, of Maine, was speak CT for eight sessions-longer than any other man ever presided over the de- Alterations of the House. Schuyler Col fax and Samuel J. Randall each oecu- pied the Speaker s chair for seven ses- sions. John Bell of Tennessee was Speaker for ninety-three days, having been elected to fill the unexpired term of Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia. Mr. Bell s term is the shortest on record.
 Only two speakers resigned-Henry Clay and Andrew Stevenson. Mr. Clay sent in his resignation by mail, oe .ober 20, 1920, during recess, and was succeeded by John w. Taylor, of New York. Mir. Stevenson resigned June ?, 1894, and was succeeded by John Bell. Brooklyn Eagle.