Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-15
CAPITAL CHAT.
CONTINUED from Page One1

III.
has had his committee around tn,
long table and reported favorabI,
quite a lot of old time measures, which
failed to get through at the last two
sessions of Congress. The work na.
to be done all over again now that :
| new Congress has come in. But he
makes matter of business to gel
these bills out of the way early in the
| session, so that he will not have ,c
worry and fret later on when othe,
| people have walked up and are irving
| to get their work done.
Every few days now Mr.. FRYE takes
some short cut for getting a bill
| through. He calls it up when the
Senate does not appear to have much
on hand and before some of the older
sticklers for formal procedure catch
on the Maine Senator has a bill of
two passed and it is off his mind for
another two years. One of the
Senators who block his pathway is MIR.
Teller, of Colorado. Every little while
Mr. Teller objects to bills being passed
without going to the calendar and then
Mr. Frye subsidies for time, only to
come up persistently not long after
ward with one or two of the bills of
his committee on commerce dis
posed of.
Two Maine men are much relied upon
here in connection with the Currency
bill, which is the leading matter which
Congress has under consideration at
present. Senator Hale. at his end of
the Capitol, is resuming consideration
of that measure this week He and
Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island, are
working shoulder to shoulder not only
in framing that bill, but in getting the
way paved for it's paSSag e through the
Senate. Mr.. Hale has been very in
dustrious in gathering information
about financial conditions and in seek
ing out some practicable remedy that
Congress could be brought to approve.
When the bill gets out of the Senate.
it will go to the House Ranking and
Currency Committee, where Eepresen-
tative Powers is one of the mon the
Speaker will rely upon to get the Sem
ate bill out of the House Committee
speedily and without having been too
much modified. For if the House should
ter:ally different than the Senate, a big
and nothing whatever would be ac-
complished toward legislation at this
session. Representative Powers is
one of Il group of Republicans on the
COMMITTEES who have conservative
views, in line with the views held by
Speaker Cannon and The Senate lead
ers.
The Maine members Of the House
have b1cii moving recently and getting
installed IN their offices in the new
House Building. They are now spending
portion of the day in these offices, con-
venient to the Capitol ard also handy
for attending I" correspondence. For
the first time in the history of the
House every member has an office all
to himself and now all the Maine men
have a good place in which to hang
their coats and also comfortable
place where they can Sit Gown and talk
it over with a caller from home. They
are using the tunnel between the Capt.
tol and the Office building, as are most
of the members and there are fewer
ConSressmen seen coming out of the
Capitol when the House adjuurns. IN
stead of walking down the broad
aSpIl9ltcu way u the street cetI iiliS,
they shoot through The tunnel. go to
their offices by way Of the electric ele-
vators. sign up the days mail and
then go up town.
The office structure has been long
time building and is not yet entirely
completed. 1t has cost close to 81
900, 900 and is a great ornament to the
south side of the great square known
here as the Capitol grounds. In the
course of a year the Senate, too, will
have a companion office building, erect
ed in the same location with reference
to the Senate wing of the Capitol and
reaching by tunnel in similar way.
The Maine Senators, however. are less
interested in that than the Maine mem
bers have been in their office building
because the Maine Senators have con-
venient and comfortable committee
rooms in which to transact their bust
ness.