Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-15


A correspondent of the Brooklyn Eagle
reports that the hazing OF Senator Cum
minis Of Iowa has begun. Shortly after he
had been sworn in as the successor to the
late William William b. Allison, one Of
the senate attaches approached him and
said:
Senator, you have been assigned to Of
flee room 145."
Seator Cummins started out to find room
145. He finally located 1t In the extreme
northeast corner of the house of repre-
sentatives office building, about one-half a
mile from the senat chamber. For some
unknown reason, no room in the capitol
or the numerous annexes to the senate was
set aside for his use. Apparently, the mem
bers of the steering committee are anxious
to locate Senator Cummins as far from the
seat of action as possible. They feel in
stinctively that the new man from Iowa is
going to a trouble for them with his
new-fangled progressive ideas.
Cummins is seriously thinking of hiring
an automobile to convey him from his
faraway office room to the senate when
needed In a hurry. Without a swift con-
veyance Of this sort It would be a physical
impossibility for him to reach the senate
from his office room In time to answer a
roll call. This process requires about eight
minutes, and It would take a Dorando to
cover the distance beween the offices in
that brief period of time. Cummins Is ex-
pecting another jolt when his committee
assignments are announced. There is a
suspicion that the older senators will per-
petrate q joke on Cummins like the one
they sprang on LaFollette when they made
the latter the chairman OF the committee
on Investigation OF the Potomac river front.
The Washington correspondent OF the
ST. Louis Republic points out that Champ
Clark's elevation to the minority leader
ship marks the first formal election OF a
member to hat position IN the history of
congress-. Heretofore the nominee Of the
minority members for speaker of the house
has been accepted as the minority leader
This was the case with John Sharp Will
ltsms who has resigned mis- leadership be-
Gauss he Is soon to retire from the house
preparatory to taking his seat in the SEN.
ate. Everything about Champ Clark Is
big. He is big in avoirdupois, big of heart,
big Of voice and he has a big and abiding
faith In the democratic party. Outside Of
the democratic party he loves Missouri
best. The biggest thing about Clark Is his
voice. His oratory Is the noisiest In con.
gress. As a hired hand on a farm he
learned how to yell for the cattle. He
practices this art on the republicans now
As a lawyer he Ia at home as a cross.
examiner. He can browbeat and bulldoze
a witness TO the point where the witness
will tell the truth If It kills him. The new
minority leader is IS years old and was
born in Kentucky. He is a tall. handsome
man with square shoulders and a big,
deep chest. He takes up three or four
aisles and most of the space In the well of
the house when he makes a speech. When
he is through he is blowing Nike a por.
poise and hopping his bald head with a
red-bordered handkerchief.
Clark, too. has the power to command
while Williams has the power only to re-
quest. Clark can daunt and intimidate a
crowd that would run over Williams. AS
permanent chairman Of the St. Louis con.
vention OF 1901, Clark absolutely fright.
ened a rampant gallery mob that was try
ing to run the convention, and had been
doing It while Williams was in the chair
The insolence tina comes from knowl-
edge Of ones power. and that would be re
scented II the power were not behind It
never offends when Clark displays 1t, as
he delights in doing. Once, for instance
a rash republican, seeking the limelight
made an attack on Clark. The giant Mis-
sourian came hack with a ha'f-hour speech.
which tore the rash republican limb from
limb. Al the finish OF the half-hour, dur.
ing which the democrats had applauded
rapturously and even the republicans had
laughed because they couldn't help 1t
Clark strobe down the aisle TOWARD his
flushed and uncomfortable batter, and rent
the welkin with this climax:
Mr.. Chairman, a few years ago a ten
derfoot went out west looking for a grizzly
He was all logged out in the newest style
of hunting suit and dawned like an In
credible vision on the astonished inhab-
ftsnts west OF the Missouri. He asked
them where he could find a grizzly, and
they told him reverently that at a certain