Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-05-20


The rules do not permit person
to carry other articles than wraps in
to the galleries, and children under
six years of age are excluded. BEAD
ing. eating and sleeping in the CALLER
les is prohibited.
If lady's wrap hangs over the rail
a doorkeeper politely requests her to
withdraw it. Not long since a gentle
man sitting in the front row became
engrossed in the legislative proceed
ings and let fall his silk hat which
bounded about the chamber. The
man was much agitated and anxiously
inquired if he would ever be able to
recover the tile.
Recently a western senator ushered
into the executive gallery three roll
licking young ranchmen who took
front seats and calmly elevated their
feet upon the rail. There they sat
the center of observation until door
keeper invited their attention to the
improperly.
"Do l find the Senate punch bowl
on this floor?" inquired visitor.
No." said the doorkeeper "go to
the Senate floor if you want punch"
The clang of three bells is the sig
nal for an executive" or secret se3-
sion, which means that galleries must
be speedily cleared. Doorkeepers
hasten down among the visitors and
literally drive them out. the business
of the Senate being suspended during
the process of expulsion.
Doorkeepers have horror of lock-
ing visitors inside during secret es.
sions, and, so far as is known, but
two plumbers of this sort have ever
occurred. Late in the "eighties" a
shadow fell upon man sitting in one
corner of the public gallery and he
was not noticed. The doors were
locked and the Senate was taking up
an important treaty in secret session
when an official on the floor noted
the lone occupant of the gallery. The
door was unlocked and the man
hustled out in less than thirty sec :
onds.
At another time a man under the
influence of liquor who had lain down
on one of the benches-that being be-
fore the days of individual seats-was
locked in and remained inside and
asleep until the secret session ended
and the doors were opened.
The Senate galleries are a never
ending kaleidoscope of moving hu-
manity. A swarm of excursionists
enter the public gallery and by dint
of much squeezing obtain seats. The
reading clerk is struggling with a
long dull report or an appropriation
bill and nobody on the floor seems to
be paying any attention. The excur-
sionists are plainly disappointed. In
five minutes they worm their way out
and are met at the door by crowd of
college girls who struggle in. It's
all Greek to them; but few under
stand what is going on. They had
expected to see eighty mine dignified
senator's sitting stiffly while the nine
tieth senator thrilled them. On the
contrary they see perhaps thirty sena-
tors sitting here and there, some read
ing, some writing, others chatting,
while the clerk at the desk drones over
a report or a senator discusses a mat
ter in ordinary conversational tones.
A bright country editor from the
west, after his first sitting in the gal.
lery, faithfully voiced the disappoint-
ment of nine tenths of the visitors.
Referring TO the making of law, he
said to a friend You may think l
am overstating the fact. but the only
moment when supreme indifference
seems to pervade the Senate is that
fraction of second of time when a
law is being passed. That is the
interval when all tile senators stretch
their legs and look at the ceiling
Nobody votes on the passage of law.
/ know they don't because l saw ten
laws passed and wasn't aware OF it.
Who would recognize in that gatling
gun speech from President Frye. to an
accompaniment of yawns from doz-
Ell senators, the passage of a sacred
law of the land. Yet it was. The
volley from the President was really
call for the ayes and nays. the
formal utteraHce being so well-learn-
ed that he can declare it eight or ten
times a minute. Not senator pre-
tends to vote either way, but the law
is. passed. 1t is disappointing to the
spectator who came with notions
about how majestic statute ought to
be evolved amid scenes of mental
strife and great labor
The editor was informed that the
work of law making is practically all
done in committee, and that the bills
he had seen passed were such as had