The sun., 1908-02-28
CHAMP CLARK rs GAME.
How tie and Mrs. Clark Look on the Ills
Of Greatness.

NON Ahe hNN WITS ANAEA AdOVN VIZ VIC ANe
Of Greatness.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 27.-While the House
Of Representatives to-day was discussing
the question whether or not the COMMITTEES
on Ways and Means should be expatriate1.
as it we're. from the Capitol 10 the new Office
building Champ Clark of Missouri. ranking
member of the minority. advocating the
claims Of the committee to remain, an
nouced in a characteristic speech his will
ingness to be Speaker of the House or Presi-
dent and take all the risks involved in either
position.
"The gentleman from Illinois, Mr..
Manu. he said, offers me the very tempt
ing bait that after the 4th of March. 1909,
in my capacity as Speaker / will occupy
these rooms now occupied by the Ways and
Means COMMITTEES. IApplause and laugh
teri | used to have a constituent named
Nat c. Dryden, "A very brilliant man. who
was very fond of giving out this dictum.
A bird in the hand is the noblest work Of
God lIaughterl am now the ranking
Democratic member of the Committee on
Ways and Means. and no matter how the
cat jumps at the next election | suppose,
as a matter of ordinary courtesy. | would
retain that place il the House was Repub-
lican; if Democratic. why 'Barkis is willing
in the matter of the Speakership. [Ap-
plause
THE question about the Speakership
il this: There are 99l members in this
House. One Of them is Speaker, and not a
single one Of the other 800 would decline
the Office il offered on a silver platter. Now
the Speaker has a small room. In the pres
ent eNigency in which the presiding officer
of this House finds himself he ought to have
two. Laughter There are three sorts
of people who wait on the Speaker: One
set on business, another set also on busi-
hess and another set just to see the Speaker.
His room is not az Commodious az it ought
to he; freely admit that, and he ought to
have two or three rooms.
Il will tell you how l feel about that in
connection with the Speakership. The
first time that my wife and ever attended
a White House dinner she was assigned to
the Peruvian Minister 10 go out to dinner.
She could not talk any Peruvian llaughterl
and he could not talk much English, and
although she is very fond Of talking the con-
versation Jagged. But sitting on her right
was Secretary Of State John Sherman. She
had never been introduced TO the Secretary,
but she recognized him from his pictures.
She said that she had always intended Il
she ever got close enough 10 him to ask
him about the Crime Of '73' Laughter.
But they scrsped up an acquaintance, and
Secretary Sherman explained to her how
the President and his wife were bedevilled
with all sorts of people, and how unsanitary
the conditions Of the house were. and that
il wore the President and his wife to a
frazzle and endangered their health. After
drawing as gloomy picture as he could he
asked her Madam, would you be willing
to see your husband live in this house four
wears with all that trouble and under those
ConditionsY With that good sense which
she exhibited when she picked her husband
she said Yes, ] think ] would. lGreat
laughter She said she was willing to
take the chances of unsanitary conditions
and nervous prOstration to see her husband
in the White House for four years.
well. I would like to see the Speaker
have two rooms. ! would be perfectly
willing 10 accept the Speakership without
one Laughter
The House was considering a resolution
reported by the special committee appointed
10 assign rooms in the new office build
ing and the Encouragement Of rooms IN
the Capitol available for the use OF
the House II marked the end OF
struggle between the great committees on
Appropriations and Ways and Means over
the question Of precedence.
The special committee finally decided
70 assign quarters in the new building to
the Committee on Ways and Means, its
present rooms being assigned 70 the Speaker.
This left the Committee on Appropria-
tions in the rooms it has occupied for many
years.
AS G. substitute for the resolution MIR.
Payne of New York, chairman Of the Com
mittee on Ways and Means. offered one
giving the Speaker part OF the rooms now
occupied by tho Committee on Appropria-
tions and extending that committee's quar-
teTs over two or three rooms, now other
wise occupied, leaving the Ways and Means
Committee in possession OF its present