East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-04-14

There are two leading performers in
the drama, or farce-take your choice
of revising the tariff, which is now
holding the boards in the House of
Representatives.
Of course, Serene Elisha Payne. of
New York, author of the bill and Re-
publican floor leader, gets most Of
the spot light But just the same,
Champ Clark, of Bowling Green, Mis-
souri,, the Minority Leader breaks
into the piece at frequent intervals
and speaks his part with guSto.
Serene Elisha is a large rotun6 party
He probably hefts the scale at 275
pounds A plentiful share of white
hair clings to his massive head, and
white moustache just matches his
white eyebrows on a quizzical, kindly
face.
II is a study 10 watch Payne's face
while he is speaking. His eyes twin
kle and shine, and funny little wrin-
kles play about his mouth when he
takes a sarcastic shot at the minority
slde-whlch is often. He has a pro-
found knowledge Of the tariff, talks
intelligently about its technicalities,
its ramifiCations and its application:
knows finance and governmental ad-
ministration from A. TO x and, what
Is more. can tell what he knows in
a clear. concise. to-the-point manner.
Payne Always Serene.
Nothing really ever disturbs Payne. !
or confuses him. He tries TO make
believe that rapid-fire questioning up
sets him, but it never really does.
When he made his famous two-day |
speech in the House at the opening of
the special session. explaining the tar !
if bill. he had eight solid hours near |
" continuous grilling at the hands of /
the whole House-an almost steady |
stream Of questions from members,
ranging from queries as 10 what ad /
varlorem meant. to how many pounds !
of tea are used each year in the Unie-
ed States in Germany. in England,
and elsewhere. And not a single ques-
ton went unanswered. II he evaded .
one. il was done so skillfully that the
questioner semed satisfied.
Payne has served on the ways and
Means Committee just 20 years. He
has been member OF Congress for %
years. and has seen the framing and
passage Of two previous tariff meas
Tres. He Is the trusted lieutenant Of
the Speaker. and a most vigorous and
consistent always ys-on-the-job support
er OF the House machine. He never
walks-he slides along with a sort Of
waddle. He is big enough around the
middle TO wear President Taft's trou-
sers, but would be clean lost in his
coat.
Clark's Big Voice.
Champ Clark's principal character
istic is his voice. When properly har-
rassed and warking perfectly, Champ
has a fog-horn beat TO a frazzle." He
is fond of homely phases; like Uncle
Joe Cannon, he often refers TO the
Bible for an illustrative incident, or
precept. and has goodly fund of an
cNuptc. mere IL just a ld4ill SuSStS-
ton of the South in his speech.
"Misher Speeeeeee--r." says Clark
as he rises majestically. removes his
spectacles slowly, swings them around
earelessly in one hand, and sticks the
other In one Of those old-style hori-
zontai trousers pockets that he ef-
fects When he gets "het up" proper
y Champ discards the spectacles, and
cuts little circles in the atmosphere
with the free hand; pounds It on the
desk. or else tucks it away in the
capacious trousers pocket. Sometimes
he leans forward and sticks his head
out pugnaciously. He has one peculiar
mannerism. When he stops to collect
his thoughts. he purses up his mouth,
and then, suddenly, "puffs" vehement
ly. When he is real excited the puff
sounds like a locomotive exhaust. He
is tall and well-fed in appearance. He
always wears one of the old-style /
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