Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-29
List Of 61st Congress
Gives Interesting Data.
Senator Hale Of Maine Old
est in Point Of Service.
Gong. Bingham Of Pennsylvania Is
Father Of the House,"

Washington, March 2S.-The new Con-
gressional Directory compiled under the
direction OF the joint committee on print
ing by A. j. Haford, for the special SEES
sion OF the Sixty first Congress, was pub
lshed yesterday. The book carries the
same features as the directory of the last
Congress, with the tables corrected and
brought up to date, and also some addi-
tlonal ipformation. In the back of the
books are maps of the congressional dis
tricts in the States. The States that elect
representatives at large are not included
in this list of maps.
The directory shows that there are still
two vacancies in the House, and one in
the Senate. The vacancies in the House
are in the Ohio and Louisiana delegations
no one having been elected yet to succeed
Theodore +. Burton, who has become
senator from Ohio, nor the late Repre-
sentative Davy, of louisiana The va
cancy in the Senate is due to the fact
that the fight over the seat of Senator
Hopkins, of Illinois, continues. In the
House there are 21S Republicans and III
Democrats; in the Senate 50 Republicans
and 81 Democrats. There are 76 new
members in the House and 10 in the
Senate.
AS usual, considerable space is given tC
the biographies of the senators and rep.
resentatives. In the list of senators the
shortest biography is that of Senator
Borah, of Idaho, which is contained in
six lines. The longest is that of Senator
Depew, of New York, who takes GO lines
to tell the story of his life.
More than two-thirds of the member
ship of the House and Senate combined
are lawyers. A number have been physi-
clans, including Senator Gallinger, OF
New Hampshire. Senator Lodge of Mas
sachusetts, while graduate in law, lays
a claim to literature as his profession
Senator Burton, of Ohio, in his biography
refers to the fact that ne made the speech
nominating President Taft at the Repub-
Icon national convention in Chicago.
Senator Oliver. the new senator from
Pennsy lvana, elected to succeed Secre.
tary of State Knox, states in his biog-
raphy that he was born in ireland during
a visit his parents were paying to that
country. They were residents at that
| time of Allegheny City, Pa. There are
side the United States-Wetmore, OF
Rhode Island: Nelson, of Minnesota, and
Sutherland, of Utah Senator Oliver says
that he became lawyer, and was in ac-
tive work before the bar for a dozen
years. He has been a manufacturer OF
steel and iron. connected with several
industrial and financial concerns in Pitts
burg, and has become the owner of two
of Pittsburg's oldest newspapers.
Senator George E. Chamberlain, the
new Democratic senator from Oregon
who succeeds Senator Fulton, was born
in Mississippi. He says in his biography
that he began work as clerk in a mer-
chandise store. Another new Senator
from the Pacific coast is Senator Wesley
l.. Jones, who went to the Senate from
the House. Senator Jones makes special
mention of the fact that he has never
been engaged as an attorney for rail
road or any other public service corpora
ton, although he is a lawyer, and that
he has no direct or indirect connection
with any corporation. with the exception
of two shares of stock he owns in the
Horticultural Union Of North kima
| The new directory shows that the SEN
| dtOTS anu WIN pCdI tilS
| Christian name William are more nu
| merous than those who have any otnel
single Christian name. In fact, there are
| so Williams in Congress-44 in the House
| and six in the Senate 1t is not on record
| that they were so named because they
! were to serve in Congress while another
| William ruled at the White House. bu
| it was suggested yes+ rday that this wa!
a good omen that all would be we'll be
tween the chief executive and the legis
| lative branch of the government.
Other favorite first names are John, O
which there are &c in the House; Charles
81, and James, q. Next to William, thu
most common Christian name in the Sen
ate is George, there being five senators
of that name.
| The oldest senator in POINT of service
| is Senator Hale of Maine, who has beef
a member of the Senate since March
| 1881. Senator Frye. of Maine, and Senator
| Aldrich, also became senators in 1881
| though later in the year. The oldes
Democratic senator in point of service i!
Senator Daniel, of Virginia. who has beer
member Of the Senate since Inis eon ISL $,
is the senator oldest in point of years
He was born in 1929. The youngest il
Senator Gore. of Oklahoma. who wa
| born IN 1917.
| While each State has only two senators
Ohio has the honor of having been th'
birth state of eight senators and Mis-
sissippi of seven
Senator Ellison Durant Smith. of Soutl
Carolina owes the fact that he is /;
United States senator largely to the boil
weevil. according to his biography. He
| is a merchant and planter and ha'
made thorough study of cotton growing
| and trade.
Speaker Cannon has the record in The
House for the longest service. He ha:
| served IS terms. His service. however
was not continuous. as he failed of re
election to the Fifty second Congress
Gen. II. H. Bingham. of Pennsylvania
is the Father of the House" because h
has been continuously in harness since
| 1879 He is also second to Mr.. Cannon il
point of service. since he has been IL
| the House IS terms. Representativ'
PAYNE of New York, is third. with 1
terms: Dalzell. of Pennsylvania. fourth
with II terms. The Democrats who have
| served longest in the House are Repre-
Lsentative De Almond. of Missouri: Rep
resentative Jones. of Virginia. and Rep
| resentative Livingston. of Georgia. eacf
| of whom has served ten terms.