The National tribune., 1909-05-06
HOMELESS.
Senator's and Representatives Sometimes
Hard to Find.


Congressman in Washington to be
an anomaly, but he is not. Many
constituent could come to Washington
and search the city directory, the Con-
gressional directory, the telephone di-
rectory and all other volumes in which
the residences of citizens are inscrib-
ed and find that this seach was iI
vain.
When the Congressional Record
which appears daily during sessions, Is
short of copy page or two OF the up
to-date addresses of Representatives
which is kept standing, Is thrown III
Rut many a blank space occurs oppo-
sire the. names of Representatives IL
one finally resorts to the House Post
office. which is about the last place OF
inquiry, he may be told there that MI
Blank gets his mail at the House OF
flee building, and that nothing is
known about any other local address,
This tribe of lawmakers, who rarely
can be found in Washington, unless one
catches them at the Capitol, come gen
erally from the large cities. They are
members from Philadelphia or New
York or Chicago, who flee the importu-
mites of those who have elected them
to office. They make it just as diff
cult as can be for any one to flnd them.
They studiously avoid putting their
addresses in publications that the gen
eral public see. AS soon as any num-
ber of Washington people ARE on,
away these transient Congressman go
to some other abode.
Altho New York is about 800 miles
away hundreds of impecunious New
Workers throng Washington during a
session. They want to borrow money
or to ask one of dozen other favors,
which drive the Tammanyites to dis
traction. The Tammanyites therefore
become very artful dodgers. AS much
is true of some of the Chicago mem
bers In fact, the larger the city from
which Congressman comes, the more
shy he is apt to be.
There are fifty-odd members of the
present House who have no Washing
ton address, as far as a stranger could
see. Some of them are saving board
bills by staying at home during most
of the etxra session. When they come
to Washington for day or two, they
live at a hotel. Many do not want to
be bothered when they are not at the
Capitol or at the House Office building.
Ordinarily their private secretaries Will
not tell where they live. But such
members are generally without fami-
lies. do not want to participate in the
social activities of the Congressional
set, and, in short, prefer for one reason
or another to hold aloef from much of
the life of the Capital.
Some Senators are quite as difficult
to reach, but in a different way. But
one of the 81 Senators is now without
a Washington address. He is Senator
Isaac Stephenson, the octogenarian
multi-nnillionaire of Wisconsin. That
is because he lives at a hotel and has
been much away from Washington this
Winter, looking after his troubles with
the Wisconsin Legislature.
1t used to be that Senators were poor
patrons of Washington hotels. They
are elected for six years and most of
them were wont to purchase houses
soon after they came to town. House
keeping in Washington has become in
creasingly expensive and now two
thirds of the Senators live in Washing
ton hotels and hired apartments. Quite
a number of them are fiat dwellers.
The gray old wolves of the Senate"
men who have worn a toga long and
attained. to conspicuous. position-have
their residences and their Offices in
Washington, which are easily known of
all persons. But II is quite as difficult
for the average citizen to find them or
to reach them as it is with some of
the homeless members of the House.
When they go to their committee
IOOli2Ss lilc OOOiS SHUT ciAN iiiCS-
sengers stand On guard to keep out in
truders.
Nowadays, since the new Senate Office
Building was completed a few weeks
ago, that towering structure has be-
come great hiding place for the mem
bers of the upper legislative branch.
1t has splendid suites of substantially
furnished rooms and many a Senator,
who used to spend a portion of every
day at his committee quarters, where
Il was comparatively easy for con-
etituent to track him down, hies away
to the maze of the marble corridors
and secludes himself behind the tall
mahogany portals of an inner Office. A
guide is necessary to locate him. If
some specially aggressive and objec-
tionable visitor seeks him, telephone
message from his clerk or other alert
employe puts the toga wearer on guard
and the stolid faced messenger at the
other end of the route does the rest.
OF course, 1t should be said that the
visitor to Washington who has legiti-
mate business TO bring to the attention
Of Senator can generally locate him,
but even he may encounter difficulties.
The old democratic habits of accessi-
bility are disappearing, and, in their
Eeclusion during the working hours,
Senators are approximating the meth
DDS of big lawyers and business men
Of the populous cities.