The National tribune., 1910-06-23

Some time ago we noted in The Ma
uonal Tribune that the Superintendent
of Public Buildings and Grounds, Ell
nott Woods, was going to tear out the
inside of the present House of Repre-
sentatives, remove the desks. make the
House itself smaller, enlarge the gal
lerfeS and in every way possible make
1t conform to the interior of the Eng
lish Parliament houses. He even got
an appropriation of nearly 100000 for
the purpose of making these improve
ments;" but after his plans were all
made, the money appropriated, etc, the
House as a body ''aNed" no. 1t had
+ been said that the acoustics of the
House were bad, and that the ventila-
ton was bad. and that everything about
the House almost is bad. Expert tests
were made, however, and it was proven
that the acoustic properties of the
House We're all right, and that the rea-
son you are unable to hear the men,
bers of the House when they speak in
the Chamber is that they don't know
how to speak. Really and truly you
know that four-fifths of the men that
try to make speeches on the floor of
the House talk like 10-year-old boys,
with just about as much infection, Just
as awkward gestures and with screechy
little voices that would hardly be INTEL
1igible in 2O-foot-square room. 1t is
very seldom that a speaker is heard on
the floor of the House that one dog
not wish that he would go off and take
a few lessons in elocution. The House
is not going to be made any smaller,
and Speaker Cannon says he does not
believe that il will be made any smaller
for great many years. He is of the
opinion that in a short time the mem
bership of the House will have increased
to at least 500. in which case every bit
of room will be needed
One of the interesting items of the
Confederate National Encampment held
in Mobile was wired to the Washington
papers. and it was as follows: Gen.
Bennett Young, of Louisville, read the
historical report. He deprecated the
tendency of writers to misrepresent the
South. He declared that of all the
Southern soldiers in Northern prisons
IL of every 100 died, while of the
Northern soldiers in Southern prisons
nine Of every 100 died. And the great
est monument to the Southern soldiers
is the death list of the North" The
convention adopted the report, and on
motion a copy will be sent to Senator
Hepburn.
That is about on a par with what
Representative Sisson, of Mississippi,
says. and SHOWS how forgiving and for
getful the South is becoming.
Not very long ago the House Com
mittee on Military Affairs voted to give
a pension to a man accused of deser-
ton, and then a little later it voted
unanimously to recall this approval. The
case Is that of John Gray, Union SOL
der, who is said to have deserted i'm
mediately after the close of the civil
war. after only three months service.
He applied for pension, but the minor
1ty members of the committee vigorous
ly opposed his application, on the
ground that his case would establish
precedent that would admit thousands
OF deserters to the pension rolls.
There dice in Taylorsville N c., re-
Gently former Representative Romolus
u. Linney, famous as politician and
orator and one tof the most picturesque
statesmen the South ever produced. He
dropped dead Of apoplexy as he was
entering his law Office. Mr.. Linney was
picturesque in every way He was ro-
tund and jolly, had a command of the
English language that was remarkable
a keen sense of humor, a singularly
high-pitched, thin, screechy sort of
voice which was almost painful to listen
to- He was born in North Carolina
and served in the Confederate army,
being wounded at Chancellorsville He
served three terms in the North Caro-
iIild OldlD senate DIS a Democrat. Inen
he Hoped in his politics, and was elect
ed to the saith Congress from the Eighth
North Carolina District. as a Republi-
can. and was reelected to the 55th and
seth Congresses. Because of his huge
physical proportions he earned the So
briQuet of Bull of the Brushy Noun
tains." which Is a small range lying
within view of his home.
There is oId Sfnrx-
who resigned his position as a diver
because he couldn't hold down any job
where he couldn't spit on his hands
He could never be a conductor on a
Washington street car if a bill intro
duced In the House gets thru the CEN
sOrship.
The bill was offered by Representa-
tive Coudrey. of Missouri, who, in his
brief term of service as Congressman,
has presented bills on a variety of sub
1ects ranging from the regulation of the
price of gas to the size of a shoe
policeman may wear on Wednesday
afternoons
Now Mr. Coudrey has leaped into the
limelight again with a proposition to
prevent, by Federal statute. a car con-
ductor licking his fingers while count
ing sticky tickets or dealing out trans
fers.
Former Governor Broward, of Flor
ida, has been nominated by the vote OF
the democratic Senatorial primary for
United States Senator from Florida
to succeed Senator Taliaferro. Gov.
Broward started life as deck
hand on steamboat plying the St
Johns River. His mission in life has
been the reclamation of the Everglades
of Florida.
This was the issue that carried him
into the Governors office, and il has
been his hobby ever since. His success
in converting the Everglades into pro-
ductive farms helped him in his Sena-
torial campaign. He was defeated two
years ago by Senator Fletcher in the
Senatorial primary by & decisive ma
jority. He has been at the head of a
realty company since he left the Cover
nor's Office.
Morse and the Telegraph
Here is a story of the establishment
of the first telegraph line and the cir