Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-12-29
Plans Reduce House One third,
but With More Seats.
SHELVES TO REPLACE DESKS.
Changes Likely to Be Made In Time
FOR Opening Of Sixty second Session
In osesmbsr, 1911 - Orators Will
Benefit, as Extreme Lung Power Will
Not BE q Necessity.

Plans for reducing Ivy over one.third
tne size OF the la in which the ma
uonai house OF Representatives sits and
yet increasing the number OF seats for
members have Just been completed.
They will be brought 10 The official at.
tention or the members OF the house
within a short time. with the expecta-
ton that they will he approved and
that the work or aIteratio will be car.
ried out In the eight months lnteryen-
lug between the adjournment OF the
present session and the couv ening OF
the house OF the Sixty second congress.
The present hall OF the house Is 13Q
feet long by % feet wide. Under the
new plans Il will be only 50 feet long
and 81 feet wide. la the present hall
there are individual chairs and desks
for each member: I'm the proposed ball
there will be rows OF chairs. as in the
big theaters, with a shelf In front upon
which one who is speaking eau put his
notes and other books and papers.
Less Lung Power Necessary.
Agitation for u reduction in the size
OF the hall OF the house has been con
rinuous for several years. Many mem.
bers have felt that they would like To
be heard all over the chamber without
shouting and without having lung
power made the test OF their ora toricai
ability. The present ball Is so large
that the left hand side doesn't hear
what the right hand side IL saying.
Visitors TO the house who have heard
tile great debates i'm the house OF com
mons or in the chamber OF deputies
have not been complimentary to the
American statesmen. aud their com.
ments have more than once drifted 10
the ears OF members OF the house.
In searching for cause the Ameri-
can politicians have discovered IL in
the size Of the hsll in which they must
carry on their debates. The other
parlia mentary bodies with which they
have been COMPARED meet in chambers
Of much smaller size. In which every
infection OF the voice Is clear. IL the
American Representatives must use his
| extreme lung power Yithzeyery word
In order to nc heard. IL ii argued, how
| can he make an impression a. an ora.
| tor?
volve any structural changes in the
main walls OF the capitels andsn after
trial the new house Is found 10 be un.
satisfactory or too small The hall can
be changed to its present size by
knocking out OF the parfitionA which
practically make the SMALLER ball
chamber within chsmbe. ferbat's
what the latest plan proposes 10 erec,
partitions OF q substantial character
within the present chamber and TO
devote part OF the present floor space
to lounging and cIoak goenis
Smaller Than Present seosts.
If the plan now PROPOSED, liz caITied
out the ball IN which VIII sit tie 900
members OF the house vim be EmaIlcr
| than the cha mbcr inewfiich gtthef' the
nfnety-two-sOon TO be ninety six
United States senators. The senate
chamber is 1I3 feet long by so feet
wide. to accommodate the same num-
Der.
one or the objections raised against
the former plan for smaller house
was that pillars were TO be placed in
front Of the galleries. Under the new
plan there will be no pillars except
In front Of the press gallery, but the
press gallery win run the entire length
OF the house and therefore give tbe
newspaper men more room than they
have bad.
lnasmuch NJ The ceiling viii Uoi he
lowered. il Il thought that the other
galleries. while reduced in length IN
accordance with the reduced length OF
the sides, VIII be wider, nDd3 ina
enough more rows OF seats 81, acsom
mOdate the same numhcr ~ nov