The Colorado statesman., 1910-07-16

corridors armed with an important ex-
preston and a pink card may be safe
ly set down as just arrived from Sno-
homish. Deadwood. New York or some
other outlying district
The important expression comes
from the possession of the card. and
the card comes from the bearers
member of congress. These cards are
printed by tens of thousands every
session. Each representative has a
bushel or more of them. 1t isn't un-
usual for a member to give out $500
In one season.
It's easier to get card for the gal
lery of the house than to get a street
car ticket. The tickets are six for
quarter. The cards are six for the
asking; but the foxy members know
better than to look careless when they
are dealing out their bushel of pink
cards.
When John Goodforonevote blows
into his members committee room
the Representative valiantly pumps
boys, hopes Mrs. John came too and
then. with the air of straining a point
to confer favor, says cheerily:
We'll, / suppose you'd like to see
how we do business down here at
Washington, Ell? Now, let me see.
l believe | can fix you up. I'll tell
you. Just let me make out a permit
that will admit you to the special re-
served gallery. Thatll be the thing,
won't it?"
Then he dives into his desk, ex-
tracts one of the pink cards, fills in
the visitors name, signs his own with
flourish and hands it over with
smile of beaming benevolence. Five
minutes later the important express
sion and the pink card with Mr.. Good
foronevote behind them, make their
unmistakable debut at the door of the
card gallery.
AS a matter of fact the card gallery
of the house of representatives is a
delusion. The member who gives you
admittance to 1t in order that you
may see congress at work is on the
square. If he had said hear" instead
of "see" he'd have been an Ananias at
large. You could hear almost as much
of a congressional debate If you
stayed at home in Snohomish.
There are eight divisions OF the
house gallery. The division known as
the card gallery is the last place to go
If you want to hear a debate The
best place to hear is of course de-
voted to the press gallery. 1t is di-
rectly above the speakers desk and is
open only to the reporters.
Next to 1t on one side is a public
gallery and on the other side the la
dies gallery. No cards are required
here, and next to the press seats they
are the best places from which to see
and hear.
You must choose between hearing
and seeing the members who take
part in debate or seeing the speak
| err He can always be heard but
nine-tenths of the talk on the floor is
inaudible from the galleries opposite
the speaker.
The executive, the diplomatic and
the members galleries (for their fam
ilies), are located at the ends of the
house In an attempt to give the occu-
pants view of both the floor and the
speaker. The result is that in the
executive and the diplomatic galleries
| you can hear the Democratic orators,
while the members families at the
other end can catch most of the pearls
of Republican wisdom.
Directly opposite the speakers desk
is the mems gallery. AS most of the
remarks on the floor are directed
away from this quarter it is undoubt-
edly an excellent place for meditation
and occasional slumber.
The doorkeepers have a way of
rudely intruding upon these forty
winks. You are not supposed to eat
sleep, read or write in any of the gal
| leries of congress during the sessions
In the senate they are much more
strict than in the house. No one is al
lowed at that end of the capitol to
carry any kind of package into the
\ galleries. The rule was made at the
time of the Spanish-American war,
when cranks were many and excl
table 1t is still enforced in the sem
ste but is laxly observed in the house
You are allowed to carry a newspa-
per or an unwrapped book into the
senate gallery ana you may SIT ana
read or write, perhaps even sleep, un-
til few minutes before the vice-pres-
ident comes in. After that nobody may
read anything except the list of SEN
ators with the diagram of their seats.
Nobody is allowed to write anything,
not even notes of the speeches.
On special occasions such as the
opening of congress or some much ad-
vertised debate in the house galleries
may be seen people quite openly sta
wing off the pangs of hunger with ap-
pies or biscuits or chocolate. No such
desecration of the sacred precincts of
| tho sonata is uermitted