Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11
CUT HALL. OF HOUSE
Plan May Be Adopted at Pres
ent Session of Congress.
DO WORK DURING SUMMER
Eight Months Of Long Recess Re-
garded as Ample Time.
GOOD THING FOR ORATORY
At Present Eloquence in Popular
Assembly Is Measured Chiefly
by Lung Power.
Do WORK DURING SUMMER
GOOD THING FOR 0RAT0RY

Plans for reducing by over oae-third
the size of the hall in which sits the ma
tional House of Representatives and yet
increasing the number of seats for, mem
bers have just been completed They will
be brought to the official attention of the
members of the House; within short
time. with the expectation that tthey will
! be approved and that the work OF al
teration will be carried out in the enght
months intervening between the ad-
journment of the present session and the
CONVEYING of the House for the next SEES
| sion.
The present hall of, the House is 130
| feet in length by 93 feet in width; under
the new plans it will be only 50 feet in
length and 81 feet in width. In the pres
| ent hall there are individual chairs and
desks for each member; in the proposed
| hall there will be rows Of chairs as in the
| big theaters, with a shelf in front upon
which any one who is speaking can put
his notes and other books and papers.
Expects House to Approve.
vt has been thought by many that the
plan for reducing the size of the House
| hall had been abandoned" said Elliott
Woods, superintendent Of the Capitoh
yesterday. Far. from it. l think this
new plan will receive the approval of the
House and that the House will direct the
work to be done during the recess next
/ spring and summer"
| Agitation for a reduction in the size
of the hall of the House has been con-
tinuous for several years. Many mem
bers have felt that they would like to
| be heard all over the chamber without
shouting their heads off and without
having lung power. made the test of
their oratoricaI ability. The present
hall is so large that the left-hand side
doesn't hear what the right-hand side
| Is saying .t.~~ X .~set
Visitors to the House, too, who have
heard the great debates in the house
| of commons, in Westminster or in the
chamber of deputies, on the bank of
| the Seine, have not been 'complimen-
tary to the American statesmen; and
their comments have more than once
drifted to the ears of members of the
House
Blame Placed on Hall.
In searching for a cause the Ameri-
can politicians have discovered it in
viz oAAO VI Tic lldll Ill WHICH Iney must
carry on their debates. The other par
liamentary bodies with which they
have been compared meet in chambers
of much smaller size, in which every
infection of the voice is clear, every
tone OF melody can be heard, as we'll
as every thunder of crashing bolts If
the American representative must use
his extreme lung power with every
word in order to be heard, it is ar
gued. how can he make an impression
as an orator? ~
A reduction in the size of the House,
| therefore, Is necessary II the reputa-
ton of the oratory of American states
men is to be protected and If all the
members of the lower house are to
know what is going on all the time.
Just how the needed reform can be
accomplished, however, has been the
bers have become accustomed to the
individual chairs and desks, and they
part company with them most reluc-
family. So far, in fact, they haven't
sufficiently to direct any change in the
House.
Chamber Within a Chamber.
The plan which has just been pro-
posed is expected to meet with more
favor than former ones. 1t will not
involve any structural changes in the
main walls of the Capitol, and if, after
trial. the new House is found to be
unsatisfactory, or too small. the hall
can be changed to its present size by
the knocking out Of the partitions.
| which practically make the smaller hall
a chamber within a chamber. That's
what the latest plan proposes-to erect
partitions of substantial character
within the present chamber. and to de-
vote a part of the present floor space
IN 1O1IpUinO cloak
A Encouragement Of the seating plan
of the House is regarded as certain
in the near future, because the reao-
portionment of the congressional dis
ment of the results Of the recent CEN
sus is expected to increase it's MEM
bership. When the Encouragement OF
the seats is under consideration many
ton of reducing the size Of the cham
ber. a.,
Smaller Than Senate Chamber. Z.
If the plan now proposed is carried
out the hall in which will sit the 400.
members Of the House will be smaller
than the chamber in which gather the
ninety-two-soon to be ninety six
United States senators. The Senate
chamber is 113 feet long by 80 feet
wide. while the new hall of the House
|
feet wide.
One of the objections raised against
the former plan for a smaller House
was that pillars were to be placed in
front Of all the galleries. Under the
new plan there will be no pillars, ex-
cept in front Of the press gallery. and
the feelings of the newspaper men will
be soothed by the fact that the press
gallery will run the entire length. of
the House, and therefore will give them
more. room than they have lately ems
joyed. i
inasmuch as the ceiling will not be low
cred, 1t Is thought that the other, gal
leries, while reduced in length in accord
ance with the reduced length of the sides,
will be wider and have enough more rows
of seats to accommodate the same num-
Der Of visitors as now.
Changes in Eight Months.
The latest pIlns have been prepared
under the direction OF Elliott Woods,
superintendent OF the Capitol and he
thinks the changes contemplated by them