Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-05

Youth Dominant I'm senate, AEe Com
trolls In House.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.

- ~ A
Springfield CMass) Republican.
TIL congressional directory for the Sixty
first congress, now beginning It's first
regular session, has just appeared. It
contains a list Of senators and representa-
tives arranged according to length Of serv-
ice, and the first thing to arrest attention
here Is the great youth of the senate. OF
the ninety-two members Of the upper
chamber no less than forty-eight, or more
than one-half, have five years or less OF
service to their credit, and not less than
stXty-five have been In their seats no
more than ten years. In other words, the
senators who have served more than ten
years constitute less than one-third of the
chamber, and OF the twenty-seven mem
bers who have served more than ten years,
seven exceed that period OF service by only
a few months, and of the twenty with
nearly eleven or more years in the senate
TO boast of, twelve date back no further
than 1896. Thus only eight senator's are
of more than fifteen years standing. They
are Eugene Hale and William p. Frye Of
Maine and Nelson w. Aldrich OF Rhode
Island, who entered the senate in 1851;
Shelby NJ. Cullom Of Illinois, 1888; John w.
Daniel of Virginia, 1887; Jacob II. Gallinger
of New Hampshire, 1891; and Henry Cabot
Lodge Of Massachusetts and George c. Per-
kins Of California, who entered in 1898. 1t
may be doubted whether before since the
civil war so youthful a body OF men In
point OF service has ever filled the upper
chamber. 1t seems but yesterday that Mr..
Lodge was a Junior senator, yet here
he appears among the first seven OF the
veterans.
There are always to be found in the
house a few cases Of extended service
therein, but they are rarely very numer.
Gus. In the present house, however, Of
39 members 1.-TWO vacancies existing to be
filed, there are nlnety-four men who have
served five terms up to the present one, or
ten years. They constitute about one
fourth Of the whole number, while the 10
year or older members of the senate con-
stitue not much more than one-fourth of
that body.
1t is an unusual situation which has
brought the senate closely to a parity with
the house in the small proportion which
the older bears to the younger membership.
There Is no member OF the senate who has
served as much as, or over thirty years,
but Speaker cannon of the house has
thirty-four years of membership in that
body, and H. II. Bingham of Pennsylvania,
thirty years, each with elections to- two
more years. Including the present term,
Serene E.. Payne of New York is credited
with thirteen terms, John Dalzell of Penn
s%ylvania, twelve; and Hull Of Iowa, Jones
Of Virginia and Livingston of Georgia, with
ten each. OF the eight member having
nine terms to their election two are from
Massachusetts - Gillett and Mccall. We
have to jump over among the seventeen
members to find any more Massachusetts,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, Greene and
Lowering.
1t may be said, therefore, that that con-
servatism, which is begotten by great
length Of service in either branch Of con-
gress is exceptionally weak in the senate
Of today and exceptionally strong in the
house, where it is also aided by control
of the autocratic machinery that has grown
up in that body. Thus for once in the
country's history the radicalism of the
day can find larger hope for itself in the
United States senate than in the popular
branch of congress-.