The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-06
HOUSE TO RETAIN IT'S DESKS
Plan 70 ~ BSTITTTE BENCHES
VIZ ne ABlNDONED.
nut TAFee Rows % Benches v ~ Probably
Ne Placed IN the FrOnt % Chamber.
with RlE Desk IN the Well for The Cse
of the Member IN charge sf Thlngs.


House Of Representative appropriated
$50 600 last year 20 cover the cost u
reducing the sizs Of the chamber and
substituting English benches for the big
desks and swivel chairs. the improvement
I will never he made. This was one case
where that deliberativS body jumped
before il looked. and the membership Is
beginning to appreciate the fact. Uncle
Joe Cannon and other leaders are inclined
10 think that il won't be- ~ many years
after they are dead that the House will
have a membership Of at least CO., In
that case. even with benches instead Of
the present bulky furniture, the chamber
wouldn't be- a biz too big
Instead Of going ahead this summer.
~ had been planned. and reducing the
sire Of the hall Of the House by tWo-thiris
| II IA probable that an experiment or two
will be- tried. II seems most likely that the
first row Of desks will be ripped out en-
tirely TO enlarge the well IN front Of the
Speakers desk aud that the next Shree
rows will he replaced by benches with
narrow rails in front OF them just big
enough to accommodate memorandum
pads and writing materials.
Since the construction Of the House
Office building the members do not use
the big desks 20 get out their correspon-
dence a. they used to do. and Il In the plan
not 20 assign members 10 seats In these
rows Of benches but to operate this part
OF the House on the first come first served
principle There Ia not much attention
paid to the ownership Of seats on the floor
nowadays anyhow Il Is only when some
big vote is due and the whips OF both
houses have been active In getting CIT
their full strength that the members all
sit IN their right seats and wait for the
excitement 20 begin.
All the rsst Of the time the working
strength Of the House does not average
more than 100 or $50. and this number
usually crowds into small compass a. near
the well Of the House a. possible par
ticularly when anything Of more than
ordinary interest il going on With
benches substituted for the first three
or four rows Of desks and one whole row
Of desks removed the well will be greatly
enlarged. 30 that big table can he placed
in the centre Of the space where the chair
man Of the Appropriations Committee
or the member in charge Of whatever
legislation happens TO be- on at the time
can stand TO make his speech. answer
questions and efficiently steer his legis-
latiOn through the body
-. - ~
Capitol. has been making a study u the
hall Of the House for years. and in con-
nection with this big appropriation 10
cover the cost Of the contingent improve
ment he called in expert help 4 New
York firm Of architects drew the plans
for the change. aud it was soon discov-
cred that the appropriation Of $3.50 800
wouldn't begin to cover the cost II the
work, which it was estimated would run
close 60 500 900.
Recently q series Of tests Of the acoustic
properties Of the chamber were made
by experts The tests were conducted
at midnight. when the Capitol IA a. still
az a tomb A. result Of all this the ex-
perys pronounced the acoustic properties
Of the House vastly superior 20 those Of
any legislative chamber IN the world
ana a. good or better than the acoustics
Of the average auditorium or hall used
for public RatnernRs Consequently il
was apparent that the complaints that
have been made by members for years
that they cannot make themselves heard
in the chamber owing 20 It's vast size and
70 its poor acoustics were based on a
mistaken idea that tho hall itself was
responsible A. a matter Of fact this il
not the case The disorderly habits Of
the members their number and the fact
that. they insist upon converting with
one another on all sorts Of topics while
thss louise is trying 10 do business all
contribute 90 make the conditions which
havesresulted IN the reiterated complaints
The HOUSE leaders who have been sttidv-
ing this proposition do not believe that the
reduction in the siza Of the chamber |
would accomplish more than can he |
accomplished by reducing the seating |
area and leaving the chamber just a.
IL IL now
One Of the reasons for voting The APP
preparation was that nv moving the hall !
westward some thirty feet and bringing
Il nearly 20 the outer wall Of the CAPITOL
has been always nuisance. would he
solved II has been generally supposed
that the vsntilating system Of the House
was very poor Repeated tests made
RECENTLY have demOnEt rated that this
il not the case With the doors Of the
chamber all closed Il has been found
that the House - about the best ventilated
chamber 81 its size that can be- imagined
and that the fresh air plant floods the big
hall with something like GOOO0O cubic
feet Oi fresh air a minute But the mem
hers always insist on keeping the swinging
doors between the House and the lobby .
Open and this tends 90 create cross drafts .
and all that sort Of thing and 70 put the .
ventilating system out Of business
There isn't any guarantee that even
II the hall n the House were reduced
70 one-third IL present size its acoustics
would be a. good a. a. present In Statu-
Ary Hall which was the chamber IN which
the House used to meet before the con
structiOn Of the present wings. the
acoustics are about ~ bad a. can 10 i'm
agined and guides make a lot Of money
revealing tho intricaCies o. the echoes
10 the uninitated
John Quincy Adams or some other
ancient sage once found Out that II he
stood four feet IN front Of a political
opponent. looked said opponent IN the
eye and yelled at him the opponent might
A. well have been in the next county, for
he couldn't hear a word But II he turned
his hack and talked az the ceiling every.
body In the chamber. including the Oppo-
nent, heard every word he said. inaRnifed
m sound. az II John Quincy had used a
mega phone Also there are whispering
stones IN the old hall Of the HOUSE. and
hardly "a day passes that fresh editions
~ the newly married under the tutels e
Of giIides do not stand on these stones
sixty feet or more apart and exchange