Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-26
MAN AT THE SPEAKERS RIGHT
Asher c. Kinds, Who Is Talked of For
Cannon's Place.

In the Congressional Directory, says
a Washington letter, Asher c. Kinds,
who is being talked Of as a possible
successor to Speaker Cannon, is called
the clerk at the speakers table" This
might mean that he ran errands or
carried ice water to Uncle Joe or that
n did odd jobs around the house; but
Kinds is the parliamentary helmsman
Of the house.
Uncle Joe Cannon wouldn't think Of
taking up for consideration a bill on
which there was a possibility of in
standing beside his desk. Mr.. Kinds
is the pilot who has guided many
legislative craft to a safe harbor Of
precedents.
Folks who know say that Mr.. Kinds
is the foremost parliamentarian in the
United States. If not in the world. MOI
only is he familiar with the rules, pre-
cedents and usages of the deliberative
bodies of this country but he has an
intimate acquaintance with those Of
the leading foreign nations. When
anything comes up, as sometimes hap
pens, for which there has been no pre-
cedent in the lower branch of the ma
tional legislature, he Is generally able
to find some grounds upon which to
base his advice to the presiding officer
from the parliamentary history of for
eign governments.
The average visitor in the gallery Of
the house would imagine, watching
Mr. Kinds, that he was amusing him.
self by listening to the debate in prog
ress on the floor. He stands just to the
right of the speakers desk throughout
the proceedings, keeping an alert watch
on everything that goes on in the
chamber. Usually before the speaker
has grasped the meaning of a motion or
a point of order Mr.. Kinds has COM
pretended it, dissected 1t, analyZed IT..
decided the procedure and told the
speaker what to do.
Mr.. Hinds's friends say that he has
an excellent chance Of being elected to
succeed Representative Amos l.. Allen
Of the First Maine district. This may
he true, but Mr.. Kinds would have a
much better show If he could get away
right now and attend to his fences.
The average member Of the house
leaves Washington when he sees fit and
comes back when he gets ready. Par
ticularly is this true If there isn't much
going on in the body and he receives
word from his district that somebody
is using the hammer. If the house Is
busy and it requires an excuse to get
away he asks unanimous consent to be
excused for three weeks on account Of
illness in the family.
But Mr. Kinds can't leave. He Is
invaluable. Some members Of the
house hope he won't be elected to con-
gress, because that would necessitate
a search for another parliamentarian;
very difficult indeed.
Some people call Mr.. Kinds natural
born parliamentarian This isn't so.
There are no such freaks. 1t was
Thomas B. Reed himself, one of the
greatest pariamentarians and presid-
ing officers Of history, who made Asher
Kinds what he is.
He didn't teach Kinds what he
knows He just made Kinds study
night and day for years. Once the
habit Kinds kept it up. He is conced-
ed now to know more about parlia-
mentary procedure, rules and preced-
ents than any other man in this coun-
try and yet he keeps on studying jpst
the same night and day.
He can tell you how the Romans
used to behave in their senate and how
the members of the Rump parliament
conducted themselves He knows the
proceedings of the Continental con-
gress, and there o. hardly a situation,
however trivial, that can arise in the
which he has not precedents in mis-
head and more in the standard work
on the subject of which he Is the au-
thor.
Asher Kinds started out as a news
paper man. He was born at Benton,
Kennebec county, Me-, in 1863, and that
makes him AZ. His father was a far
mer but he wasn't inclined that way.
Back in 1888 he was graduated from
Colby college and began his newspaper
work on the Portland Advertiser. Just
to be thorough he learned the mechan-
ical part of the business from typeset-
ting to presswork; but this didn't make
much of hit with him and he was glad
to quit to take a straight reporters job.
In the winters of 1885 to 1889 he was
legislative correspondent at Augusta
the state capital Of Maine. first for the
Advertiser, and then for the Portland
Daily Press.
Tom Reed was elected speaker Of
the house in 1889, and in 1890 after
Mr.. Hinds's legislative work was over
he came to Washington as clerk to Mr..
Reed In reality he was an assistant
to the speakers private secretary
Amos L. Allen, now representing the
First district Of Maine, successor in the
house to Thomas B. Reed, and whom
Mr. Kinds, with the consent of Mr..
Allen, wants to succeed. He didn't
drop his newspaper work, but did lot
of correspondence from Washington for
Maine newspapers, and in the summer
resumed his Portland connection.
When the Republican party went out
Of power at the expiration of the Fifty
first congress on March 4, 1891, and
Mr. Reed ceased to be speaker, Mr..
Kinds resumed his newspaper work ex-
clusively. But in 1894, after the great
Republican victory of that year, Mr..
Reed offered him the job of clerk at
the speakers table"
This place was entirely different from
the place he had previously held. 1t
demanded an intimate knowledge Of
parliamentary law and Of the rules
and the precedents of the house. Mr..
Reed made it Il condition of the ap-
pointment that Kinds should inform