The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-24

composed or one congressman OF ltS
faith from each State-either a Sem
ator or Representative, who is Sc
lected every two years. After the
committeeman have been selected they
elect their own chairman, vice-chair-
man, secretaries and other officers. the
higher Offices being generally filled
from among their own members. James
A. Tawney. of Minnesota, the one
time Pennsylvania blacksmith, who
Went West, grew to be q scholarly and
astute politician and who came to
succeed to uncle Joe" Cannon's re-
sponsible position of chairman Of the
Appropriation Committee in the
House, is the vice-chairman of the
Republican committee, while the DEM
| ocrats have two vice. chairmen--Rep-
resentatives Finley. of South Carolina,
and Palmer, of Pennsylvania. The
secretarys are Representative Louden-
slayer, of New Jersey, for the Repub-
leans. and Dixon. of Indiana, for the
both the Republican and Democratic
Senator's. as usual. leave the prac-
teal running Of the campaign to their
| fellow-partisans in the House.
AT each headquarters is a literary
and publicity bureau, which will mall
| tons Of speeches to lists of con-
stituents made up by each Senator
and Representative. The material.
mostly reprinted from the Congress
sional Record, Will deal with the tariff.
with Legislation affecting labor and
| corporations, with the national ex-
penditures and lesser bones OF con-
tention between the two big political
| parties. Each committee mas also q
| speakers bureau. which will assign
the most silvery-tongued orators to
districts most in doubt. and finance
| committee handling the wherewithal
for paying the printers. the clerks
and the travelling expenses of the ex-
horters who go out to convert the
4 wavering brethren.
House VIII De bigger.
For the first time in history men,
bership Of the House Will exceed the
four hundred mark in the Sixty
second Congress. There are now 1893
members Of that body, and the adj
mission Of Arizona with Its one and
of New Mexico with It's two new Rep
resentatives will raise this total to
401. Over 1900 candidates will be In
the field for these seats. since third
party nominees Will DO put up for
election In nearly all districts, while
| fourth and fifth party candidates will
| be nominated In many. But the States
have sent no small party men to
| Congress since eight years ago, when
two union labor men got seats. The
only member OF the present House
classed as neither Republican nor
| q Democrat Is Tulio Larrlnag ga, dele
4 gate from Porto Rico, who calls him
self a Unionist, The last of the Popu-
list Representatives were elected ten
| years ago.
Tho present Republican House ma
| jority of fifty-odd, which the Demo-
cratic committee Will do Its utmost to
out down to worse than nothing, will
be reduced even if tho most optimistic
| hopes of the Republicans are realized,
| for this IS an "off year. election. as
the congressional contest sandwiched
In between two presidential campaigns
is always termed. Invariably, in re-
cent generations, tho House majority
of a party returned to power has been
out down after an Off year election,
and this is because a successful presi-
Dental candidate always carries moro
congressional districts than can his
party while wnging war without him,
So the Republicans will not feel dis
appointed II their House majority falls
within the thirttes, or even the
twsnties. Thus when Theodore Roose-
welt was elected In 1904 he brought
with him Republican House minority
of ia, but two years later, although
majority was out down to tifty-cight
by tho rofr year, hoodoo,
DoublS excitement In this eongres-
nional campaign will ba added by the
issue OF Cannoniam which the Rapub-
llcans must fight out among them-
selvea. and which viii ba settled for
all time within the life span of tho
! venerable Speaker, So the public will
watch the numbar OF "tnsurgantS'' ~