The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-17
THE RECORD NOW
 READS LIKE NOVEL Insurgency Makes It Racy Document OFTEN SENSATIONAL Most Impartial Journal in the World.
 -c
OFTEN SENSATIONAL
Most Impartial Journal in the World. Senator Watson of West Vir- ginia Is Most Inter-
 esting Study
By WALTER HARPER

Washington.s July Especial )-I have formed the habit since I came to Wash ington of reading the Congressional Rec ord. It comes Co my room regularly every morning. Thanks to the generous thoughtfulness of one of the Alabama senators.
 I read the Record with as much zeal as I do the newspapers The Congressional Record in these days of insurgency, new senators and demo- cratic ascendency in the house, is far more interesting than in former days. Senator Bacon few days ago declared on the floor of the senate that the Rec ord reads more like a sensational novel than the record of a deliberative body of | legislators And MT. Bacon is right. | Tn these days of insurgency and an almost entirely new personnel in the sen ate decorum, and those rules af senatorial courtesy and conservatism have almost been forgotten,
 No senator these days is permitted to continue a set argument on any subject | without interruption. These interruptions i are not confined to questions which are
 permitted, under the rules, but the in-
 terrupting senator will interject his own
 views and arguments into the midst of
 the speech of the member who has the floor.
 | Senator Bacon was arguing for a change of the rules to prevent such in- ! terruption. 1t is often the case that an interrupting senator gets as much argu-
 ment into the Record as the senator who
 has the right of the floor. The result is
 that almost every number of the Record
 is full of dialogue, often spicy, even sen
 satfonal.
 | About all that is required to make the Record a modern journal is staff of 1 editors to weed out repetition and divide
 the matter into it's proper departments. There is plenty of sport, casualties, obit' uary, society, business and financial, ag- ricutural and editorial. | l read the Record every morning, and have formed the habit. ! It is the most impartial journal in the
 world. It has no politics or religion. Its | reporters never twist a statement to con- | form to his views, the views of an edi- | tor or to the policies of the business of- | fees.
 | All statements in the Record are abso- lutely correct
 l Judge Osceola Kyle of Decatur was
 among the Alabama visitors at the capi-
 tol this week.
 | Congressman Fred Backmon of Ala | bama is back in his seat after two weeks
 spent at Anniston with his sick child. He
 reports the little fellow as out of all lo, AJrc oaly, ol,iI 1yi
 remain in Alabama for the remainder of | the special session. l Congressman and Mrs. Henry D. Clay
 ton spent a few days, including Sunday,
 at Atlantic City. They had as their guest Tracy Lay of Gadsden, who is clerk of Congressman Burnetts committee on immigration.
 Senator Clarence Wayland Watson of
 West Virginia is one of the newest mem-
 bers of that body. He was appointed
 to succeed the late Stephen E. Elkins by
 the West Virginia legislature January 25
 of this year. He is a democrat and
 though he Is 47 years old he has had but little active experience in politics. His first try at the game was as delegate to the national democratic convention in
 190s
 His limited experience in political worry
 and responsibility perhaps accounts in
 some degree for his youthful appearance | Looking down on him from the gallery
 you would not give him more than B years.
 l But study of his face will disclose
 many strong points, especially the mouth
 which shows firmness and decision with liberality of judgment. When he came to the senate he was given a place on the committee on In
 dian affairs A constituent wanted to
 known where he got any information
 about Indians.
 Tn politics" replied Watson with a
 savage smile.