The Alaska citizen., 1911-03-20


 They might also be surprised to learn that the last occasion on which he mace was used 10 quell dis order in the house was as recent as two years aga. when Representative John Wesley Gaines. of Tennessee, prccipitated an uproar during a dis cussion with Speaker Cannon. on the rules of the house. This was dur ing the reading of the general def cicncy bill.
 Mir Gaines arose and called out: MT Speaker"
 He was told by the speaker that he was out Cf order; 10 which he retorted, hotly. that the rules of the house were changed so often that one couldn't tell when he was in order-even the speaker had to keep a man 10 post him. The speak CT rapped the gavel angrily, and
 said. The gentleman from Tennes- see is absolutely discourt eous." The gentleman from Tennessee is
 no more discourteous than the
 Speaker" replied Mir. Gaines. In
 s'antIy there was an uproar, the
 speaker ordering the gentleman to
 take his seat. and Mr. Gaines re
 maining standing Finally the speak
 CT turned and said: The sergeant
 at.arms will enforce order Get the
 mace" This was done and Mir.
 Gaines reluctantly took his seat
 Such is the peace-restoring func-
 lion of the mace, and it has been used on many occasions. Let storm arise and angry words or fists come into evidence and it ap- pears borne along majestically in the area in front of the speakers desk, up the main aisle and down the side aisles calming the quickened pulses and calling the house to it's sober l self.
 The congress that held the record
 for the use of the mace was the l Fifty-frst GSS91S9D. when it was i used no less than five times: one ] of the occasions being to quel the
 angry passions of the present speak l ar. who was then only a member on i the floor. The last time it was used in that congress was during
 the commotioH caused by the effort l of the speaker to suppress MT.
 Roger c. Mills. The terms traitor"
 and treason" were being handed around rather freely. and some pro- 1 miscuous profanity flooded the ar ] gument Every one expected a fist i fight, at least. but the mace. as
 usual, proved efficient and things
 were soon quiet again.
 In the preceding congress. the l Fiftieth. the mace was called for l on two occasions But the worst l single occasion of all was the time when il was required during the l disorder in the Thirty-sixth congress. l 1S591SG1, arising out of a dispute l between Representatives keitt and l Grow, just before the war. Then i here was q real free fight on the l floor of the house and men were l flocred with cuspidors. Vainly, at l first, the mace was carried up and ! down the aisles; for the time being 1 nothing availed. But finally, as the 1 symbol majestically moved about the i house. one after another of the i participants recognized it's dignity l and sat down
 ] The mace was borrowed from the
 usage of the English house of l commons, after which the house of representatives was closely modelled ] by the framers of the constitution. ! l. is about three feet high and l weighs about 20 pounds. It con- sists of a bundle of ebony rods, thirteen in number, one for each of the original thirteen states. bound ! together with a band of silver, after 1 the fashion of the old Roman fas- ces From the center of this bun dle cf rods protrudes a silver stem,
 on which is a silver globe, four or five inches in diameter Surmount- ing the globe is an eagle of solid silver with outstretched wings
 The origin of the mace is both ancient and honorable Under the old Roman republic the magistrates
 went from one place to another on | foot, setting up little courts here and there. and executing sentences on the spot. They were accompan- jed by a small body of men called | liCtors, who made way for them, made arrests and executed senten- ces. Each lictOr carried a bundle of reds tied together with thongs
 and having an axe bound to the
 outside of it. The thongs were
 used for scourging, the aX for be-
 heading and the rods for beating.
 These bundles were known as fasces,
 and in time came to be the symbols of authority. When the magistrates
 passed the fasces were borne aloft
 ahead of them. If disorder arose the fasces appeared and all Roman
 citizens, upon the mere sight, were