Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-31
THE DEFUNCT TANTALUs CLUB.
And the Late Congressman Foster
First Speech.
From a Reporters Recollections in the Boston
Herald.

From a Reporters Recollections in the Boston
Herald.
The sudden death Of Representative
David ]. Foster of Vermont reminds me
Of a practical joke played on the leaders
of the Fifty-seventh Congress. Samuel
L. Powers Of Massachusetts, and a few
others conceived the idea that things
were too much in the hands Of the old
members Of the House, and to offset
this they formed the Tantalus Club,
made up Of republican flrst-termers. the
republican party being then ascendant.
One of the clubs early enterprises
was the devising of a scheme to COM
pei the House to listen to a new man.
something that it was additionally
averse to doing. Foster was the man
drafted for the test experiment. By
preconceived schedule every Tantalus
man was preSent-a considerable fraction
of the House-in readiness to listen in
tently to every line that fell from the
chosen orators lips. The speech was &C
cordingly punctuated with unrestrained
laughter and hearty applause. There was
some infection In this attitude. The old
timers were hypnotiZed by their environ
ment into listening, too, and when Mr..
Fosters remarks were concluded, and the
Tantalus men formed in line to march
down the aisle to shake hands with him
a very unusual demonstration-many of
the old guard were sucked into the cur
rent
Serene E. Payne toddled over from the
opposite side Of the chamber to grasp the
hand of the young man, just as did the
conscript fathers that Of the brave Hora-
thus Grosvenor of Ohio waded down the
line. and John DalZell of Pennsylvania
standpatter in extraordinary, with his
head at its customary tilt, paid homage,
too. And these men supposed they Were
really responding to great oratorical
outburst. OF course. it was good speech.
Foster had primed himself pretty we'll.
knowing the character of the enterprise
that was on foot, and he was an excep-
tionally gifted speaker. But ii was in
the staging that the greater merit lay.
Powers and Foster came together AGAIN
in the opening Of the Fifty-eighth Con-
gress, when there was a vacancy in the
speakership, Henderson having resigned.
Charles E. Littlefield of Maine announced
his candidacy straightway. And the coun-
try took it seriously, as his first term had
made him widely conspicuous Boston
newspaper took a poll Of the New Eng
land representatives. One member from
Maine declared himself for Lttlef1eld. Mr..
Foster of Vermont responded with great
solemnity that his deliberate choice was
Samuel L. Powers of Massachusetts. The
latter promptly telegraphed Littlefeld:
You and 1 are running neck and neck
for the speakership," for they were on
good joking terms.
rhe Tantalus Club was a unique insti-
tuition. 1t went on the rocks because 1t
became an organization of the men who
had entered Congress in 1901 instead of
adhering to its original purpose of serving
as protectory for freshmen. Two years
later they had ceased to be newcomers.
and, of course. their numbers were some
what depleted, and since they were ac-
curing some place in the House the joke
of IL all gradually evaporated- III there
could have been a regular organization
of men on their first and second terms
a somewhat reversed Phi Beta Kappa-it
could have remained active.