The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1913-05-09

bers were wont TO snow their Disregard
for legislative etiquette by putting feet
upon the desks while the house was in
session. The men from Wayback ar
quad il was proper defiance of rigid re-
quircments to elevate their pedal ex.
tremities. Long before that, however,
il had ceased to he possible that SEN
ator would put his feet upon a desk. 1t
might have been done in those magnifi-
cent days of Clay and Webster and Cal
houn, although there are no pictures
Of it.
Marshall Chews Tobacco.
But the Vice President chews tobacco
and, We Gods, he expectorates. That,
with his squirming and other. contor-
zionist movements as he sits in that pre-
siding officers chair, has become often
sive. TO the. better thoughteof the sen
ate. Men of manners come thither from
the great commonwealth and it "gcts
upon their nerves. to see such perform
ancos. True, Republicans seem to be
finding most fault, albeit the more
proper Democratic senators note silent
ly how the Vice President "gets on. -
There are prcccdents however, for to-
hacfo chewing. There be Justices of
the honorable Supreme Court, who
must have their daily modicumFof weed,
as they proceed to their tasks ON the
bench. The chief justice munehes a
cud and up and down the long bench
there are others.
Moreover, there are the Vice Press
dents rulings on parliamentary ques
tions. These have become the despair
of the old dodgers. Senators of long ser
vice win sit silently iii their seats, per
force, when measures pass to which
they can never assent, hut will fight at
the drop of the hat when parliamentary
propriety is violated. For senate rules
are largely n matter of precedent and
n "raw" ruling, made thoughtlessly
now might be brought up n century
from now and be the turning point for
an enactment which would tip the Re
PUBLIC upside down.
The senate thought for time that
Vice President Marshall might be made
a good presiding officer. Nowadays
doubts are rapidly accommodating. Thus
far he has learned almost none of the
little nceties of language and the ha-
bits of felicity which expedite the
transaction Of senate business.
NhNh ohN ti"N'u iNtAihE i'i'7
for some years, it is difficult to get back
where the spear bearers stand. Every
now and then, in these new days of a
Democratic senate, one of the old Re
publicans steps right out to the middle
of the stage Us of yore.i Every manqoti
the minority side of the chamber is dn
ex-chairman of committee. Many IN
tvoice u there is lifted automaticallr
when giyen time of subjects is ment
toned. Thus it is with the Honorable
Reed Smoet, of Utah. Although ths
Mormon Apostle entered the senatelun
der cloud. he worked industri9usly
and made hifhself one of the most use
full med of the upper llegislatiy,
bunch. M A Republican senate eventu
ally gave him ,fetognition. He is a,
good student of, affairs as he is Re
publican nartishn. When the Under
wood Tariff Bill appeared, no senator
rushed more QUICKLY, into tho corridpfs
crying bloody hurder,,. But mo otbs,
senator could discuss nose intelligeouy
RI Saaitlr Of details aboptStariff dompli
satiSnSs The habit 5of1 oughtfulnes'
about yarious matters egisla tion h
! sBat Senator snoof saNot yet yea
En-, H. , ns as s oss t tas'
along, taking n part in the proceedings
as though he also had apart of tue re
sponsihility. Colleagues have rfmon
strated.muT9ios af tL-7sl .Lgr-
"For goodness sake, don't show
'em where they are making mistakes,
said one to Smoot the other day. Gle
'em go ahead and make fools of them
selves. Then we will give 'em Hal
Columbia all along the line.
The plain truth is that many Re
publican senator finds himself at a los
what to do during an extra session
There is his correspondence, of course
If he comes from large and pOpulou
( State, his mail includes a hundred let
tiers n day. Three-fourths of these ar
handled by his secretary and some o
these threc-fourths are attended t.
without being brought to his attention
He hasbvery little committee work and
| unless his is fortunate enough to lfav
identified himself in the years agon
with some subject or subjects to tn
extent of being an authority thereon, h
has mighty little to do now.
Through long years of enforced legis
llative idleness, numerous Democrat
senators acquired easy ways of "kill
ing time mt Washington. The air of
minority man was over them. Only il
purely local matters did they have tn
opportunity of talking in positiv
manner They could be of legislativ
service now and then, but were recog
nized grudgingly in such capacity. NOV
they ara as clumsy in entering upo
their own duties and responsibilities IA
Republicans are at sitting by and twir
ing thumbs.
1t will be no easy task to keep Re
publican senators in town this summer
They could stay, when absence mean
censure from those in authority. A
soon as warm weather comes, Europea
tours viii be alluring.