The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-05-14
VIOLATE, mo SMOKING" RULE
Members are Ordered to Discontinue
q Practice Which Has Be- s.
come q Habit.
NEW SEATS ALTER APPEARANCE
Men With Santa Cause.-The "Tum-
mics" More Conspicuous
Than Formerly.
By BURTON K. STANDIsH.
written for the United Press. }

BY BURTON K. STANDISH.
written for the United Press.)
Washington, May 14.-It's pretty
rough shedding these days for those
poor old congressman in the house
of representatives., who have a kind
ly regard for their own comfort while
they are "legislating.' An air of po-
likeness and conventionality has crept
into the house and several comfort
able stunts that congressman used to
perform with tired feet and aching
brows have been put on the bad form
list which has been given prohibit
tive duty.
When the last election added to
the number of congressman in the
house, it necessitated tearing out the
comfortable swivel chairs and little
mahogany desks, and the installation
of long rows of seats which are a.
cross between theater chairs and
those chairs on which the older of the
congressman were wont to fret
when they attended the district
school. The seats now used in the
house are little less uncomfortable
than the hard district school seats
and little more comfortable than
some Of the seats in some theaters.
The representatives now file in and
take seat like a flock of theater pat
rons and the old members, with sad
memories of the days when they sank
luxuriously into the seats of former
days and swivelled them back at a
comfortable angle with their feet
resting deliciously on line with
their chins. Today this is all changed.
There isn't a place for the feet-ex-
cept Of course on the floor-and if
weary congressman slumps down into
his seat, his knees hit the hard backs
of the chairs in front. But worst of
all there is only one arm to two
chairs, just like it is in theater, and
the man who gets there first always
gets that arm.
At first, resolved to have comfort at
any expense, some of the members
nonchalantly deposited their feet on
the tops of the seats in front. AS a
result, the house presented here and
there, pictures of sloughing congress-
men, with open vests, and feet of as
sorted sides Tapping idly against and
in the near vicinity of some legisla-
tive Uranium. Some eastern represent
tatives who wouldn't open their vests
and flap their suspenders cen though
they were suffocating, eyed the flop
ping feet with disfavor, and finally
went to Speaker Champ Clark. What
they said to the speaker is a dark
mystery, but recently that worthy
advanced to his forum, cleared his
throat the way your father used to
before he began that little stunt
(which hurt him more than it did
you," gazed rather alphabetically
down on the house, and, forgetting
he came from Missouri, doomed forth:
Gentlemen, just want to call at
tention to the fact that there are a
3 lot Of new members here. That in
creases the difficulty of preserving
proper order. You know there is a
rule against smoking. There's also a
rule against bringing lighted cigars
onto the floor. That rule is being
violated Here the speaker again
cleared his throat in that "darned-
if-I-dOn't-hate-tO manner" and con-
tinued: ere-ah-er-with these
new seats there is less comfort than
formerly and see some members
have started the system of resting
their feet against the backs of the
heads in front of them. Now I've
Just been told this is bad form as we'll
as hard usage OF the seats-not to
mention the wear on some of the most
brilliant brains of our times. ask
that the practice be discontinued.
At the moment Speaker Clark was
talking. there were, here and there,
several feet waving like huge eleph-
ant ears on either side Of the heads
OF the members who sat in front Of
The feet Amid signs, the feet Slowly
came down from their heights and
were placed conventionally on the
floor. Congressman Strengthened up
and Congressman Alfalfa Bill'' MUIR
ray, Of Oklahoma, who believes not
In la-de-da things, snorted, opened
his vest q little wider and contempt
uously SNAPPED his suspenders.
lc0aisaaSd . last p1seJ.