The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

| Wnilam Porcher Miles of South Carolina,
onered a resolution for the appointment
| OIL a special committee of five members
| TO consider and report upon plan for
the removal of desks from the hall and
the substitution of benches for the pur-
| pose OF bringing the members together in
9 smaller space and thus insure greater
laciiity for hearing and more orderly de-
bate. A report was made on March by
committee consisting of Representatives
Miles, George NJ. Pendeton of Ohio,
John Letcher of Virginia, e. JOY Norris
OF Pennsylvania and Israel Washburn
| OF Maine.
In an exhaustive report the commit
tee condemned the desks as a nuisance
and an inducement for members to loaf
on the job; and where they might write
letters and send out frahked documents
during the sessions of the house and
OF committees when they ought to be
! attending to the public business.
| Under suspension of the rules n
resolution directing the superintendent
of the capitol grounds to remove the
members desks and substitute benches
was adopted by vote of 1913 to 56. SO
all during the first session of the
fhirty-sixth Congress the members
were seated on benches
| The opponents OF the bench arrange
ment were active and although o reso-
luton by Isaac n. Morris of Illinois
| to put back the desks was defeated,
various members began to sneak desks
into the hall and put them in the rear
of the chamber, although Mr.. Miles and
the bench advocates vigorously pro-
tested against this violation
| This was period of unprecedented
| interest in the doings of Congress and
of passionate debates over the issues
which later enveloped the country in
the conflagration of the great civil
war. -
Finished in Red
! One chronicler describing the debates
mentions the red upholstery and red
Wainscoting, which he said gave the
| chamber a very "sanguinary appear
ance" Certainly political discussion in
| the chamber was never fiercer. on
April 5. 1860, the House nearly broke
up in riot over a discussion of the
| slavery issue precipitated by a savage
onslaught by owen Lovejoy of Illinois.
| He had left his place in the benches
and with clenched fist advanced toward
| the pro-slavery advocates while heap
| ing upon them fiery denunciation. In
| stantly the House was in an uproar.
| A score of members were clamoring Tor
recognition when the chairman or the
| committee of the whole appealed to
] Speaker Pennington to resume the
gavel. He did so but still the uproar
ragged Finally by the use of the mace
| some semblance of quiet was restored
and there were demands that Mr.. Love-
| joy take his seat. Then the gentleman
from Illinois reminded his hearers:
81 have no seat and neither has any,
body else"
This incident helped the desk adyo-1
Gates and they got through resolu-
| tion to replace the desks at the end OF
| the session. On motion of Reese I.
Brabson of Tennessee, the benches
were given to the government hospital
| for the insane and they are still in
use in the lecture hall of that insti-
| tuition.
| During the debate over the resolution
Mr. Houston of Alabama remarked that
| the turbulence of the House indicated
that some of the benches were already
occupied by the insane. Zeb Vance OF
| North Carolina parried by declaring MI.
! Brabsons side had no right to APP
propriate these things for their per-
sonal use.
Desks Brought Back
| Desks were brought back in Decen-
| Der, 1850, but the southern members of
Congress did not remain long to oc-
cupy them as before the end or the
| session the representatives, of IL SOUTH
ern states had withdrawn and gone
with the Confederacy.
| Since the magnificent new marble
office building for House members was
completed, there has been less need for
desks in the hall as each member is
within easy reach of his office and the
documents he needs at any time
| In the earlier days of the republic be-
| fore the sessions of the House were
| held in the semi-circular chamber now
known as Statuary Hall, called by the
| irreverent the "Chamber of Horrors"
! The members of the House attended the
sessions wearing their hats and wom-
en- We're not admitted to the galleries.
| When Statuary hall came to be used,
| the galleries were opened to fair visi-
/ tors But the hall was never satisfac-
tory place to transact legislative bus-
ness because 1t was 4 natural whispering
gallery. BY reason of its peculiar acous-
| tic properties. mysterious whispers were
| communicated from marble flags and
arched ceilings to the very persons they
were not expected to reach. Members
of the opposition. party in remote parts
of the room were thus made confidantes
| of political secrets of which they were
supposed to be kept in profound igno-
rance. This annoying and frequently em-
barrassing state of affairs continued un-
| til the House removed to its present hall
in 1857.
House Steadily Increases
| With the great and steady increase of
the country's population, the membership
cording to population, has increased The
Senate, composed of only two senators
! from each state, is more stationary.
| Twenty years ago. when the Fifty third
Congress met Grover Cleveland then be-
| ing President, there were S5 senators and
1856 representatives, three places being va
cant. The Fifty-fifth Congress, upon the
accession of William Mckinley to the
| presidency, had 90 senators and 1856 repre-
sentatives The membership was practi-
! caliy the same in 1907 when Theodore
| Roosevelt came into the presidency In
| the present Senate when the vacancies
! from Illinois are filled, there will be j96
| senators and 435 representatives.
| The Senate, which is continuing body
with one-third of is total membership
reelected every two years, has already
| organized and begun work by confirming
a number of President Wilson'S nomina-
| tions;l but the House must organize all
over again when it convenes on April Z.
! Champ Clark will be reelected as
Alabama will again head the ways and
means committee, which carries with It
the democratic leadership. The speaker
of the House hasn't the power that was
exercised by Speaker Cannon. The right
of naming committees, which was an in
valuable prerogative and conferred the
| power to reward and to punish, has been
! taken from the speaker and he has been
made a mere presiding officer. The leader
of the majority party is charged with
the real responsibility for legislation.
l IL