The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-02-03
Our Washington Letter.
Especial Correspondence of The Journal.


Especial Correspondence of The Journal]
WASHINGTON, D. c., JAN 81. 1916. Maine
folks are coming fast to Washington these
days. It is the heart of the winter season,
when the climate is more congenial to the
southwark, land when, above all other times, it
is pleasant to sojourn in Washington for q
while on. the way to or from Florida. Some of
the Maine folks come only as far as Washing
ton. having errands here of some sort or of no
sort at all. except to visit and have a good
time. This is the season when Washington
activities. government and social, are at their
height. The passing show here at this season
is alone we'll worth journeying some distance
to see.
Senator Burleigh's Offices in the big marble
building across the way from the Capitol, is
the mecca of most of these sojourners from
Maine. 1t is kind Of home spot for the visi-
tors. whittier they turn as soon as they get
their bearings in the capital city. And if one
wants to know who is IN town from Maine and
the latest news about Maine people. room 240,
IN the Senate office building, is the place to
find out Many telephone first from their hotel,
The call is main 1920 and then branch 1852.
Senator Burleigh comes down to the office in
the morning to see the mail and attend the
committee meetings. His days are full of
occupation. The working period in the official
world here hardly begins before 10 o'clock in
the morning and the two hours from then till
noon, when the Senate assemblies, are all too
short for looking over the letters, dictatin z
the answers, seeing the visitors and getting
around to the committees that are having busy
sessions just now.
AS most of his constituents know, Senator
Burleigh always kept sharp eye out for their
particular interests and errands. He was
always ready to hasten away to the Depart
ments to look up the inquiries that came down
from the Pine Tree State. If thing asked
could be done the Senator always found way
to do it, thoroughly and expeditiously. He
finds a real pleasure in this kind of work,
which has been one of the keenest satistac-
tions of his long public service at Washington.
The Maine Senator is engaged upon import
ant work this winter. The Republican minority
assigned him to the Philippines committee,
which held many meetings when the self
government bill for the archipelago was shaped
up. For the past month the bill has been under
debate at intervals in the Senate. Many new
amendments have been proposed, all of which
have been of concern to the Senators of the
committee. That work is now nearly done and
Senator Burleigh ia delving into the records of
claims before the Claims Committee. He is
the ranking Republican Senator there, but the
| committee pays little attention to politics, be-
cause the business has to do solely with the
question of the justice of the thousand and one
cases pending there. Senator Burleigh is one
of the most patient and thorough of the sena
torial investigators around tht long mahogany
table of claims. He serves on subcommittee,
where the claims are first taken up and the
evidence sifted so that committee conclusions
may be made up intelllgently.
! Sometimes the Senator taxes goodly bundles
of the claims papers to his home 1907 street,
where he and Mrs Bureigh are this winter,
AS Mrs. Burlegh's health is rather poor she
goes out very little. The Senator tries to be
with her as much as possible, and for this
reason he takes his work homes oftentimes
and digs away at the Senate tasks of evenings,
when others are out enjoying the gay social
life The Senator's records of pension cases
are kept at home in this way. for he keeps
track of each of the ex-soldier applicants
from Maine who ask that their cases be ex-
pedted before the Pension Bureau who
want a special act of Congress to give them
more than would be allowed by the Pension
Bureau under existing laws.
Probably no Maine at Washington
keeps in closer touch with what is going on
back in the State than he. He reads several
of the Maine newspapers that are forwarded
to him here and the information therein is
supplemented by scores of letters weekly
from correspondents who are his friends.
These letters deal not only with politics and
political prospects but with the divers sub
stantial matters that are of concern to Maine
people.
Washington long ago became an old story to
Senator Bureigh, but it has not taken off the
keen edge of interest which he has for all that
is transpiring here. He not only busies him
self with the immediate matters to his own
constituency but he bears hand in many i'm
portant developments at the Capitol, Many
minority Senators take the situation easily
k owing that responsibility rests largely with
the dominant party. While the junior Maine
Senator would greatly prefer Republican ad-
ministration at Washington, he does not allow
the lack of it to dull his activity. He declared
himself weeks and months ago for larger pre-
paredness for national defense and has accept
ed in good faith President Wilson's invitation
to Republicans to regard the national defense
matter as bipartisan.
T. Senator Burleigh works closely with his
New England colleagues in the upper legsla.
tive branch. Senator Gallinger. of New
Hampshire, and Senator Weeks, of Massachu-
setts, are. perhaps, his closest personal friends
He cooperates with them in nearly all legsla-
tive enterprises, but that is true of nearly all
the New England Senators. There was hardly
ever time when the ten Republicans in the
Senate from the northeasternmost section
worked together more cordially. There are
also two Democrats from New England, in the
Senate, from New Hampshire and one
from Maine. They are not unmindful, of
course, of the material interests of their sec
tion but, except in purely local matters, they
entertain different political beliefs.
Many Republicans, including lot of cid