The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1916-04-08
AT THE CAPITAL.
(By Congressman G. G. Dill.)

achusetts, Venable of Mississippi.
Meeker of Missouri, Dill of Washing
ton, Candy of South Dakota, Sanford
of New York, Elleston of California
Macarthur of oregon, Huddleston OF
Alabama and Scott of Michigan
Speaker Champ Clark acted as god
father and presided over the meeting.
Each baby" was allowed five minutes
in which to wall" At the close the
following awards were made: The
cutest baby, a rabbit, to Mr.. Walsh;
the fattest baby, milk bottle and nip
pie, to Mr.. Meeker the most turbulent
baby a drum, to Mr.. Elleston; the baby
with the brightest smile, a Sunny Jim
doll to Mr.. Candy; the most precocfous
baby, an A. b. c. book, to Mr.. Hud-
dleston; the baby with the strongest
lungs, whistle, to Mr. Macarthur; the
most vivacious baby, a rattle, to Mr..
Sanford; the cleanest baby, a cake OF
soap, to Mr.. Dill the most bellicose
baby, a cannon, to Mr. Scott; the most
versatile baby sometimes known as
the administration peD, frog, to
Mr.. McLemore; the handsomest baby,
a mirror to Mr. Venable; the best all
round baby, ball, to Mr.. Britt.
After the baby" congressman had
spoken Speaker Clark addressed them
as follows:
Il most heartily congratulate you
gentlemen in being even what are
facetiously denominated baby con-
gressmen.' 1t is a high honor to be
a representative in congress, If for
only one term, and with the number
of terms the honor increases in geo.
metrical rather than arthmetical pro-
portion. y members usefulness to his
country should increase in the same
proportion. a man has to learn to be
a representative just as he must learn
to be a black smith, a carpenter
farmer, an engineer, a lawyer or
doctor.
'It is an unwise performance for any
district to change representatives at
short intervals. A new congressman
must begin at the foot of the class
and spell up. OF, course, the more
brains, tact, energy, courage and in
dustry he has the quicker he will get
up. If he possess these qualities, and
if his constituents will keep him in
the house, he is as certain to rise as
the sparks are to fly upward. No
human power can keep him down. 1t
is only fair and rational to assume that
every representatives. constituents de-
sire to see him among the top
notchers'
LET us take the present house and
see how long the men who hold the
high places have served L can not
name ALL but will cite few as samples.
"Mr. Speaker Cannon is serving his
fortieth year. He holds the record for
length of service in the house in our
entire history. In several congresses
he was chairman of the great commit
fee on appropriations and then was
speaker eight years, only one man,
Henry Clay having been speaker long
er.
81 am serving my twenty second
year; Majority Leader Mann Is serving
his twentieth year; Mr.. Kitchin, chair
man of ways and means, his sixteenth;
Mr. Fitzgerald chairman of appropria-
tions, his eighteenth; Mr.. Moon, chair
man of the postoffice and post roads,
his twentieth; Mr.. Jones, chairman of
insular affairs and father of the house.
his twenty-siXth; Mr.. Flood, chairman
of foreign affairs his sixteenth; Mr..
Hay, chairman of military affairs, his
twentieth; Mr. Glass, chairman of
banking and currency, his sixteenth;
Mr.. Adamson, chairman of interstate
and foreign commerce. his twentieth;
Mr. Stephens, chairman of Indian af-
fairs, his twentieth; Mr. Slayden,
chairman of the library, his twentieth;
Mr.. Henry, chairman of rules, his
twentieth; Mr.. Lever, chairman of
agriculture, his sixteenth; Mr. Padgett,
chairman of the navy, his sixteenth;
Mr.. Lloyd chairman of accounts his
twentieth, and Mr. Sparksman, chair
man of rivers and harbors, his twenty
second. There are other big chair
manships, but these will suffice to
show that as a rule the big places go
to old and experienced members, for
most of the men who rank close to the
chairmen are old timers. The same
thing holds good with reference to
members of the minority. AS an IL
lustration, Messrs. Gillett and Cooper,
who are serving their twenty fourth
year, are the ranking republicans on
appropriations and foreign affairs, al
most certain to be chairmen thereof
should the republicans ever again have
a majority in the house. as in that
event. in all probability Mr.. Mann will
be speaker unless he Is nominated for
president next June.
go through the whole list and you
will find, with few exceptions, that the
men of long service have the high
places.
New England and the cities of Phil
adelphia and Pittsburg have under
stood the value of long service all
along, and, having elected a fairly
good man to congress, they keep him
in the harness.
"The member of longest consecutive
service is called the father of the
house Five Philadelphians in immed-
late succession bore that honorable
title-Randall, Kelley, ONeill, Harmer
and Bingham. Then II went to Mr..
Dalzell of Pittsburg. When Gen, Bing-
ham announced the death OF Gen.
Harmer, his immediate predecessor as
father OF the house." he stated that
the five Philadelphia fathers OF the
house had served a total OF 147 years,
and he served s or 10 years after max
ing that interesting statement.
I'm the second and third congresses
in which ! served, Maine, with only
four members, had the speak ership and
the Craftsmanship of the great com
mittees on ways and means, navy and
public Luildings and grounds most
remarkable circumstance. giving the
Pine Tree state an influence In the