Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-13
How Congress
Is Reported
~ Frederic ]. Hashin

| the salary of there efnanuenseR Of great
mess. and this discussion brought them q
strkluely frank compliment from Repre-
sentative Madden Of Illinois. who obsery-
ed that they have made IT. possible for
Some gentlemen here 10 appear in the role
Of polished orators. when sornntiules they
have not uttered sentence gramrnatie-
ally correct IN the course Of what they had
| to aay.
The House has not always had n corps
Of experts to record and correct its speech
es. OF The proceedings Of the fret Congress
only rough outline was taken down by
James Madiaon, and tho present efficient
system Of compiling the Congressional
Record has been gradual development
from that crude beginning
supEH-arroRrsns
| The Congressional reporters are now
| considered the most efficient organiza-
| tion of the kind ~ the world. They are
| abic- 20 take down 30 words a mInfte
| with ease Therr are only six of thern IN
| the House and six in the Senate II takes
a dozen men 10 record the words of the
| House Of Commons. md two dozen for
| the Chamber of Deputies in France, the
| proceedings Of which are complicated by
the fact that its members speak a variety
/ Of dialects
If il a good thing that orr Congress
| has developed an efficient corVs ~ re-
| porterH for its members seem not only tn
| talk more. hut Ia talk faster NOW than
| they used to-
| Webster. Calhoun end Clay rolled ont
their stately phrases to n leisurely tempo,
with appropriate pa'ises. The average OF
| Congressional speech in those days IL
thought To have been not more than 40
wnrds minute But now there are men
in both branches of Congress who regularly
| and enduringly "wpout" over 200 words .
| minute Representative Wingo Of Arkans-
a. is considered about the fastest taiker
| IN the present HOUSE, hut ne speaks clear
/ " and uses excellent dic.ion 81 he givec
| the reporters no great trouble. scott
| Ferris. of Oklahons IL another fast talk
err as are phelan. Of nassachusetts, and
| Carter. Of Oklahoma
Speaker hanp Clark ~ fsvoritr
with the reporters. because be- has . fine
| voice and gpeaks slowly and with pre-
| cison He prides himself on speaking the
| American Language which he claims -
| n distinctive one. Uncle Joe Cannon Is
| another man who il easy to report. He
seldom takes the floor ln debate now
adays, but when he does nc commands
profound attention and his long and slow
~ rpoken sentences kecp his hearers IN
suspense rs 70 just what he il going 70 say
THESE ARE EASY, TOO.
Representatives Mondel of Wyoming
Is another slow, impressive speaker who
ir easy 70 report, "a arc Gard OF OHIO and
Graham of Illinois
Representative Cox of Indiana s fam
o,ia for his voice. which booms like shot
g'In loaded with black powder, while
Representative Nichols of Michigan repre-
sents the opposite extreme, rarely lifting
hrs voice above a stage whisper The
House enjoyed a treat the other dav when
these two engaged IN a heated coilOquy,
the contrast between them being heighten-
cd by the fact that Cox ls giant while
Nichols is a Iittle man Cox would roar
n question nt his adversary in voice that
shook the building. and Nichols would rc-
ply in what sounded like a discreet xhlS-
per
There i9 a firm basis Of fact in Mr..
Maddens assertion that the reporters |
make polished orators out Of some Of the
members, IN that the shorthand men ire |
oiently correct the remarks as they take |
them down They are often compelled TO |
do this IN order TO make sense OF the |
speeches, and IN some cases the meaning |
of member remains an unsolved mystery |
TO all but himself Members from the |
are especially trying 10 the reporters. One |
OF the worst of these Was Cyclone |
Davis, who took pride IN being Texan |
and IN not wearing a collar.
SOME SAMPLES OF aINTAGE.
Here are a few sample phrases that have /
recently been uttered BY Legislators in /
the name Of the Kings English
The gentleman from Blank should not /
be so exhibitions.
What is the gentIemans conception |
apropoS OF the instant amendment
"A soldier back home in my district |
that's lost two Of his legs.
He skun through by the skin Of his /
teeth in the last election.
These specimens seem 10 give weight |
TO Speaker Clark's opinion that there is a |
distinctive American language.
But the Joke is not always on the mem
ber Sometimes the reporter makes |
mistake, rs when Speaker Clark sonorous-
ly intoned the Ciceronian bromide 20 /
teInpora, o mores, and the reporter en-
dowed it with dcwy freshness by max |
ing it 20 tempora, O Mosesp
Another time the Speaker, who is
chock full of classical and early English
culture, quoted Pope's lines: fTf parts
allure thee, see how Bacon shines the
brightest, wisest, meanest of mankind
or, ravished by the whistling of a name.
see Cromwell doomed TO everlasting
fame The Speaker went on TO saw that
the Secretary of the Treasury, OF whom he
was speaking, was likewise doomed 10
everlasting fame. And the reporter got
it shame"
REVERSE ENGLISH.
One hot day reporter took down
OF opinion as humidity OF
opinion, no doubt under the influence of
the barometric pressure. On another oc-
,asion mortality record was made morality
record 1t is only fair TO say that these
,rrors on the part OF the reporters are few.
md that they correct hundred for one
hat they make
The reporters work BY relav. While
me is taking notes, another sits ready 10
axe his place at signal when the first |
nan has completed certain amount.
The reporter then revises the remarks |
md dictates them TO a phonograph from |
which they are taken by typist The |
yped copy is again revised BY the re-
,orter, and then taken to the member who |
the speech for third revision. |
The finished product often bears scant re-
embiance 10 what was said upon the floor. |
\ member also has the right TO address
he chair, say few sentences, and obtain |
'ermission from the House 10 extend his /
-.