The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1918-03-07

can the first term, unless the new man
Is wonder; and we take 1t there are
no wonders In this campaign.
Hampered as he was, new as he
| was. always under fire as he has been,
Senator Vardaman has not been idle,
his work has not been inefficiently
done, his efforts have not been un-
| availing
HIS FIRST COMMITTEE WORK.
He was given, when he first came
here, a place-just place on the
| commerce committee or the senate.
He was not made chairman; that was
too high and responsible an office for
new member. But he was given a
place on that committee, which is one
of the important committees OF the
| the rivers and harbors, and all the
appropriations for the building and
| maintenance Of rivers and harbors. 1t
| happened Cup to this time Vardaman
had nothing to do with it, but it is
hard, you know, to keep good man
DOWN. it just happened that the flood
control bill came up to the senate
| from the house, and fell to- the tender
care of-this commerce committee, of
| which Mr. Vardaman was a meek and
lowly member.
That measure had been sprung on
the house by Ben Humphreys. another
able, honest, Industrious and deserv-
eddy popular member of the congress
from Mississippi. 1t sprang from his
brain. In the still hours of the night
it came to him and obeesed him, and
| night and day, in session and between
sessions, Old Ben Humphreys Though
| he is not old labored and thought, and
| thought and labored how to put it
| across. He knew that If he could do
| it, it would be mighty big feather
| in his cap: and what constrained him
more, he knew that if he could get 1t
across he would accomplish the great
est piece of legislation for his con-
stituents and the people Of the Mis-
sissippi Valley, more fraught for good
| to more people, than any one bill that
| has been passed by congress since con-
gress was a congress, so far as do
nestle legislation goes And so he set
himself diligently to work. In one
form or another such legislation had
been pending for years and years; but
| 1t never got anywhere. 1t would bob
up serenely at every session of con-
gress, and die a-borning in the COM
mittee room. 1t finally dawned upon
Mr.. Humphreys that his people, and
| the people all along the great Missis
sippi basin would never get relief If
| it had to go through the regular rou-
| tine and be tackled on to general ap-
preparation measure. So he decided
| to go at it in another direction. He had
| full confidence in the merits of the
! measure he had in mind to propose
He believed il he could ever get a
hearing, on the floor of the house, its
| merits would carry it through. But
how to get it in and out OF the COM
| mittee and give it hearing; that was
| the question.
He finally hit upon the idea OF in
| PRODUCING a special bill and having it
| referred to a special committee; hav-
| ing the modest hope that, in accord
ance with custom he would be appoint
ed chairman of that special commit
| tee Having got the inspiration, he
went after results in the right way,
which may be summed up in these
/ ic+n IA
| talked it. They do say that he talked
himself hoarse and some of his friends
| tired but he kept on talking. Not on
the floor of the house, but on the
quiet Strange to relate, he never
made a speech on the subject, until ne
had gotten his committee appointed
and was "Mr. Chairman" Then he
| was clothed with authority and begun
to speak out loud.
The way he got his committee ap-
pointed and himself chairman was
neither new nor novel 1t has oft
been done before 1t is the most eff
fective way, perhaps, to put things
across. He first sowed the seed. He
had good seed, and he sowed them
in good ground, and they brought
| forth the harvest. He argued his bill
rather his proposed bill--to leading.
influential members of the house, and
persuaded them He appealed to them
on the merits of the bill; he appealed
to their fairness to the Mississippi
basin; he appealed to their friendship.
| Perhaps our readers do not know it.,
but a great many deeds OF kindness"
are done in congress through friend
ship" Other things being equal,
! friendship goes long way between
friends and Ben Humphreys has
good many friends on both sides OF
the asile in the house OF representa-
tives. Finally he had enough OF them
committed to his pet measure to risk
springing it. So he sprang 1t, and the
special flood control committee was
appointed to take care of the bill.
A little luck is wondrous thing,
| and sometimes decides the fate OF ma
tons. A little luck helped Mr..
Humphreys with his bill. About