Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-13
RECORD HUMOR

iORDINARILY the Congressiona
II Record is as dry as a Colorad
barroom, but occasionally
bubbles like a fount in the deser
and offers the reader a quip or {
retort that ought to have wide
publication than the extent of it.
rather limited circulation permits.
Take, for example, this bit of dia
logue between Senator Norris ant
Senator Harrison, when the latter
interrupted the former in his criti
clsm of the Presidents expenditure.
at the Paris Peace Conference:
Mr.. Harrison: The Senator has
criticized expenditures Of this
character as eXtravagant. Will
the senator point out wherein he
would have had the President act
pHinerently and where he could
nave saved?
Mr.. Norris: l would not have
given Barney Baruch $3.50, 900. |
would not have built a glass roof
on me George Washington when
have gone to New York and taken
the musicians out of the great
Biltmore Hotel to play while I
was eating on my way. or the
chefs to prepare the food.
would not have had an extra ship
go III advance with automobiles
so. that they could be there to re-
ceive me when 1 landed. and
so on.
Mr.. Thomas: Mr.. President
Mr.. Norris: I would not have
taken 1900 or 1,600 people with
me to advise me unless l expected
to consider their advice when it
was given. ! yield to the SEN
ator from Colorado.
Mr.. Thomas: I do not wish to
interrupt the Senator. Many of his
comments and criticisms may be
very applicable. l do not know
whether the President followed
the advise of his retinue or not
l imagine, however. that he did,
and 1 know that he did in the
case of Mr.. Baruch. My purpose
Mr.. Norris. That is perhaps the
reason why he paid him so much
money. because he followed his
advice.
Did this quiet the doughty Sen.
ator Harrison? 1t did not. and lie
was reinforced by others who shed
tears over the generosity of the
aforementioned Barney Baruch, who
worked during the warA for q dollar
a year and paid the way of his bu-
reau employees home after the war
was over. To which Senator Nor
ris replied:
] had no intention of making
any charge against Barney Ba-
ruch. 1 did not make any. I am
willing to admit that ali that is
said about him is true. 1 do not
Know. those things. about him. 1
hn AM owe
member Barney Baruch more par
ticularly as the most successful
man in the country in collecting
Democratic campaign funds dur
paign, a Wall Street man who
was able to bring the money into
the committee that helped to elect
p woodrow Wilson President of the
United states. 1t is probably nat
ural that the President should
feel kindly toward him. I re-
member him also as the man who.
on Wall Street. made, I think
S470000, as disclosed in the leak
investigation.
Which, we submit, is right lively
reading, not to mention being en-
tertaining and highly instructive. II
also proves that it is not polite tc
interrupt n gentleman's speech, and
that doing so is sometimes equiva-
lent to starting something one can.
not finish, especially when the per-
son interrupted is we'll equipped
with wit, vocabulary and an embar.
RAISING array of disagreeable facts
Come again, Senator Harrison, and
help tighten up another dull page
of the Record.