Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-04-02

| washington, y. G., March 90.-H the
senate chamber contains the seats Of the
mighty the senate galleries are certainly
the seats Of the motionless.
You can travel pretty generally around
the United States and not have your
liberties interfered with. You may go
wadins in Niagara Falls or climb the out
side of the Washington Monument with
out permit, but aside from few re-
strictions of this sort you can be your
natural self almost anywhere.
In the galleries of the senate, however
| the American ceases to be the nearest
human approximate to perpetual motion,
and becomes q rival to the cigar store
Indian.
While listening to a senator make
speech you may not laugh, eat anything,
! talk Except in unintclligible whispers),
use your index finger to point out your
favorite celebrity, put anything on the
| rail, use opera glasses, take snapshots,
read, write, address the senate, whistle.
| applaud or waive your handkerchief
! This is only partial list, made up from
! the writer's personal observation and ex-
90 without being stopped by guard. So
! far we have rarely found anybody who
got anywhere.
One young man recently rose to make
a speech to the senate. He had just
opened his mouth, and put his hand to
his vest, when a gaurd leaped down three
steps at a time and shut him off. In an
other second the young man was out
in the corridor with four doorkeepers
holding him. He was then permitted to
make his speech in a gentle wisper. 1t
two hat hn ho oh 0f
jefferson had picked him out to show
the world the way to peace. He had an
Amerincan flag in his breast pocket to
waive at the climax Of his address, and
he was quite broken-hearted that the
guards would not let him 60 back and
show the senate how to be peaceful.
The list of gallery shall nots" has
gradually accumulated to its present size.
There is no complete printed copy in
existance. None is needed. Every guard
knows intuitively that the minute
visitor begins to iven up it is time to
squelch him.
The present man in charge of the gal
leries, Mr.. ]. B. Dufault, has been in
office only since last June, but already
he has added lot of new restrictions to
| supposedly complete assortment. For
instance. guides conducting parties OF
visitors through the capitol used to trail
them down the corridors outside the sen
ate galleries. Some times it took ten min
utes for big party to pass given point
and while it clattered by, the people
would miss ten minutes Of senatorial
procedure. Mr.. Dufault achieved perpet-
ual quietitude simply by having the
guides 90 around another way during
senate sessions.
Another institution Of Mr.. Dufault
is series of cards informing visitors
in polite language that the gallery rails
are not coat racks or elbow rests. 1t
used to keep two guards busy rushing
up and down the aisles to tell people
about this unwritten law. Even then, q
hat or powderpuff would occasionally
sail down and hit some port1y and dig
nified lawmaker on the nose. Some OF
it, But now, with an abundance of printed
notices. the danger is ninimized.
The senate, Mr.. Dufault says, is much
more Jealous of its traditions and OF
propriety than the house, and any sign
Of disrespect on the part OF visitors Is
quickly resented.
One of the few times on record when
the senate gallery ever got away from
the doorkeepers was during the recent
discussions Of the peace treaty. When
Senator Lodge was making his eloquent
dILdCk ON tAe League oA A>dtlons, ce1tdui
groups Of onlookers burst again and
again into loud applause. Guards sup
pressed the offenders twice. and inform
ed them that they would have to calm
down or get out. Vice President Marshal.
referring to the incident, smilingly said
that he would not object to the applause
except that none Of it was for him. At
this. Alice Roosevelt Loneworth who
was in tn gallery, started to clap and the
spectators broke into applause for the
fourth time that afternoon. Later how
ever. Mr.. Marshal decreed absolute sill
ence.
Visiting the senate in action is form
al rite carefully pre-arranged to avoid
any disturbances. No one is allowed on
the floor of the chamber except the law