Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-03-20

Any secretary to a senator or
representative or any other at
tache Of the capitol can apply for
membership. So far none Of the
woman secretaries have asked ad-
mission. but Mr.. Baldwin says they
have the same opportunities to run
for little congress Is the men. Lack
of interest on the. part Of the
women he attributed to the fact
that after keeping congressman's
dates and correspondence straight
all week, most woman secretaries
prefer musical comedy to political
debate.
The men, however, are extremely
interested in the new organization
and it has already grown from the
four organizers to a membership
of 60.
The members say that they are
gaining q great deal OF valuable in
formation and experience from the
meetings of little congress. A sec
Rotary at the capitol has to know
as much as possible about the bus
mess of lawmaking. Callers stream
in and out Of his congressman
office all day, the thickness OF the
stream depending on the import
ance Of the name on the door.
Nineteen out of twenty of these
visitors never see or talk to the
man they ask for. but most OF them
60 away with their missions &C
complished. The secretary tells
them how the representative
stands on the homestead bill, what
his opinion of the eight hour law
is. the status of his latest bill, or
whether he has a vacancy for West
Point. To handle these callers re-
quires something more than
vague idea Of what that particular
representative stands for and is
doing.
A secretary who has been with
his congressman for a number OF
terms is one Of those impossible
combinations of efficiency. versa
tility, and politeness that you read
about in business mems magazines.
He dictates an irresistible letter to
an irate constituent, tells a phone
caller that the representative IS
on the floor Of the house, and plans
press notice Of speech. all at
once. There may be times when
he settles down to one thing at a
time, but We have never happened
to call on one of these occasions.
Some congressman are known as
men with single track minds. Their
secretaries never enter this class,
even if they become congressman
themselves.
When asked if little congress ex-
poets to train men for the national
legislature, Mr.. Baldwin said that
the Saturday night debates will I'M
doubtedly prove valuable to a man
who later runs for public office.
but that there is no thought OF this
in holding the meetings.
MANY people have the idea that
it is the easiest thing possible for
secretary to become a senator
or representative" he went on.
Really it is the most difficult. A
secretary who is loyal to his en-
ployer cannot run for Office
against him. OF course, he might
establish residence in another dis
trict and run for Office there, but
he would have to build up new
support, for his friends and ac-
quaintances would naturally be in
the district he had left. About the
only way for a secretary to reach
congress is for the congressman to
retire or die, and even then not one
secretary in a hundred succeeds
his employer"
Mr.. Baldwin has located one SEN
ator and seven representatives now
! in congress who have been secre-
taries. These are Senator Harris
of Georgia, and Representatives
Lufkin of Massachusetts,; Bur-
roughs of New Hampshire; White
of Maine; Sheppard of Texas;
Mead of New York; Smith OF Idaho
and Lanham of Texas. Besides
these, Representatives Crisp of
Georgia. and Browning of New Jer-
sey served in clerical capacities in
the house of representatives.
These. congressman have been
made honorary members of little
congress and have spoken at open
meetings to tell of their exper-
fences and "old times" One rep
resentative remembered the time
when a secretary to congressman
received a monthly salary of $50,
paid only when congress was in
session. Another went him one
better by recalling his experiences
when senators thought $40 a month
! enough to pay for an Office valet.
Little congress is a very young
institution, SO young, IN fact, that
not all the secretaries know of its
existence. But it is a hustling
body, and Ned Baldwin has great
hopes for the future.
ITS hard to get people to do
things for the first time in Wash
ington," he says, but we are past
that stage, and we expect soon to
have a membership as big as the
senate"
1t is impossible to say what
effect little congress will have on
big congress. A secretary is often
a very important person. and
when he starts speaking in public
meetings on matters of state he is
apt to get some decided opinions
and talk them over with his con-
gresham. Maybe the peace treaty
will get decided in congress now
that the secretaries have settled it.
, 1SS5-Efght thousand fresh Span
ish troops reported on the
wav tn Cuha IN holn crn