Evening star., 1921-12-18
CONTINUED from First Page.)

cult questions to answer as parlia-
mentarian. One of these was the case
where Representative George Holden
Tinkham of Massachusetts, submitted
a privileged resolution in regard to
the fourteenth amendment to the
Constitution. 1t was necessary for
Mt. Fess to study the precedents
away back to 1870.
While the parliamentarian does not
have much to do while the Speaker
is in the chair, because the Speaker
knows the rules and procedure un-
usually well, the technical and COM
plicated points of order generally
arise in the committee Of the whole,
when some member is called to the
chair. This is especially true with
regard to appropriation bills. SO that
it is necessary for the parliamenta-
rian to study these bills in advance
and have the references ready to
cover the points Of order that may be
made.
X 4 X
WORKING in close cooperation
w with the parliamentarian is Ed
Martin, the journal clerk. He writes
the ofiicial record for posterity Of
what the House actually does. Cut
ting out all debate and persiflage, he
hands down to history what was
really done. This work is provided
for in the Constitution. as is also the
distribution of the journal to mem
bers of Congress. courts, libraries,
etc. The House approves this journal
every day before it goes on to any
other business.
WITHOUT its reading clerks the
w House couldn't possibly do busi-
ness. and theirs is the most physically
trying of all the work done by aides
to Congress. When some disgruntled
member wants to be mean he makes
a point of no quorum, and IL there
isn't a quorum. under the rules. the
House can not proceed until there is
one, so a roll call is ordered, and that
means actual hard physical labor for
the reading clerk. The present read
ing clerks are Alney e. Chaney, who
has been working about the Capitol
for eighteen years. and three years
as reading clerk, and P. J. Haltigan,
who has been reading clerk for more
than ten years.
For many years forty-five minutes
were allowed for a roll call in the
House, but the present reading clerks
have speeded up so that now on
point of no quorum the roll can be
called in seventeen or eighteen MN
utes and on a yea -and-nay vote they
have done it in twenty-three to twen-
ty-five minutes. 1t must be under
stood that speed in calling the roll
does not depend entirely on the speed
of the reading clerk. but just as much
on the promptness of the members
in replying.
"P. j." Gas he is generally called)
Haltigan has been doing truck
horse" duty for the House as reading
clerk for eleven years. 1t was he
who first cut the time for reading the
roll practically in half. The reading
clerks must be able to call every one
of the 435 members of the House by
name, with the state they represent,
and to do it without hesitation. It's
hard job to keep up with that, es-
pecially when there are 30 many new
faces in Congress as there are now.
y X II X
THE Httlest man on the floor OF the
1 House is John w. McCabe. thirty
years old, standing four feet, four
inches and weighing 105 pounds. He
Is the most famous citizen of Whit
ing, Ind, because he is chief of the
pages. John has hold that job for
three years since the republicans
came into power. Before that he had
been on the stage. but was signed up
for Congress by Representative Will r.
Wood. John has sixteen pages under
him in the House. and his duty is to see
that they give prompt reply to all calls