Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-21
-XT ASHINGTON, D. c., July lit has
lAL been ggested nerha1as not altnocnthnr

wv been suggested, perhaps not altogether
W as joke, that General Dawes might
use his influence particularly to prune the
Congressional Record.
BY persuading Congress to economic on
anecdotes and illusions to "tkis great and
noble republic" the General might be able to
cut down the $1,000 words which daily are
immortalized in the pages of the Record and
dispatched to waiting world Or, he might
be able to stanch the steady flow of extended
remarks which regularly consume some pages
of the congressional news sheet.
These are radical departures to suggest,
but General Dawes seems to be able to pro-
duce radical changes, and with a minimum
of effort. No one seems to know if he has
turned his attention to the reckless use Of
words in Congress, but some seem to thing
it quite possible that the General will get to
Congress in time, in his search for superflu-
Gus expenditures.
Already, officials in governmental depart
ments have been deprived of cherished pre-
rogative-that of selecting the style and make
of furniture most in keeping with their per-
sOnality and rank. Henceforth, says Director
Dawes, briefly, Government office furniture
will be of standard type. How many layers
Of red tape the General cut through to make
this ultimatum possible no one has stopped to
figure out. But the incident shows that the
budget is being reduced without ceremony
and in places where it was supposed to be
invulnerable. Hence the remarks that have
been heard regarding congressional oratory
and the record thereof.
Once Written by Hand
The Congressional Record started out in
1872 to be an accurate journal of the pro-
ceedings of Congress each day. Before that,
a hand written account had been kept by
secretary, and for while private newspa-
per had contracted to publish the proceedings
for $3.50 column.
One Congressman in an early session over
came a feeble sentiment in favor of a con-
gressional publication by showing that every
Congressman would want not less than four
copies and that the resulting expense would
be so exorbitant that the republic would not
stand for the extravaganza. If that thrifty
statesman would have looked forward to
time when every Senator would have SO
copies of the Record, and every Representa-
tive so, to distribute, he might have prophe-
sled the financial ruin of the country.
The Record has become an entirely differ
ent publication from the one planned by its
founders. 1t is as much Of a record of what
Congressman would like to say on the floor
as of their real speeches. In the Senate,
Member can talk at length without Interrupt
ton and there are less than a hundred men
to want the floor. But in the House every
minute of time must be parceled out, and
the uninfluential member or the new one
| finds weeks passing without his voice being
heard in the Halls of Congress.
Chairmen allot time to certain members
of their committees to discuss the bills that
have been considered in committee meetings.
| The time assigned is generally brief, but
with ABS Representatives, the amateur Con-
gresham finds small chance to get into the
| spotlight. In this predicament, he turns
| hopefully to the Congressional Record where
every Congressman's chances are equal
One new Member was recognized for a
minute after weeks of impatient waiting, and
| after dramatic pause, he said sadly that he
had been trying to make speech for some
| time, and if there wasn't time for that he
would at least like permission to extend some
remarks in the Record with daughter" and
! applause inserted at suitable places. The
House laughed but the young Congressman
was satirizing common practice.
| Extending Remarks
| Representatives unable to get the House to
| listen to their speeches on local improvements
or even on national questions have long been
| accustomed to introduce bill and have their
remarks extended in the Record. There at
| least they blaZon forth with oratorial flour
| ishes and the dramatic effect heightened, as
the humorist suggested, by Laughter" and
T"Great Applause" marked in brackets by the
author Of the speech after the best points in
| the discourse.
These speeches go back to the Aepresen-
| tatives home newspapers, libraries, and post
offices. They are, he hopes published abroad
! to show that while Congress may be accused