Evening star., 1921-10-23

NI Columbia ShoulQ VlSlt Louoo'
without making every possible
effort to see the British house
of commons during one of Its noisy
and characteristic sessions.
For to a Washingtonian. more than
to any other American, it will be
because of the overwhelming contrast
in big things as well as in little
things between the house of COM
mons in action and our familiar House
of Representatives at home.
Furthermore, as it happens, it Is a
bit easier for Washingtonian to
visit the house as 1.-THE guest of the
Yorker or San Franciscan! At pres
ent there is very stiff ban on
against visitors and although this
ban is raised primarily against the
Sim Feiners, rules are rules in Eng
land and it practically bars every
body. But il you can establish a con-
tact with Il member of the house
and make it clear tnat you are not
| only an American, but a resident OF
| Washington, D. c., as well, and,
therefore, familiar with American
parliamentary procedure and inter-
ested TO contrast the two, you Will
discover presently that the bewigged
speaker has dubbed you "distin-
. ruished stranger and admitted YOU
. for one day only, to the tiny ganery
over the famous "gangway' of the
| house of commons.
Then will begin an interesting eX-
perience.
"TH1s." said the clergyman on my
l. left, sis the mother of parlia-
ments"
! bowed politely. 1t wasn't very
exciting remark. but it was intended
tosbe genial and friendly, and it was
appropriate to the occasion in that
gentle formal way which clergymen
love.
The mother of parliaments." l said.
sincerely. "is very beautifully housed"
1 looked around with pleasure and
curiosity. ~ small dark-brown box
of a room" / said to myself, pan
neIed richly in wood. with Gothic
carvings. No marble, apparently.
Suddenly the full force of my re-
mark struck me-. NO marble" I ex-
claimed. No MARBLE.
II came over me them had never
thought of 1t before I saw this little
wooden-s sided hall how in America
our solons invariably demand marble
rooms in which to practice their
craftsmanship. Granite and marble
are. of course. more abundant in the
new world than they are in the old.
and there seems to be a florid quality
about it which our public men deeply
relish. AT any rate. We Americans
that marble goes with republican
aimnlicitC. there YOU
American architecture has some
great achievements to its credit. but
found myself wondering. as I look
ed around this rich and yet subdued
Tudor chamber. whether our Amer;-
can legislative halls are to be includ-
ed among our architectural successes
found myself wondering whether
our American chambers didn't reek
little too much of the contractor. But
the house of commons. although built
in purely commercial periodic
Wit, 1s37-had the air of having been
put together piously in the middle
ages by building guild. 1t was GER
,ainly a remarkable effect and the
English are TO be congratulated upon
1t.
The next thing that struck ME was
the smallness of the chamber. Its ac-
tual measurements. if you are good
at ina ginning distances. may tell you
something. II is 15 feet long. 4o feet
wide and il feet high. But you will
get it better. I think. when you imag
inc the entire chamber tucked COM
fortably inside ore of the committee
rooms in the House or Senate Office
buildings. That will give you some
notion of its size. at any rate.
:; = :.
A Nd YOU haven't sat very long in
your seat in the distinguished
strongers' gallery before you realize
that this element of size Cor lack of
size) is a very important one in that
il tends to make the house Of COM
mons far more informal and far more
noisy than the House of Representa-
tives In its widest moments dreams
of being.
We Americans all arrive in Eng
land / suppose. with certain fixed
ideas about the Englishman-his
sense of formality. his peculiar in
hibitionS, his sense of propriety
which we assume is greater than
ours, his reserve in public. Pure
attend the house of commons to dis
cover that the Englishman. in the
herd. is the most boyish and spon-
,aneous and incurably disorderly
Anglo-SaXon in the world. After you
have listened to just an ordinary
the strong feeling that the British
empire is not governed by rules
and votes. but by throaty British
Hear. hearst"
When you look around on this
tiny chamber from your vantage
point in the narrow gallery. you
observe first the speakers chair at
the north end of the chamber. 1t is
n dignified carved chair with
canopy over it. Behind and above
it is the press gallery. with a little
private cubicle for each correspond
unt. Up there sit, too. the stenog-
raphers. who must have a very hard
time reporting the debate at that
distance, especially when it wakes
disorderly. But my impression is
that they don't try desperately to get
everything down. Next mornings
Hansard. for example. will contain
practically only the high spots" Of
the discussion; 1t will be nothing
like so full and vivid and lively an
account as that contained in the
Congressional Record.
A few fest In from OF the goWned
and much bewigged speaker Is table
at which sit two secretaries. who are
likewise In gowns and wigs. On the
table is long gilded bauble known
~ thu mace. When the house goes
is placed on small brackets in front
of the table When the house re-
sumes, the mace Is solemnly restored
to its place on the table. Snouid q
member grow disorderly and recalci-
trant. the mace is seized and borne
in front of him. That Is an everlast-
ing disgrace and he Is supposed to
fall dead. officially speaking. and to
be no more. But. as ! was speedily
to find out, an English member Of
parliamen can go lon, avs
in the direction of parliamentary
anarchy and turmoil before the long
suffering sneaker will attempt to