The Washington times., 1922-03-25


- the period of
80 Ma 3E&S$3 ~ American h s.
b # tory that beAan
a u ~ - with the inaugu-
sksz ra ton of Wash
WILLIAM HARD ington. 1t oc-
ours to me that i ought TO look at
such a moment sharply.
The air of It Ia certainly very
heavy. 1t was a fairly brisk air at
IL o'clock noon. Now at almost
it seems to have CONCEALED into 4
sort of moderately breathable Jelly.
The afternoon seems very old and
very unadventurous. Senators WI o
quick-stepped through their voting
at II o'clock are now just slogging
on. Quite few seats in the sw -ep-
ing Senatorial semicircles of seats
before me are vacant. Their owners
are perhaps sitting in front Of sand
wiches in the lunchroom two floors
down.
The galleries, though, are full.
The gallery occupants cannot go
to lunch. Lines OF people are
waiting in corridors behind them
to take their places if they get
hungry. They do not get hungry.
They have brought chocolate with
them-or q hunk of bread-in their
pockets-or, mostly, decidedly most
ly, in their shopping bags.
leries at the four corners of the
standing people. Beneath them on
"a nf hn al
ting people sit and sit. Just one
gallery is virtually empty now.
1t is the diplomatic gallery. In
that gallery there are just two per.
sons now. One is man with a
stick with a silver band about II
He sits far back and up, at the
right. | do not recognize him. The
other is the lady who seemed about
TO go to sleep, but who now seems
bit revived. As she lifts her face
she looks incredibly youngish to
be the author OF that knowing and
telling book, IT Have Only N.Y.
self to Blame" She sits far down
In the diplomatic gallery, at the
left. The man with a stick and
Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco with
black hat are the two lonely for
eign diplomatic persons who are
waiting for the final moment of
our national coming-out party.
An English correspondent, sitting
beside me. whispers In my ear to say
that presently the United States will
be, as 1t were, a grown-up nation.
bearing it's share OF responsibilities
in the world. He is a very good
f,-fa 80
and he has written in Europe and
he has written in the Far East and
he knows Washington as he knows
Manila and Paris and Peking, and
there is cogency in the remark that
he Is making to me. There is cogency
in 1t IL the United Sttaes was born
has come and that has gone on the
face of the earth.
l notice Senator Norris coming
down the central aisle Of the Senate
and stopping in front of Senator La
Toilette and speaking to him. / can
see Senator LaFollette's face. He
looks up at Norris and the corners
of his lips come down and his whole
face gets set into a tense rigidness.
He says something to his old friend
Norris. Norris turns away.
l watch him going slowly back up
the central aisle. The length OF the
afternoon seems limitless. The air
was air and then it was a jelly, and
now, as somebody toward the right
from me says, II has become an EN-.
balming fluid. The clerk OF the Sen.
ate begins to read; Resolved, that.
two-thirds of the Senate concur
A bell begins to ring. The
clerk says "Ashurst." Ashurst says
No" The clerk continues down the
alphabet. Iie at last says willis"
Willis says Yea" The moment for
which l have been waiting has ar
rived and It has departed. This vot.
ing was the voting on the resolution
of ratification.
No moment could have come more
on a flat level. No moment could
have gone onward more on a flat
level. Not anywhere In It was there
a lift or a flash. The defeated Sena.
tors sit motionless. The victorious
Senators are equally motionless.
They should show elation. They
should be conGratulating themselves.
They should be congratulating the
United States. They should be
stretching out hands of triumph to
the new spacious era of assured
peace and of unmolested greatness
into which they have said that they
were taking the United States, They
sit solidly ard stolidly silent. A nasal
voice Is heard from below the press
gallery.
The Vice President OF the Unite ed
States begins to say: The Senate
advises and consents" He an
nounces the final passing OF the
final moment. The United States
is grown up out OF infancy. Or 1t