The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-07-16
MANY MEN ASPIRE
BUT FEWER SERVE
Seniority Is What Counts
for Power in Uncle
Sans Congress
NEW MEN POWERLESS
But Candidates Continue to
Describe What They Will
Do at Washington
by BASCOM ". TIMMONs.
worlds Washington Correspondent.

make the tickle sport public forget
. walter johnson or a T. Raymond
cobb has gone back to Shreveport
or 20 Oskaioosa.
We have with us now the festive
candidate, who Is going TO make
!. washington forget Joe Cannon and
Finis Garrett and John Garner and
Bin Borah and Charley Culberson
and Knute Nelson. 1t is the open
season from Maine TO Texas and
from Florida to oregon.
The blthesome candidate Is on the
stump telling the same old story.
New faces are needed In Washington
we hear. Senator Sorghum didn't
get federal building for Broken
Row. therefore retire Senator Sor-
Ehum and send as his successor TO
Washington the Honorable T. Addi-
enn TalkmuCh of Terre Haute.
His stuff" Gets over.
T Addison is on the stump. He
isn't telling the voters that there
hasn't been public building bill for
10 years and that even Speaker Gill
lett has been unable TO get a much
needed federal building for his home
town Of Springfield, Mass But Bro
ken Bow needing the federal build
ing is prone 20 listen TO the bland
ishments Of r. Addison Talkmuch
sent TO Washington.
when 7. Addison gets here he will
find things quite different from
what he expected. lie will learn
that here 1t is Just az it was back in
Terre Hautc. He couldn't get n loan
az the Terre Haute National until
he had lived there quite awhile and
established his credit.
Acquaintance meant lot In Terre
Haute, and 1t means q lot more in
Washington--only they call 1t SEN
ior!ty' here. Every year we hear
that seniority is going 70 be abol-
ished But year after year it is not
for the very simple reason that
seniority is the very best system yet
devised, for seniority in 80 cases out
Of 100 means that a man has come
up because he deserved to come up
How IL Works out.
No one who stays in Washington
long questions the wisdom Of the
seniority rule. Let us see how Il
works out? A new man comes TO
the house. lie gets on one Of the
minor committees. Seldom does a
new man get on big committed
He stays on his minor committee
for one term. Then comes the cleo
ton which always takes out some
members-voluntar or involunta-
Tlly
The man who has served for two
years on the minor committee nat
urallv begins 10 look around for a
major committee assignment He
has served his two years apprentice
ship and feels that he is deserving Of
promotion. His party's leaders have
been looking him over. II he IS on
the democratic side Garner and Gar
rett have a very good line on him.
II he be a republican Mann and
Longworth will have him sized up.
So he gets a promotion IL he is de-
serving II. II he does not deserve
the assignment he asks he Is very
gently let down.
And when he does get on major
committee. he gets on at the very
lowest rung and he advances only
q 8 death. defeat er voluntary retire
men. takes ote h!s sericrs. u!s use
fulness grows with time and hard
work. and no better system has yet
been devised.
Sometimes II Fails.
Because a man has been success
ful as banker does not necessarily
mean that he would be successful as
the head Of steel plant. and be-
cause a man has been successful as
a prosecuting attorney does not
mean that he should come to Wash
lngton and be made chairman Of
the ways and means committee.
There Is Just one test and that is
adaptabllity. Seniority brings out
adaptability. Even seniority does
not always mean an advance 10 n
chairmanship. The house, at this
session, turned down Congressman
Davis OF Minnesota, senior member
or me appropriations committee and
made Martin p. Madden of Illinois
chairman. Davis. In the opinion OF
republicans, was not adapted to the
ohairmanship.
Another favorite claim OF the
out" who wants 10 he I'm" is that
Senator Sorghum does not talk
enough. He ought to get on the
floor and make the welkin ring de-
manding the repeal of the trans
portatlon act, or some other iniqult-
Gus law.
But old Senator Sorghum Is wise
In his generation. He knows that
when man talks a great deal he
does not think well. He has seen his
colleagues get intellectual lock- Jaw
fr m talking great deal. Old SEN
ator Sorghum knows that all real
effective work Is done in committee,
mat the house and the senate is in
s'"sIpn only tOur or fiNe hOurS
day and then to ratify or modify
work on which men labored long
hours in committee.
There's Daniel, "Frinstancc."
Somewhere we have seen and we
think every other American has seen
a picture OF the old senate. Daniel
Webster was making his famous re-
ply to Hayne. His colleagues sat
immovable as the silver words
poured from the lips OF Daniel Web
ster, Maybe Daniel did hold them
enrapt. Maybe, he did, but We doubt
It,
Anyway the visitor to Washington
sort OF expects TO see the senate sit
ting enrapt listening 10 such an ora
ton, But walk into the senate
chamber some time and see for your
self Some one will be speaking
some one always is. There will be
perhaps a dozen other senators on
the floor. Some OF them will be
signing letters, Some OF them will
be reading newspapers. Here will
De group chatting. One or two
may be listening TO the address.
Former Vice President Marshall
expressed the extreme opposite from
the view held by persons who take
seriously the picture OF the scene In
me senate chamber as Webster re-
piled TO Hayne.
Marshall was presiding over the
resolution committee at the Demo-