Evening star., 1923-12-30
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL r. KENNEDY

forthcoming book on "Precedents OF
the House." He Is bringing his
digest UP to date while marking
time, so that the revision Of the
rules of the House. which is prom
ised as a result Of the progress
sive"- neutrality-suspicious. tug
of-war a couple Of weeks ago may
be included, Hearings were started
on the proposals for revision of the
rules before the Christmas holidays.
Unless House precedents arc all
askew, this same Lehr Fess, VINO ID
Fess of Ohio. is destined to be a
member of the House himself some
cay, although he now has no politi.
cal ambitions. But the odds are all
in favor of his being elected.
OF the FIVE men who have held the
the last thirty years, all have sub
sequently been elected to seat In
Congress-, except one-and ne led a
regiment in France.
Amos Lawrence Allen held a seat
in the House for twelve years. For
est Goodwin was elected to the
sixty-thir Congress and died in the
House. Asher G. Kinds was a MEM
Der Of the S!xty-second and Sixty
third Congresses Charles r: Crisp
of the most influential Of the minor
ity members. Clarence Cannon. par
liamentarian under the speakership
Of Champ Clark and for time under
Speaker Gillctt, who was clerk of
the democratic caucus Of the House
in the Sixty-fourth. Sixty-f1fth.
Sixty-sixth and Slxty-seventh Con-
crosses; parliamentarian OF the dem
ocratic national convention in San
Francisco in 1920. editor Of two
Of the House. author Of "a Synopsis
Of Procedure OF the House" and of
Procedure Of the House Of Repre-
sentatives," published by resolution
of the House, and editor and COM
pfler Of "Precedents Of the House"
President Harding. That same Clar-
ence Cannon is now a member.
When the late Col. Glenn, the
political boss of Missouri. resigned
years ago. Champ Clark put clar-
cnce Cannon in that job. At the
opening OF the world war when Lieut..
Col. Bennett Clark resigned as par
Humanitarian to take a commission
In the Army. the place went unsolic-
three times for the training camps
ard had been rejected each time.
AASiS oiC cohc HdSHeS on tne lie
story of an immigrant boy. who came
across the Canadian border to work
and win his way to fame and for
tune" in this "land of the free and
nome OF the brave" He has done all
When he was fifteen, ne was a
news butcher" on back-woods
railroad in Michigan, and studied
telegraphy in his spare time.
,o Wnen he was nineteen he got a
Central railroad, working twelve
hours day and seven days a week.
When he was twenty-five he got
a job in the coal business.
vss,ad When ..ne he W was G twenty1nine eco he In.
to him as bonus by his goldman
employer. and 500 belonging to his
sister. and went into business on
"ffty-flfty'' basis with Henry Ford.
In 1915 he sold out his holdings to
Mr.. Ford for s3O,000.000.
He was the organizing genius of
the Ford works. with 10000 men
working with him, through the profit
sharing system he initiated.
He was vice president and general
pany. vice president of the Ford Mo-
tor Company Of Canada, Limited. and
director OF the Ford Motor Company
Of England, Limited.
He was president Of the Detroit
Board of Commerce. police commits
stoner and street railway commits
sioner of Detroit, director of the De-
troit Trust Company. served as mayor
of Detroit for three years and as
president of the Bank Of Detroit.
At fifty years of age he Is United
States senator. one Of the richest men
in the country-which is pretty good
for an immigrant boy!
~ n II -
Frank w. Mondell, floor leader in
the last Congress and now war
finance commissioner. is another
work and win" fellow who from
humble and handicapped start has
made his way into prominence in the
nations affairs-with a record of
more than a quarter OF a century Of
public service.
He was born on the day of Lin
coins first election. His father built
and ran a pioneer hotel in Prairie du
Chen, Wis. Frank was left an or
phan at six years Of age, and his en-
tire life has been spent in seeing new
country opened up for settlement and
development, much of 1t through his
own labors.
Mondell spent about nine years of
his youth In the family Of q Congre-
gational minister in a new settlement
IN the then wilds OF northwestern
Iowa They hauled the lumber for
their home 120 miles across the prai-
rie. and but for a group Of home
steaders their nearest neighbors were
forty five miles away.
The minister had a small library
OF well chosen classics-Hume's and
bons Rome and concordances and
theological works and Shakespeare
Mondells speeches in Congress, which
would fill good-sized library. reflect
his early cultural reading. He chose
his words carefully. and has an ex-
tensive and exact vocabulary.
His first railroad trip was in a cat
tie car to Chicago. His job was to
get on their feet the cattle that
were down when the train stopped.
his pocket and for eighteen months
worked at anything he could get TO
do, and then went farther toward
the setting sun to help tame the wild
west"
Senator David I. Walsh Of Massa-
chusetts, who Is the first democrat
elected from that state to the United
States Senate in sixty-eight years
and the fourth in the entire history
Of the American Congress. in remi-
niscing with a group Of college cronies
and old-home folks during the Christ
mas vacation, recalled that he was
thrown out bodily from the first
democratic rally he ever sought to
attend.
This was when he was twelve years
old, and the scene was the old town
hall in Clinton, Mass. 1t was not
enthusiasm for democratic principles
that impelled him to try to sneak"
into the hall, but admiration for his
who was making speech. With
other members of his gang he had
participated in a torch light process