Evening star., 1924-01-06
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY

who was born in Spencer, N. T.,
seventy-one years ago, and to Sena-
tor Duncan U. Fletcher Of Florida.
who was born in Sumter county, Ca,
sixty-five years ago.
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Lest we forget" Daniel Web
ster made his memorable speech in
the United States Senate In reply to
! Hayne of South Carolina ninety-four
years ago today.
Two years ago the United States
House of Representatives appropri-
ated $s.2oo,o00 for dry" enforcement,
and today there are a number of
resolutions pending because of rum
scandals In the National Capital.
One year ago the Senate voted for
the immediate withdrawal of Ameri-
can troops on the Rhine.
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With the New Year public officials
and members of Congress pause in
their political gyrations to commune
within themselves. as to humber
citizens, as to what life brings,
whence they came. whittier they are
bound. and what has been accom-
plished in their day.
What the last twenty eight years
have meant in the life of the nation
is vividly summarized by Frank w.
Mondell of the War Finance Cor
poration, who for four years before
that was floor leader of the national
House of Representatives. covering
his own term of public service
There are in Congress today seven
men whose lives in Congress cover
the same span of years-Senators
Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts
and Francis +. Warren of Wyoming,
Speaker Frederick II. Gillett of Mas
! sachusetts. Representative Henry AL
len Cooper of Wisconsin, Representa-
tive Thomas S. Butler of Pennsyl-
yania, Representative William S.
Greene of Massachusetts and Repre-
sentative Isaac r. Sherwood of Ohio.
Looking back over these twenty
eight years. Mr.. Mondell says:
Iwenty-eisht years is brief Pc
riod in the tides of time, but il is
long span i'll the life OF a man and
very considerable one in that of a
the making. The period of my serv-
Ice covers all or part of the admin
istrations OF seven Presidents
Cleveland. Mckinley, Roosevelt. Taft,
Wilson, Harding and Coolidge, and
Iof five Speakers-Reed, Henderson,
Cannon. Clark and Gillett, and wit
messed all the stirring and important
legislative battles and accomplish
ments which this list of illustrious
names calls to mind.
During this time we fought two
foreign wars. extended our bound
aries and our jurisdiction from the
continent of America to the islands
OF the eastern and western seas,
planted our flag in the farthermost
orient and united the two great
oceans at Panama.
Speaking now from the viewpoint
or the balance of the world, the re-
public In this period passed from the
condition of an isolated and compara-
lively unimportant western nation to
position of acknowledged world su-
premacy in power and moral infiu-
ence. Measuring our activities by
expenditures, we progressed from an
annual outlay of a half a billion
dollars to the expenditure during the
world war of $4,000, 900. 900 in a
twelve months, and to the present
budget of near $4,000, 100000"
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Again we have the spectacle of an
old-time politician trying to see
whether he can "come back"
Veterans of Congress, including
William Tyler Page, the clerk of the
House. recall Collars and Cuffs
Representative Delemere Haines, who
served one term in Congress, March
4, 1898, to March }, 1895, and who
is now a candidate for Governor of
Florida
Senate Leader Lodge and Speaker
Gillett have completed thirty years
each in their respective branches Of
Congress. When Lodge first went to
the Senate and Gillett came to the
House, Haines came in at the same
time. Representative Henry Allen
Cooper Of Wisconsin and 'Tncle Joe"
Cannon are the only two others still
prominent who served with Haines,
who is now sixty-seven years old.
He acquired his sobriquet of Col
lars and Cuffs because Of his interest
in tariff discussion and the product
that made his district famous
In his youth Haines studied teleg-
raphy and became a train dispatcher,
assistant superintendent and super
intendent of a railroad. At twenty
six he turned his attention to build
ing street railways, and associated
with him his four brothers. They
built thirty-six railroads in thirteen
states. Mr. Haines located at Kinder
hook, n. T.. in 1888 and built the
KinderhooF and Hudson railway.
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In searching out historic scenes
about the Capital city many tourists.
and particularly the woman voters,
frequent Gen. Grants old headuuar-
ters. where President Lincoln often
conferred with him, and which are
now the headquarters of the National
League of Woman Voters.
Old histories record that when Gen.
Grant came to Washington there
were no suitable Offices in the old
War Department and so he estab-
lished himself in a house across the
street, and that the lanky form of
Lincoln was frequently seen walk
ing across Pennsylvania avenue from
the White House to talk things over"
with Gen. Grant.
1t was from this house that Grant
went to the White House in 1869.
1t was also the cradle Of the Amer
lean Red Cross, for from 1892 to 1897
It was the home of Clara Barton.
Later 1t was used by the depot quar-
termaster. In the reception room
Mai. Archie Butt. military aide to
Presidents Roosevelt and Taft, who
was one of the heroes of the Titanic
disaster. had his desk for some time.
This house will be 100 years old
next year. 1t was built by Gen. Tow
son of the war of 1912, who died
there in 1854.
Recent rivalry as to who is the
"baby" member of Congress has
caused some of the bookishly inclined
to hunt up records revealing that,
although William Pitt was premier