Evening star., 1926-08-21
''Phantom Speeches" Derided
In Attacks ON Leave to Print

Phantom speeches" as the Oak.
land Tribune calls them, printed in
the Congressional Record this Summer
after the adjournment of Congress,
drew caustic comment on the general
leave to print" provision under
which legislators insert remarks never
actually spoken on the floor.
Last Winter, when the weather
and oratorical fancies were cooler"
says the Oakland paper. 'it was an
nounced with an appropriate gesture
that there would be no more of these
ghost talks in the House. Thereafter,
1t was said. the friends and relatives
of Congressman would be denied the
doubtful pleasure of seeing their ser
mons, poetry or addresses in print.
For these speeches are not always
speeches of the lawmakers; they are
often letters, verses. wise words and
foolish which have been uttered by
constituents and, for some reason
which no one has explained. are
thought worthy to be printed in the
Record at $24 the column" The Trib-
une then compares the situation with
the former "so-called seed graft "
and remarks that "as the seeds had
the advantage that they would grow
into something, perhaps lovely and
perhaps edible, they would seem to be
the less Objectionable"
There may have been a time" OBJ
serves the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Tele-
graph, when constituents were i'm
pressed by these 'unspoken speeches..
but that was before they got wise
Today there are few citizens who are
unaware that most Of these long
winded discourses never had an au.
dience. 1t Is true that laughter and
applause may frequently be found
interspersed in the text. but they are
merely necessary guideposts to the
more or less gentle reader. Without
their aid he might know when TO
laugh, but would hardly see any oc-
casion for applause. A recent issue
Of the Congressional Record contained
S5,574 worth of speeches that were
never delivered. 1t would be good
idea hereafter to give 'em leave to
print-unlimited leave-but at their
own expense"
THE Congressional Record in Its
early days" according to the Little
Rock. Ark, Democrat. may have
been a great journal Of education, or.
at least, slight edification. But those
were the days before the highways
were choked with flivver dust. days
when folk sat about the family fire.
side and talked, or read, days before
the family had a radio or talking
machine to enjoy during the evening
hour. But what Of the Record today?
1t Is used to scatter political propa'
ganda, to shoot off literary skyrock-
cts, principally buncombe and poor
poetry
Members Of both parties are equal
ly involved in this CUSTOM" comedies
the Schenectady Gazette, though it
lauds the members from the West
because Few from that section fol-
low the practice" The Gazette con-
tinues: THE custom Of furnishing
Senators and Representatives with
political propaganda at the expense OF
the public deserves severe censure.
1t gives an official an advantage de.
MED to all others. The object OF
the Record is TO give the people In
formation of what actually occurs at
sessions Of Congress. And by no
stretch Of the imagination can
speeches never made, and ones sup
posedly made after adjournment, be
listed as reports of the activities of
our officials. The time to take steps
to stop it Is now. And the voters
are the ones to do it,
Speaking of the session of ''elo-
auent silences." it says: 'One may
doubt that this silent session was ex-
pected when the Constitution pro-
vided that each house should keep
a journal of its proceedings; or, for
that matter. that the journal was
meant to include a good many other
things that get into the Record. At
the same time. our present human
state being at once so promising and
so imperfect, there is nothing pro-
foundly discouraging in this ready
response to the siren song of personal
and party publicity a1 the PUBLIC ex-