Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-04

~ CHOSEN Il0Or teaQer OF the senate
who has been elected Vice Presi-
dent of the United States, in which ca
pacity he will be the presiding officer
of that body, but enthusiastically
powerless-except in the case of tie
vote. When Curtis was sworn in as
Vice President of the United States and
President Of the Senate tooay, he shed
most of his official authority.
But Charles Curtis is not the sort Of
man to sit idle, listen to endless and
tiresome Senate debates and twiddle his
thumbs. He knows too much about the
job Of running the Senate from the
floor to do that. He says he is going to
be working" Vice President, whatever
that may be, but in any event he Is sure
to be consulted by his colleagues in leg
few If any, Vice Presidents have ever
been before his day.
The members of the Senate know that
Curtis is wise in the ways Of legislation
in Congress- and especially in the ways
Of the Senate, which can become the
most troublesome body on earth at
times. He is different from Vice Presi-
dents who have gone before him In that
particular
There have been other Vice Presidents
who have been elevated TO that position
from the Senate, but not from the i'm
portant position Of the leader of the
majority party in that body. Some per-
sons have intimated that 1t is come
down" for Curtis. He does not think so
Many of his former colleagues on the
floor. who have benefited by his advice,
whether they have belonged to his own
or the opposition party. are Of the same
mind.
Should President Hoover invite vice
President Curtis to meet with the cab
met, he will be able to throw consid-
cradle light upon the legislation situa-
ton on Capitol Hill and thereby be OF
real help to the President and his ad-
viserS. It is scarcely conceivable that
anything of importance can 60 on there
without his knowing and fully under
standing the purport Of it.
Accomplishes Results.
Curtis is noted for his acumen. his
thorough knowledge of the rules and of
the foibles Of individual Senators and
Representatives. He has had long ex-
perience at the Capitol. and he has
ing in his ordinary habits, one would
not suspect that he held the Senate sin
the hollow of his hand" so far as any
body can do that In these parlous days.
Perhaps that is putting it too strong:
It would be more correct to say that lit
tie or nothing that goes on at the Cap
itol escapes him and that he has man
aged better than most men in his po-
Sitton to accomplish results, and with
no fuss about 1t, either.
Most Vice Presidents have not been
members Of that body heretofore. Many
OF them have never had experience in
either branch of Congress; some, like
Dawes. have never been members of
any long-winded legislature. The ad-
jective is doubtless superfluous: for was
there ever legislature or national as
sembly that was not given to lengthy
speeches and spending more time at
tnat than transacting business? Prob
ably not.
To give q few examples Of Vice
Presidents and their previous training
Theodore Roosevelt had been in the
New York State Legislature and gov
ernor Of that State, but he knew
nothing OF the Senate; Thomas Riley
Marshall had never been q member of
the Senate. nor had Coolidge They
not only had to learn to preside over
q BODY with parliamentary rules of the
most complicated form. but even to
learn the names and States of most of
the men whom it fell to their lot
to recognize when they rose to speak
many times q day
True. the presiding oficer Of the
senate mas a prompter, who occupies
a position just below him on the next
tier OF desks, and, by turning his head
and talking In a whisper. often keeps
him from going wrong. But even then
new Vice PresidentS-and old ones who
have not mastered the rules-are con-
tinually getting into difficulties. There
isn't much danger of that in Curtis
case. He could prompt the prompter.
Sherman Efficient.
Sunny Jim" Sherman of Utica,
N. Y, when he was Vice President,
made an especially good one. because
he had been one Of the leaders of
the House of Representatives. The rules
OF that body are different from those
OF the Senate, but Sherman had grown
wise in the ways of Senators and
the Senate during years of association
at the Capitol, and it did not take him
long to catch on. Besides, the faces
OF Senators from this and that" were
not new to him. He was an 'old dog"
IN congressional and party politics, to
whom 1t was not necessary to teach
many new tricks.
- OuAIao 40 lOU Wise III lie ways OF
the Senate to lecture It about its
own shortcomings. as Dawes did at the
beginning of his term of office, thereby
setting every member of that body by
the ears. and failing to improve his
own position with them one whit
Silence and efficiency are the princi-
pal characteristics of the new Vice
President. He was one of the ablest
leaders the Senate ever had. and freely
recognized as such by men Of all parties.
It was said, and never contradicted,
that If all Curtis speeches in the Sen
ate during one session of Congress were
printed in q single document 1t would
probably not cost more than $40 to
do the job. This Is truly remarkable
when 1t Is remembered that he has had
to be present and take part In every
serious parliamentary or legislative
tangle that has arisen and Straighten
1t out. That was why he was chosen
Republican floor leader
Curtis habit has been to let the
others talk. He Is an excellent listener.
When everything has been said that In
his opinion can or should be said, and
he has succeeded In quietly lining up
his forces for action. he arises in his
p1ace-usually at the extreme rear Of
the chamber, In the center aisle-and
says few simple words. Almost be-
fore the press gallery or the ma iority
of the Senators know what 1t Is all
about. it is over and settled to the sat-
tsfactiOn Of Curtis
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