Evening star., 1932-04-03
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Who are the champion long distance
orators in Congress?
Citation of several recent long
speeches printed in the Congressional
Record, apropoS of suggestion that it
would help toward balancing the budget
and getting the Government on an
economy basis to have such long
from the Record, has brought to the
writer many requests for information
as to who makes these long talks-or
extension of remarks"
The financial section of the Govern
ment Printing ONCE has prepared the
following list to answer those inquiries
after careful survey of the Record for
recent months:
Senator La Toilette, Wisconsin, dsa
pages, on February 2.
Senator Oddie, Nevada, 81 pages, on
March is.
Senator Costigan, Colorado IL pages
on January 13 and As pages on Feb
ruary 5.
Representative Frear, Wisconsin. 4s
pages in two speeches on the same sub
ject, March IL and IT.
Representative Patman. Texas. II
pages on December 16 and 10 pages on
February ID.
Representative Kelly, Illinois, 16 pages
on February 20.
Senator Harrison, Mississippi, Is
pages, January 8.
Senator Johnson, California, II pages
March 10.
Senator schan. Minnesota, II pages
on January 81.
One lone member Of Congress started
a single-hsnded fight against noise in
q humble way and has started a buzz
that promises to be heard around the
world.
Let us introduce Representative Guy
.. Hardy of Canyon City, Colo. a news
paper publisher from the great open
spaces" fond of communing with ma
ture in the sanctuary of the wilderness
and the penetralia of mountain peaks
listening to the whispering winds and
the explosions of bursting blooms.
Representative Hardy has made a
special study Of how the Government
works and in a series OF papers" pre-
pared primarily for the school children
of his district has explained the oper-
ations OF various important units of
Government.
He is member Of the master House
Committee on Appropriations, and
new House once Building were under
consideration, in the legislative appro-
priation bill, about to be reported to
the House, saw an opportunity to work
off one Of his theories to which ne had
given much thought.
There are upward of $50 telephones
to be installed in this new building.
Himself a quiet man, with wonderful
compoSure and nerve control. all the
time he has been in Congress Mr..
Hardy has been disturbed by telephone
nells with their raucous summons. He
has never been able to convince him
self that when man is working
thoughtfully at his desk it is really
necessary to have telephone bell un-
der his desk startle him with its sud
den loud clamor. Sitting in his one
small office in the old Office Building,
he has observed that whenever any one
calls any of his neighbors on either side
of the reverberating and echoing mar
BILE corridor, TO the right Of him or to
the left of him, he hears their tele-
phone bells jangling out of tune and
harsh as well as being forced to listen
to the sharper sound Of his own tele-
phone.
So Mr.. Hardy asked If something
couldn't be done to have the telephone
bells of a quieter tone, more of whirr
or buzz, to get the sharp metallic tone
out of them, which ne thought would
be a great improvement in the new
House once Building and help along
the campaign of House Physician Cal
yer with the cooperation OF House
Leader Rainey to find ways of relieving
the nerve strain on members.
The Chesapeake & Potomac Tele-
phone Co. has become greatly inter-
ested in the matter. 1t has its en-
gineers making a study and IS ex-
tremely hopeful that some worthwhile
relief may be worked out-not only to
spare the eardrums and jangl1ng nerves
of distraught Congressman, but to be
used on the hundreds of millions OF tele-
phones in all the Office buildings and
hospitals and homes throughout the
country.
That's what was meant when we said
that Representative Hardy in his re-
bellion against bells has started a buzz
that is likely to go around the world
Sometimes a new member OF Congress
on his first day has bit OF luck winch
follows him helpfully through his career
For illustration. there's Representative
william J. Granfield, Democrat. oi
Massachusetts,. When he first made his
appearance at the Capitol he was in
troduced to and most enthusiastically
greeted by Representative Jack" Gar
ner then minority leader. They had q
conference and were photographed to-
gether. That was just one OF Gran
fields lucky breaks-and he has had a
succession of them.
Az II t,1rYls nait the niaHtinn of Gram
field. the first Democrat from former
" hidebound Republican district that
had sent former Senator and Speaker
Gillett to Congress for more than 80
years. was the start in the Democratic
trend which landed Garner in the
Speakers chair. Mr.. Garner put the
picture of Granfield and himself on the
mantel in his Office and said he'd keep
it there as long as Granfield stayed in
Congress. During the last election,
when propaganda was broadcast that
Granfield was likely to be defeated for
reelection, Garner got on the wire
from his home in Texas to Massachu
setts and sought flrst-hand informa-
ton and offered any help he could give
IT want to keep that picture on my
mantel," Garner told Granfield to
hearten him in the campaign. And
when Granfield got the election returns,
which showed he had won by some 5000
votes, the first thing he did was to wire
to Garner: Keep that photo where it is. .
The other day when Speaker Garner
was presented with the biggest gavel
ever carried into the Capitol, which re-
quired eight men to carry it. a picture
was taken OF it at Gamers desk. 1t
was published in papers throughout the
country. Ever since Granfield has been
receiving clippings of that newspaper
illustration from his constituents at
home and from old college friends far
af1eld. They are being sent to Granfield
because his picture with Garner, on the
mantel, can be identified in the back
ground of the picture of the giant gavel.
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