Evening star., 1932-01-24
Capital Sidelights
by WILL p. KENNEDY.


The House paused in its proceeding
the other day for q brief lecture on the
proper way for q member to addres:
the House. This Is considered matter
of great Importance, so much so that
it has been repeatedly emphasized by
speakers and parliamentary authorities
and the present Speaker, John N
Garner of UValde, Tex, at the conclu-
sion of the lesson again emphasized It's
Importance.
Representative Robert Luce Of Massa-
chusetts, internationally recognized as
one of the leading authorities in the
world on parliamentary procedure and
author Of standard works on Legislative
procedure, legislative assemblies, legis-
lative principles and Congress, brought
the question to the attention OF the
House and gave the lecture at the re-
quest of the Speaker.
There is presented to me this morn
ing" he safd IAN opportunity to call
to the attention of the House matter
that has disturbed me for some time
This Is my first convenient chance to
lay 1t before the House" He called at
tention that in the Congressional Rec
ord, reporting the discussions OF the
day before, he himself was quoted as
addressing the House:
''Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen.
Mot since I have been member
have thus broken parliamentary law u
said Mr.. Luce. "Of course. I desire not
to 60 on record as supporting q practice
which Is obnoxious to me.
When I came here IL years ago
nobody, SO far as can recollect, ever
deviated from the parliamentary rule
that salutation should be confined to
the occupant of the chair-either Mr..
Speaker or Mr.. Chairman Within
very few years the practice has
grown up of addressing the House en-
nlasse by some form of preliminary
language. This is contrary to the par
liamentary precedent OF several hun
dred years"
He then read to his colleagues a
statement by Sir Thomas Smith, who
described the practice of the Parlia-
ment OF Queen Elizabeth's time. He
said:
Though one do praise the law, the
other dissuage it,. For every man
speaketh as to the speaker, not as one
to another, for that Is against the
order of the House"
Continuing, Mr.. Luce called atten-
ton that "Jefferson's Manual, which is
the law OF the House when 1t has no
rule to the contrary, says that When
any member means to speak he
Is to address himself not to the
house, nor to any particular member,
but to the Speaker and so forth. No.
tice that he is to address himself not
TO the House, but to the Speaker of
the House.
i called this matter to the atten-
ton OF Speaker LongWorth and he was
even more severe than I would be in
critiZing the practice and in expressing
the hope that some means might be
found to call it to the attention of the
House. Possibly the present Speaker
has the same feeling in the matter
although I am not authorized to read
your mind in that case, but I am quite
sure that the reason for the rule has
always persisted and will continue to
persist, because it is, as the writer's say
to avoid alterations. It's purpose Is to
prevent men from directly addressing
each other and thus inviting breach
Of decorum.
For that reason, and hoping I have
not unduly taken the time of the House
In calling attention to this matter, I
ladies and gentlemen be stricken
from the report OF my speech"
This little lecture, which gave most
Of the members a new view of the
reason for meticulous care in following
the long established precedents and
rules OF procedure, was greeted with
applause.
Speaker Garner expressed his official
appreciation saying: The chair is in
entire sympathy with the remarks made
by the gentleman from Massachusetts,.
1t Is supposed to be slight upon the
chair, according to the expressions of
former Speakers of the House, when
members address the chair from the
Committee Of the Whole, or the Speaker,
and then address the members on the
floor en- masse. The Speaker represent IS
the House Of Representatives in its
organization. and by addressing the
chair, members address the entire
membership Of the House"
x X X X
Congress was warned the other day
to develop mental poise" 1t was q
first-term member, Representative Ed
ward L. Stokes Of Philadelphia, who
chided his colleagues Mr.. Stokes told
a little story as follows:
when Knute Rockne's foot ball team
was beaten by narrow margin,
Rockne, in commenting on the result of
the match, said: The two teams were
practically equal physically, but the
other team had the better mental
poise.'
We'll, when the team got home the
old janitor ran forth and asked: Who
won?' The other fellows was the
hoI
who lost the game for you?' Mental
poise' said a player. 'Oh!' said the
janitor, I knew that boy never could
play foot ball."
MIR. Stokes appealed to his colleagues
not to make the mistake the janitor
did, but to have clear understanding
of the meaning of the bill they were
working on.
Uncle Sam runs the biggest printing
establishment in the world-the two
biggest, as a matter of fact-the Goy-
ernment Printing Office and the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing. At the
close OF the calendar year the Govern
ment Printing Office had 5,043 on its
pay roll, an increase of PIG for that
year, 635 more than two years ago, and
852 more than four years ago The
present enrolment Is 264 less than the
greatest number ever employed there,
which was during the World War.
one little job done in this big print
shop, when completed will reach total
cost OF printing the Fifteenth Census
reports up to nearly million and
quarter dollars, in addition to more than
half a million dollars spent for con-
tract printing of tabulating cards.
To date FOL mn y>aoac
OF census schedules have been printed
at a cost Of 100000. The Bureau of
the Census plans to submit the last of
its copy for printing the fifteenth CEN
sus reports by July 1. This additional
copy will make about $4,000 more pages,
95 per cent of which will be in tabular
form.
The Department Of Commerce main
tanned its lead in printing expenditures
last year, with a payment to the Gov
eminent Printing Office for the fiscal