Evening star., 1936-02-02
Fifty Years Ago
in The Star

A glance over the on-congresSional
pay rolls at the Capitol today makes
the following, printed
congressional in The Star of January
Secre+aries %, 1886, relative to the
clerical assistance of
the legislators, appear as what Gen.
Sherman is said to have called mighty
interesting reading:
Public opinion must be educated be-
fore it will sanction the proposition TO
furnish each member OF Congress With
a clerk. But a very strong case can be
made out for such policy, the strongest
being the fact that as it is, all members
who can afford it do now engage clerks
at their own expense. The public would
be surprised to learn how many Con-
gressmen hire assistance OF this char-
acter to help them meet the requirements
of their correspondence. Very often the
chairman of committee can avail hlm-
self of his committee clerk as private
amanuensis, but this practice is open 70
objection, nor does it meet the dlff1cul-
ties of the situation.
"It should be remembered that the
duties of a member of Congress, as un-
derstood by most constituencies. DO not
consist in making a few speeches and
always answering to roll call on lmpor-
tant divisions. The member is sup
posed to be the guide about town OF all
visitors from his district, their counsel
in all troubles before the departments,
their authority on all political subjects,
and their friend in every effort to get
Office. A member who tries to attend
to his daily mail and the duties that
flow out of it is very busy man, indie
pendently of his legislative functions
proper. If Congressmmen were able to
throw off this burden of detail they
could give much closer attention to the
affairs of the people at large, to the
advantage of ALL
The following in The Star of January
30, 1856, gives glimpse OF some OF the
Bismarck and alculties tn ut tna with ,ssana walon
Salisbury. statesmen of Europe
were confronted fifty
years ago:
THE week now closing has brought
out in striking contrast the difference
between the degree of freedom enjoyed
by the English and by their cousins. the
Germans. In the two countries politics
for time ran on parallel lines. In each
a legislative body assembled and was
addressed by the sovereign. In each an
opposition appeared and called in ques-
ton the wisdom of the sovereign'S policy.
But at this point the parallel stops. For
in England her majesty's advisers at
once resigned their honors and powers
and requested her to seek her ministers
from the victorious opposition. That is
what Salisbury did on Wednesday. What
does Bismarck do on Thursday? Finding
his power threatened by hostile par
liamentary majority, SO far from resign
ing. he threaten to discharge the Reich
stag. His performance yesterday was
as arrogant and arbitrary a defiance of
popular rights as is often seen in these
modern days and illustrates how abject
is the political thralldom into which the
once free Teutons have fallen.
Bismarck might reflect to advantage
on the vicissiitudes of wellington in his
later life. The Germans admire their
great chancellor for his splendid services
to the empire during the critical period.
And in like manner the English could
not heap too many honors on the Iron
Duke. But when Wellington put himself
athwart English progress he was hustled
out of the way without ceremony"