Evening star., 1937-07-04
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Verdant and captious critics have
penchant for exposes of "nepotism
undue distinction, especially in Gov
ernment patronage, in favor of relatives" g"
They seem to forget, If, in fact they
ever knew, that from the very inception
of this Government the people, the citi-
zenry, the voters. have emphatically de-
clared in favor of family succession in
Office.
The present Congress emphasizes this
Speaker Bankhead and Senator John
Hollis Bankhead jr., of Alabama are
brothers, and went through Georgetown
Law School while their father was
member of Congress. He was Confed-
crate officer and served in both the House
and Senate of his home State, then
twenty years in the National House of
Representatives and fifteen years in the
Senate until his death Speaker Bank
head served his first three years in the
House while his father was still serving
in the Senate.
Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas is
dean of Congress with longer continuous
service than any other member. He
was elected October II. 1902, to the
Fifty seventh Congress to fill the un-
expired term of his father, Representative
John L. Sheppard.
Senator Bennett Champ Clark of
Missouri is former parliamentarian of
the House, son of the late Speaker
Champ Clark James Beauchampy, who,
in the Democratic National Convention
nominees on twenty-nine ballots with
clear ma ajority on eight.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Republic
an. of Massachusetts,, is a grandson of
the late Senator Henry Cabot Lodge,
who was great grandson of Senator
George Cabot. who was a delegate to
the convention that ratified the Consti-
tuition $50 years ago; who was in the
United States Senate in the Second Con-
gress. appointed first Secretary of the
Navy in the cabinet of John Adams
(Which he resigned and presided over
the Hartford Convention in 1914.
In the House there are today at least
ten members whose fathers served there
before them. Representative James w.
Wadsworth. jr., Republican, of New York,
who was chairman of the Senate Mill
tary Committee during the World War,
is the son of the late Representative
James w. WadsWorth, who served in the
Forty-seventh, Forty y-eighth, Fifty-sec-
ond and seven succeeding Congresses.
Representative Fritz G. Lanham,
Democrat, of Texas, chairman of the
Public Buildings Committee, who has
served twenty years, is the son of Rep
resentative Samuel w. T. Lanham. who
served for sixteen years between 1883
and 1903
Representative Harold K Claypool,
sentative Horatio C. Claypool. who served
IN the Sixty-second, Sixty third and
Sixty-fifth Congresses.
Representative Harry N. Englebright
Republican, of California is the son of
Representative William F. Englebright,
who represented practically the same
district in the Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth and
Sixty first Congresses.
Representative Martin Dies, Democrat,
OF Texas has been serving since the
Seventy-second Congress. His father,
Of the same name, served in Congress
from 1909 to 1919.
Representative William S. Jacobsen,
Democrat, of Iowa has succeeded his
father, the late Representative Bernard
M. Jacobsen, who served five years.
Representative Charles A. Plumley, Re-
publican, of Vermont is a son Of Repre-
sentative Frank Plumley, who served in
the Sixty first, Sixty second and Sixty
third Congresses.
Representative John w. Boehne, jr,
Democrat, of Indiana is following in the
footsteps of the father after whom he
was named, who served in the Sixty first
and Sixty second Congresses.
Representative Paul J. Kvale Min
nesota), leader of the Farmer Labor
group is a son of the late Represent
ative o. j. Kvale, Lutheran minister,
who served in the Sixth-eighth, Sixty
ninth and Seventieth Congresses.
But it is not only sons who succeed
members of Congress by the will of the
sovereign voters, but wives and widows,
nephews and other kin. A son, q father
and grandfather have served. Besides
Speaker and Senator Bankhead, there
are other instances of two brothers serv-
ing at the same time. respectively, in the
Senate and House-Senator Lot Myrick
Morrill, former Governor of Maine, who
succeeded Senator Hannibal Hamlin
1851 1876, who was Secretary of the
Treasury under Presidents Grant and
Hayes, and his brother Representative
Arson Peaslee Morrill,, in the Thirty
seventh Congress.