The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-23
WASHINGTON
DAYBOOK
BY JACK STINNETT

hints and suggestions to the "a who will as
semble in the House of Representatives Janu-
airy 3 as new members of the 77th Congress.
If you have a speech-making complex, don't
come to Congress with any idea that you are
going to get to air it. l know several good
congressman who have served their first term
without opening their mouths except to say
''aye'' or mo- and who won a lot of respect
from their seniors thereby. If you just have
to make a speech, write it out and by getting
permission ito extend your remarks have
it printed in the Congressional Record. Then
you can mail it to your constituents, which
is the important thing anyway. Very, very
little legislation is affected one way or the
other by oratory.
Letters To Write
If you aren't a whale of a proficient letter
writer, you'd better get a secretary who is.
You'll get thousands of letters and every one
has to be answered. Along this same line, if
your secretary is proficient at forgery and at
tossing off a few convincing lines, you'll get
a lot more done. No congressman can sign
all his mail without getting a chronic case of
writer's crarnp. If you're not 'out' to some
of the pests and wheedlers who call on the
telephone or at your office, you will be, after
the next election.
Regarding that mail: I know a congress
man who had a vacancy pop up in his district
for a rural route carrier. There were 126 ap-
plications for the job and each application was
accompanied by an average of eight letters of
recommendation. That means 1874 letters to
be answered on one little appointment and to
about LIPS voters, the suffering representa-
tive had to say "NO!")
Keep Up Courage
Don't be discouraged if you are about 40oth
on the list for selection of an office; that you
have to sit at the foot of the table at banquet
and in committee rooms; that you can't get
assigned to committees that consider bills on
your favorite subject; and that it seems you
are being left out in the cold on everything
that comes up. There never was a place
where seniority is such an ironclad rule of
progress as in Congress-. You won't get hazed
or Snubbed as does a freshman in college, but
you'll certainly get put in your place if you
start trying to leap any hurdles of seniority.
Don't bring to Washington a trunkload of
bills. In the 10th Congress, 10, 754 bills were
introduced Gin the 65th, there were more than
$4,000 and that's enough. Besides, your bill
has only an average chance of one-to-ten of
being passed and a whole lot less than if you,
as a freshman, just toss it in the hopper.
It's Just That Way
Remember the case of Rep. Bruce Barton
of New York? He made his campaign for the
house two years ago-not on the promise OF
getting laws passed-but on the promise to
repeal them. He was going "to repeal a law
a day." I couldn't find any record that Mr..
Barton got even one law repealed. Two of his
colleagues told me the other day he might
have introduced one or two. They just couldn't
remember. This is no reflection on Mr.. Bar
tons ability or good intentions. It's just the
way Congress works.
1t you wish. you can take to heart what
James G. Blaine said in a memorial Grafton
for the late James A. Garfield: There is no
test of mans ability in any department of
public life more severe than service in the
House of Representatives; there is no place
where SO little Difference is paid to reputation
previously acquired, or to eminence won out
side; no place where So little consideration is
shown for the feelings or. the failures of be-
ginners.' 2