Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-11
At 81, Church Of Idaho
Is Thrilled by Senate
BY MARY McGRORY

The sheer JOY of being a
Senator is something you don't
run into very often in Wash
ington.
Although men viii fight
around the clock for the privi-
lege. mortgaging homes. reputa-
lions and futures in the attempt,
they are often. on arrival, at
great pains to conceal their
pleasure.
Ask a new Senator how he
feels about becoming a member
of the most exclusive gentlemen's
club in the world. he may tell
you hardly that it's very like
the city council in Ashtabula;
or he may speak weightily of
the crushing burden Of public
Office.
Watch a new Senator being
sworn in and you will see that
in most cases, he has assumed
an expression he believes to be
statesmanlike or one that seems
to say that ne is treading the
middle aisle Of the chamber only
in answer to a deafening public
clamor.
Church Scores Quickly
A notable exception to this
tradition has come to Washing
ton this year in the person of
Frank Church. the brand-new
Senator from Idaho, who at 80,
has realized a boyhood dream of
being elected to the Senate in his
first bid for public Office. He
beat the Republican incumbent,
Herman Welker.
At the Swearing-in ceremonies,
his bright and shining counte-
nance glowed among the more
Sombre faces around him. His
face was wreathed in smiles and
he looked up frequently at the
gallery where the equally happy
members of the Church family
were gathered.
And in his Office, where there
Is a strong smell of new paint,
Mr.. Church says frankly. IT
worked hard to make it, and I'm
delighted to be here"
Argued With Father
The aura of the boy orator,
which he was, clingS about the
youthfully handsome Mr..
Church. His sentences are bal
anced in the fashion Of one
trained in the principles of unity,
conference and emphasis. When
he talks he PAGES with his hands
behind his back. or placed on
the back of a chair or appraised
in the approved platform man
ner. A Boise lawyer, he is a
Self-made Democrat. His father,
a Republican. liked to argue.
Frank, the nearest opponent,
boned up on Democratic Party
principles. and convinced him.
self, although not his father, of
their truth.
When he was asked how one
whose reputation was made from
public speaking, would adapt to
a Senate rule of the new mem
bers" being seen but not heard,
he replied quickly. III live
with it."
Il think it is a good thing.
II you speak too often you get
the reputation, in the country
and in the Senate-where it
would do the most harm-of
being brash. like a bumblebee.
You know, the bumblebee who is
biggest when he is born. Besides
there will be other opportunities
to be heard"
Many Invitations to Speak
Young Mr.. Church, who won
q four-year scholarship to STAN
ford University in an oratorical
contest, is at the moment
swamped with bids for speaking
engagements. In his first week
in Washington, he spoke two
nights in a row at public ban
quetS, and finds he is already
tired. due he thinks to the
change in altitude between the
hills of home and the low-lying
Capital City.
And in his first week, too, he
has had what he calls "a baptism
CT fire." In his first vote, on
Rule %. he went against the
leadership Of his party-"a thing
1 found very difficult to do" He
later voted against the liberals"
favoring radical rules changes