Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 March 1897 — REED IS RE-ELECTED. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REED IS RE-ELECTED.

AGAIN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Congress Meets to Modify the TariffOpening Ceremonies Are Comparatively Tame —Many New Faces on the Floor of the Fof.ular Branch. Extra Session Is Opened. Congress is again in session. The organization of the House was effected Monday by the re-eleetiou of Speaker Reed and the choice of the same old list of general officers, and the Senate got itself in working order without any trouble whatever. The vote for Speaker in the House was as follows: Reed 199 Bailey (Dem.) of Texas 114 Bell (Pop.) of Colorado 21 Newlands (Sil verite) of Nevada..... 1 The election of Mr. Reed to his old position was a formality that occupied less than half an hour, including the nomination and his speech of acknowledgment of the honor. There was nothing strikingly picturesque or suggestive in the remarks of Gen. Grosvenor putting Mr. Reed in nomination or in the Speaker’s acceptance. The latter merely said that he would endeavor to discharge the duties of his office impartially and well; that he could not hope to please all members in all things at all times, but that he would do the best he could and would endeavor to administer the duties in a spirit of absolute fairness. Galleries Crowded. As is usually the case at the opening of a Congress, the galleries of both House and Senate were crowded to their utmost capacity, and hundreds and thousands who neglected to provide themselves with tickets or were unable to secure one of the coveted pastboards were turned away by the doorkeepers, whose instructions

were ironclad to admit only those who were entitled to seats. For an hour before Clerk McDowell called the House to order the floor was crowded with visitors. The wives and daughters of the members and especially favored visitors were massed in the aisles and open spaces. The general public had small opportunity to view; the proceedings. The most striking feature of the scene on the floor was the number of new faces. Old familiar figures, conspicuous in the shock of many a parliamentary battle, had disappeared, and in the new lists were new and untried knights. The change in the personuel was very great. By 11 o’clock the reserved galleries, with the exception of those for the diplomatic corps and the executive, were walled in, tier on tier. The bright costumes of the ladies gave lighter color to the animated scene. As the hands of the clock pointed to 12, Major McDowell, the clerk of the House, rapped the House to order. Rev. Mr. Couden, the blind chaplain, then delivered the invocation, appealing to the throne for God's blessing on the work of the new Congress and the new administration. The clerk of the House then read the President's proclamation convening Congress, after which the roll was called. There was an abundance of flowers on the desks of Senators when, promptly at 12 o'clock, Vice-President Hobart called the Senate to order. There was an exceptionally full attendance of Senators. The publie galleries were packed and the reserved galleries were well filled. The chaplain’s opening prayer invoked divine grace and blessing on the Senators and members about to take up the work of the extraordinary session and on the President and Vice-President. The roll-call disclosed the presence of sixty-eight Senators. Senator Hoar and Senator Cockrell were named a committee to wait on the President and inform him that Congress was in session and ready to receive any communication from him. The Senate then, at 12:30, took a recess until 2 o’clock. The House did nothing Tuesday, awaiting the action of the Ways and Means Committee on the tariff bill. In the Senate to-day 438 bills and eight joint resolutions were introduced. They embraced nearly every phase of public business. Mr. Alien's batch of bills numbered about seventy-five. They included bills directing the foreclosure of the government lien on the Union Pacific road; to prevent professional lobbying; defining the powers of the judiciary; for service pensions, etc. Mr. Lodge’s bills included those to amend the immigration laws and for a Hawaiian cable. Bankruptcy bills W'ere presented by Mr: Nelson, of Minnesota, and Mr. Lindsay, of Kentucky. Mr. Morgan reintroduced the Nicaragua canal bill before the last Congress, and also a joint resolution to abrogate -the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. A resolution by Mr. Frye, of Maine, calling for information as to the operation of civil-service rules to river and harbor work was agreed to after some criticism of civil-service operations. Mr. Frye said it was a step toward abolishing these rules so far as they related to common labor on engineering work of the government. The Senate adjourned until Thursday, as did the House.

SPEAKER REED.