Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 July 1890 — POW-WOWS OF PARTIES. [ARTICLE]

POW-WOWS OF PARTIES.

UNIQUE FEATURE OF POLITICAL LIFE IN WASHINGTON. Bow Caucuses Are Called and Where Held—Their Inviolate Secrecy— Carlisle and Reed a* Leaders—A High Old Time. = =-' Washington special N. Y. Sun. A feature of Congressional life is the caucus. The new member, if he comes here just before the opening of Congress, will receive ah invitation to attend one. It is called by either the Chairman or the Secretary of the preceding caucus. Its purpose is to select candidates for Speaker, Clerk, Ser-geant-at-Arms, Doorkeeper, Postmaster and Chaplain. It also selects a Chairman and Secretaries for ensuing caucuses. The caucuses of both political parties in the House are held in \ the hall of the House of Representatives. The Government foots the bills. It supplies the hall, the light, the heat and the attendance. The Chairman of Democratic caucuses during the last Congress was Sunset Cox. The Secretaries were Mr. Blanchard, of Louisiana, and Mr. Wilson, of West Virginia. The Chairman for the present Congress is Watchdog Holman. The Secretaries remain unchanged. 'The Chairman of the Republican caucus in the Fiftieth Congress was Joseph G. Cannon, and the Secretary Louis Emory MeComas. Mr. Cannon, being a candidate for Speaker at the beginning of the present Congress declined a renomination for Chairman. Gen. Thos. J. Henderson, of Illinois, takes his place, and Mr. MeComas is still Secretary. The caucus usually adopts the rules of the House of Representatives. The first Democratic caucus in this session adopted the old rules and subsequent caucuses are working under them. The Republican caucus-uses the new rules. It requires the signature of at least fifteen members to call a caucus. Anybody can send around a call, but the leader usually does it when he desires to ascertain the sentiment of the party upon any vital issue. In such cases a page passes around the House and solicits signatures to the call. They are easily obtained. All caucuses are private. The main and side entrances to the hall of the House are closed. The only entrance and exit are through the Speaker’s lobby. This is guarded at each end by doorkeepers. No one is allowed in the corridors surrounding the galleries. Watchmen bar the way up the marble staircases leading to them. The elevators take no one above the floor of the House. The restaurant,- always open when a night session is held, is closed during a caucus. Notice of a caucus is read from the Clerk’s desk at the end of the session on the day that it is to be held. The Republicans usually hold their caucus tot the nomination of officers of the House in the afternoon, and the Democrats invariably hold theirs at night. Recently, when the parties caucused on the rules, the Republicans held their conclave as soon as the House adjourned, which was about 2 o’clock. The Democrats were to have their caucus that evening. There were hot discussions among the Republicans in formulating. the rules, and they did not adjourn until after 7 o’clock. Indeed, they met the Democrats coming into the Capitol as they were passing out of it. —-

When a caucus is being held newspaper correspondents gather in the room of the Committee on Appropriations. This is opposite the west entrance to the Speaker’s lobby. They depend for information upon the|r personal acquaintance with the members. The information elicited is usually correct. The facts, like those in Senatorial executive sessions, are gathered without much trouble, and the correspondent dresses them to suit himself. There are usually entertaining times in a caucus. The members place their hats and overcoats, umbrellas and canes upon the desks as they enter, and drop into the first seat at hand. At least half of them light cigars and assume careless attitudes. Some cross their legs upon the desks in front of them. Others drag chairs into the Speaker’s arena and listen to the proceedings. All reserve is abandoned. Men talk as they feel, retaining, however, a courteous demeanor toward each other. Men talk in caucuses who never talk in the House. Those who fail to catch the Speaker’s eye seem to* soothe themselves by inflicting speeches upon the members of the caucus. Matters of policy are discussed, party interests are considered, campaigns are planned, and many a shrewd suggestion is made. The Democrats usually defer to Mr. Carlisle’s wishes. The strictest attention is paid to his utterances. He is a thoughtful but not a demonstrative man. He thinks twice before he speaks, and has more influence than any other member. He never exerts jit, however, ’ unless he deems It absolutely necessary. Speaker Reed is the central figure in a Republican caucus. He is a man of action. His ideas are well defined, and he has no hesitation in expressing them. Mr. Carlisle’s advice is usually accepted without question in the Democratic caucus. Not so with Mr. Reed. If reports are true, there are a few independent thinkers in the Republican ranks who occasionally trouble him. He is hardheaded and persistent, how'ever, and invariably wins by the force of argument. < In both parties there is much more talk than action. Indeed, late Democratic caucuses might be termed political “conversaziones,” A forcible speaker in those meetings is General •Oates, of Alabama. He expresses his opinions in true Alabama Btyle, and jfloods the Chairman with amendments do nearly every proposition. Other speakers are Heaton MoMillin, of Ten*neßßoj, and the two. Breckenrblges.

| They never address a caucus for ora" torical effect. They give their views in the fewest words and the clearest manner. Crisp and" Blount, of Georgia, and Hooker, of Mississippi, are not a whit behind them. New members occasionally indulge in flights and eloquence. Some of these flights are alarming, And others picturesque, but all are amusing. At times neophytes startle he old members with original ideas and vehement language. Mr. Boatner,, of Louisiana, made a speech in a late caucus that would have stirred the heart of the national Democracy if it had got into print. Mr. Carlton, of Georgia, and Mr. McClammy, of North Carolina, also thrilled the same caucus with their apiculated remarks. Much sage advice freqently comes from unexpected sources. Rarely are hot words used. Good stories illustrative of the situation are often told, and droll comparisons drawn. The selection of candidates for official posts, however, is likely to stir the blood of the members. As lively and lovely a caucus as ever was held yras that at the beginning of the Fiftieth Congress. Col. Sam Donelson was a candidate for re-election as Doorkeeper. He was backed by Speaker Carlisle, the great and only William L. Seott, James H. Blount, and others. A strong opposition from the South favored the selection of A. B. Hurt, qf ! Mississippi. [The New Yorkers had a brother of George Raines in fee field. They fancied that they might slip him in beI tween the two Southern candidates. | The fight became infernal. Hurt’s friends made atrocious attacks upon Col. Donelson. and the latter’s supporters were fired with indignation. A ; more stormy debate was never heard. lln the heat of the discussion blows exchanged. One member misunderstood what another said, and slapped | his face. In a second the head of the aggressor was in chancery. One was a light weight and the other a heavy weight. The combat was not conducted according to Marquis of QueensI berry rules, but no blows were exj changed below the belt. Nobody shouted ‘•Break away!” Questions requiring the attention of. a referee would undoubtedly have arisen if friends had not promptly interfered. Both gentlemen were conducted to the rear of the chamber, where mutual explanations were offered and received and apologies tendered. Within a minute the contestants came down the aisle arm in arm, amid the applause of the members of the caucus. Then the chamber was fairly deluged with eloquence. Joe Washington made a speech on behalf of Sam Donelson that would have done credit to William Wirt himself. Bourke Gockran thundered in favor of Raines, und the Mississippians blew j bugle blasts for Hurt. On the first ballot Col. Donelson came within five of receiving a nomination. On the second the New Yorkers who had voted for Raines went over in a body to Hurt. To the sorrow and surprise of the Colonel’s friends, Hurt was nominated. There are schools of talkers in ! Republican caucuses. If the silver question is up, it agitates the tongues o' one section. The question of pensions will let loose a score of tongues interested in such legislation. When the rules are under discussion a fresh school is developed. A new crop of orators has sprung up this session. The charming eloquence of Greenhalge, of Massachusetts, has been developed, and the mellifluous sentences of the eloquent DollivCr, of lowa, j Then the chaste Mi*. Lacey, of lowa, ! and ornate Elijah Adam Morse, of Massachusetts, have not been silent. Mr. Hill, of Illinois, has conveyed ideas so sentenliously as to attract the attention of the old hard heads. Anderson, of Kansas, has been playing the role of one of the Ajaxes, and an astute Ulysses has been developed, but they have a Thersites as well as an Ulysses, and he gives them a good deal ,of trouble. Tom | Reed is the Agamemnon, McKinley the Achilles, Cannon the Ajax Telamon, and Burrows the Diomede of the combination. Gen. Dave Henderson thunders like a Tracian king. As for the Nestor, it is a toss up between General Banks and General Vandever, with the odds in favor of Banks. If the caucus ever constructs a Trojan horse, it wants to be careful who it puts into it. There are men from , Indiana, Kansas and Illinois who would be apt to make a noise and give the whole snap dead away.

A caucus frequently has an important political bearing. There are times when it is absolutely necessary to the safety of a party that its members should be consolidated in favor of or in oppositiop to a given measure. Fealty is required on both sides. In the last Congress theJDemocratic caucus endorsed and agreed to support the Mills bill. The three Democrats who voted against it all failed to secure a renominatloii. Mr. Hogg, of West Virginia, who paired with Mr. Randall, was also repudiated by his Democratic constituents. Ilg is dangerous to kick over the traces in either party. The effect of the repudiation of caucus obligation is shown in the admission of the four new States. The Democratic caucus Ln the Fiftieth Congress required its members to stand by New Mexico, and throw the responsibility of the failure to admit the Territories upon the Republican Senate. Eight Democrats forgot their obligations and voted with the Republicans to exclude New Mexico and admit the Dakotas, Montana and Washington. The result hai been that the Republicans to-day have eight more United States Senators, and will have twelve when Idaho and Wyoming are admitted. It will also give them seven more Congressmen, and, under the new apportionment to bo made by the present Republican Congress, it may add twenty or npQPp votes to the Republican elec-

toral column.

AMOS J. CUMMINGS.