The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 29, Ed. 1, Thursday, April 23, 1925 Page: 3 of 4
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'W
W.
B
"JIkKS-s
I'V
PRIZE WINNING ESSAY
BEHIND THE SCENES
IN CONGRESS
(The following canny was ffivcn first
placo in the T. I. P. A. contest this
year. It rns written by John Paul
Gibson).
In our great democracy wo prido
ourselves on our representative form
of government where "we tho pcoplo
of tho United States" may each have
ourv voice In a "government of the
pefcple by tho pcoplo and for tho peo-
ple." Wo vote every two years for
tho four hundred and thirty-flvo re-
presentatives that we havo in our
national legislature and every six
years wo decido upon our ninety-six
senators that wo send to tho Senate
of tho United States. Tho great
American sport is nothing moro nor
less than our elections and it is here
that wo listen again to tho usual pro-
mises pleadings resolutions and
bombastic oratory that characterizes
tho usual type of political speeches
and then wo vote as we and our
fathers havo beforo us either Repub-
lican or Democrat according to tho
family traditions.
Those candidates who arc fovtun-
ato enough to recclvo tho popular
approval in splto of tho fact that
they havo spent soveral times tho
amount of money in getting elected
than will bo paid to them as salary
are seemingly jubilant as they board
tho train from their district and tako
their trip to Washington to repre-
sent tho pcoplo of their district as
Congressmen of tho Unltad States.
It was my good fortune to receive
an appointment as page in the House
of Representatives in April 1017 and
it was in this position that I gained
a clear insight of tho conditions and
habits of our representatives behind
tho scenes in Congress.
First wo find that it is tho general
Eractlco of both political parties to
ave n caucus just at tho beginning
of the new session of congress. Hero
the leaders of the pnrty decido upon
tho lino of attack that they shall
pursue in tho legislative battles that
shall follow. They decide definitely
that they shall either Bupport or op-
pose certain measures. If the oppos-
ing party has already taken a posi-
tion in favor of n certain measure
then that leaves no alternative to tho
other party than to opposo that bill
whether tho bill is a good ono or not.
Theso cnucascs aro strictly confi-
dential and tho members can say what
they plcaso without fear of publicity.
Primarily it is in these meetings that
our legislators map out tho course
and plan of the work of Congress.
As to whether theso plans shall carry
or not depends solely on tho number
of members that tho party has tho
party in tho mapority being tho Iron-
handed ruler.
A newly elected Congressman has a
choice of two evils: He may act inde-
pendently of his party and vote as
his constituents desire and as his
conselenctf dictates" Tor" tia"may fall
passively into tho party Una and voto
as tho leaders of tho party direct
regardless of his opinion. on tho mat-
ter. If ho chooses to act independent-
ly ho is ostracized politically and
none of tho measures that lie may
introduce will ever be considered and
if considered by any chance both
parties would register their displeas-
ure by an overwhelming voto against
the bill. Should ho follow the easier
courso and becomo merely a small
cog in a large political party machine
ho will always bo ready at the beck
and call of his masters tho party
leaders. Ho is treated somewhat as a
freshman in college. Little attention
is given to his wishes; no regard
paid to tho legislation that his dis-
trict may really need; and according
to tho traditions of tho Houso ho
must make very few if any speeches
during his first few years as Con-
gressman. His only hopo is to at-
tend diligently to his correspondence
with the people who havo elected him
make many visits to his district ex-
plaining just why ho has been unable
to shove through all of tho bills that
he has faithfully sworn to accomplish
and succeed if posslblo in being ro-
cketed term after term. By staying
in Congress for a long period ho may
(emphasis on the MAY) succeed in
climbing slowly in tho realms of po-
litical influence until ho too may bo
ono of tho party leaders. The un-
fortunate part of this nscension is
that ho usually becomes so engrossed
with the problems that confront the
political "boss" that his constituents
rcceivo little if any attention and
ho ceases to be in any sense their
representative but rather a dealer
in "big politics." . m
This leads to tho natural result of
intense activity on the part of tho few
leaders and prolonged passlveness on
tho part of tho many representatives
who aro powerless. This will oxplaln
why most of my services as page con-
sisted in buying cold drinks cigars
and candies for tho indulgence of the
congressmen whilo they lounged m
tho clock-rooms of the House and vied
with each other in telling the biggest
'"yarn" or tho shadiest joke.
Many times I havo seen theso
groups of loungclcgislators run in
on tho floor of tho House when tho
point of "No quorum" had been made.
Since tho clock-room adjoins tho floor
of tho House theso Congressmen may
be listed in the Congressional Re-
cord as "present" and tho constitu-
ents will imagine that thoir represen-
tatives were on tho floor of the Houso
all tho time listening attentively to
all of the proceedings.
Many times also I havo seen some
of tho "freshmen" congressmen arise
to make a speech and after they had
read tho first paragraph of tho
speech they would address tho speak-
er "Mr. Speaker I ask the consent
of the House to have my remarks
extended in the Congressional Re-
cord." And tho Houso very willing
to escapo a long speech will give
the consent and the speech appears
in full In tho Record and of course
the county papers in that particular
congressman's district will print the
speech in full with a two-inch head-
Mcdonald hall
THE GYMNASIUM
Abovo are pictures of tho two now buildings that havo been erected in
Abilcno Christian Collego during tho past year.
lino reading perhaps "OUR REPRE
SENTATIVE SWAYS CONGRESS
WITH FORCEFUL SPEECH."
This is a favorite method amonir
many representatives and often It is
quito successful. I had the experience
01 neanng ono member from Oregon
mane ono snort speech during tho
whole two years that I served a page
and during this timo I supplied him
with novels that ho ordered from tho
Congressional Library to help him
pass away tho time. Yet ho was re
elected without opposition.
It is the custom of tho two political
parties to voto opposite on all im-
portant measures; hence when a bill
of some importance is put to a voto
and tho party membership is evenly
divided there is intense excitement
seeing which party can gather the
most members from their respective
states and homes to vote on tho mea
sure. On one measure tho vote was
especially closo. An extra vote on
ono sido or tho other would perhaps
carry or defeat tho bill. Each party
was straining all efforts to gather
every one of its members together for
this vote. Presently I saw two con-
gressmen como in on tho floor of tho
House supporting between them a
third congressman from North Da
kota who was very much under the
influence of several pints of whiskey.
His friends shoved htm into a seat
and when the clerk of tho Houso call-
ed his namo- for tho voto they gavo
this drunk congressman a vigorous
slap on the back causing him to yell
"Ow." The clerk recorded his vote
as "Aye" and thus a representative
of a quarter of a million of people
aided his party in passing a measure.
Thus. I have given just a few obser
vations that only pages ever sec. I
believe that it is true that "No man
is a hero to his valet." Naturallly
In a group of four hundred and thirty-
fivo politicians there are all kinds
of men. Many aro honest upright
and conscientious whilo many others
ancear in a different Iiiiht than their
constituents may think of them. With
out condemnation or commendation
I present theso real experiences that
have occurred behind tho scenes in
Congress.
CHECKERS
Old men gray-haired sit in the public
square
On rusty benches under shady trees;
Tho traffic rushes by they nover
care;
A checkered board is held between
their knees.
They never speak except in brief command
Whilo statue-like thoy sit in muter
surmise; (
At last resolved thoy only raise a
hand
To move their wooden pawns or take
their prize.
Old men gray-haired their game is
almost dono;
Jumped and removed are their most
trusted years;
Their strategems aro foiled; the
means which won
At first now cower under sullen fears.
Tho king-row shelters all their mea
ger hoard;
Soon shall tho master-player sweep
tho board. John Wolfo
o
HARDINGS SUCCEED IN
PULLING NEW PROGRAM
program that has over been nut on
here In that there has never been a
program like it staged in Abilono
Christian College before.
Tho first number was a vocal duct
by Herman Campbell and Allen Wal-
ker. For some reason or other their
lips failed to movo in unison with
their feminine like voices. Herman
Campbell oven forgot shut his mouth
and started to walk away while his
volco carried on. Some of the quicker
wlttcd people in the audience such as
Eudcll Blasingame Otto Miller and
Harvey Porter even had tho boldness
to suspicion that tho great singers
had feminine accomplices behind tho
curtain.
Tho next number on tho program
was not meant to bo but after it was
over it served as a good impromptu.
That was tho failure to get tho cur-
tain raised. Whoever tried to pull
the curtain let tho end of tho todo
slip from his hands and it went all tho
way to tho top of tho stage. Mar-
vin Carr heroed tho end of the ropo
was rescued and tho curtnln success-
fully raised on nn outdoor scene.
Dot McDonald Edith Witt Lucile
and Rita Adrian and Mary Robinson
marched out on to tho stage and ren
dered n very fitting expose of some
very prominent students. Luther
Dabnoy and Jessie Lee King seemed
to bo tho main sufferers.
And Noreno Brown's reading was
almost indescribably good character-
DCK52K3
POST OFFICE PHARMACY
Opposite Postoffice
BEST DRINKS AND
CONFECTIONS
TRY OUR SANDWICHES
G. L. Gregg Proprietor
wwHBi)(Mwiwncwim)iT)MTO;mg!
figffinmmifflaBawxMUiMpragmnBi
In perfect accord with the cartoon
that was posted in the Harding Bulle-
tin board last week tho Hardings
Saturday night pulled a now program
that made people sit up and take no-
tice. It was different from any other
Your Soles Are
Worth Saving
Best Shoe Work in Totonl
GOODYEAR SHOE
SHOP
NORTH 2ND AND CYPRESS ST.
HAULING HAULING
Anything Anytime
S. F. SMAUPLES
E6(KSEffi3HBKK9SKSBaESISlima!T!i(Cmi
CARRY 11000 INSURANCE BY PAYING
11.00 AT THE DEATH OF A
MEMBER ONCB IN A WHILE
0W9iraSNS MUAlUnAV.
rowwffiTgwroiinffinKronH
istic of Noreno's way of doing things.
The only weak number on tho pro-
gram was that of Hubert Sweet's
tight ropo walking stunt. Ho walked
the tight ropo all right and exhibited
himself to bo a real acrobat but the
way ho acted so scared was a dis-
credit to his ability. Ho seemed to
bo suffering from stago fright as
well as being afraid of falling.
Ernest Witt topped tho climax in
that good old fashioned way that ho
has of telling jokes. I don't mean
that his jokes aro old fashioned I
daresay that Judge watches Ernest
Witt's lino for something new.
No jokin' tho program was a super-
heated streamline sport model four-
wheel brake success and I don't
mean tentatively either. Noxt.
ABILENE PRINT-
ING & STATION-
ERY COMPANY
IRVING-PITT RING
BINDERS AND FILLERS
ALL KINDS SCHOOL
SUPPLIES
We print Tho Optimist and
Prickly Pear
ri.- --C ape -... j B ncM
OPISSOM'S
Department Stqre j
flg i o. 1 1 him. ariinl...MjJTMMTWorara JjSJ
iBsmmmmmmzMMtMMi
Poston-Hemphill Co.
EXTENDS AN INVITATION TO THE STUD-
ENTS OF A. C. C. TO MAKE THIS STORE
YOUR SHOPPING HEADQUARTERS.
Special attention given to college trade!
POSTON-HEMPHILL COMPANY
successors to
PERRY-JONES CO.
OffllPlDafflffiCfflJiliTSlDflUDUffliCa
KIKER-KNIGHT
Funeral Directors
AMBULANCE AND LUNGMOTOR
PHONE 470
DR. L. H. MAGEE
DENTIST
Over Mlms Dry Goods Co.
Phones: Offico 133 Residence 347
Abilene Texas
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ASK FOR
PAN DANDY BREAD
Crisp Dainty Dolioious
ABILENE LAUNDRY CO.
Launderers and Dry Gleaners
Phone 107
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Jennings Plumbing
"The House thatlrants Your Business"
PHONE 444
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COMMERCIAL BARBERSHOP
Tho place where most students go!
1032 North First
THE WILSON
Eats Drinks Sweets and Smokes
C. L. Johnson Prop.
222 Pino Street Abilene Texas
'tmrniMMMfflCTtmranmimiMiM
BRADLEY & JONES CO.
ATHLETIC SWEATERS
Mado by manufacturers that make Only ATHLETIC SWEATERS
and sold by us to Schools for class and team awards at whole-
sale prices We guarantee every letter Sweater sold by us to
give ABSOLUTE SATISFACTION.
gpMBIOHIttMHIWffln
BnMMBBfflUHromrctimrarcrofflrcrcffi in mi ui li u im h whhb
THE FASHION
LADIES' READY-TO-WEAR AND MILLINERY
249 Pine Street
Tolephono 527
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PRINTERS AND DESIGNERS OF GOOD PRINTING
FRYAR PRINTING COMPANY
GOOD PRINTING
256io Pine Street ABILENE TEXAS Telephone 326
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. DRINKS AND EATS WE HAVE THEM
THE COLLEGE GROCERY
STUDENT HEADQUARTERS
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ess
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1889
1924
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Arc entitled to our first consideration and best facilities
at all times. Therefore they will confer a favor by informing
us should our service not measure up to the highest requirements.
If you are not now doing business with this strong old
institution we would appreciate an opportunity of serving you.
Farmers & Merchants
National Bank
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s
ECURITY FOR FUNDS
AND
ERVICE TO ALL
IS OUR MOTTO
FOUR PERCENT ON SAVINGS
CENTRAL STATE BANK
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litn-
er the
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 29, Ed. 1, Thursday, April 23, 1925, newspaper, April 23, 1925; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91325/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.