CONGRESS WAS TALKATIVE big task imposed on official reporters by lawmakers many meetings by committees new decord Is washington never before in the histo of the world has there been such a task imposed on shorthand re portera as the one which has just been completed at the capitol there has been more talk recorded there in the last seven montas than was ever put into print anywhere before in the bame length of time when the first session of the fifty ninth congress adjourned it was found that the congressional record had gene beyond the 10 page mark only once has it ever reached that figure before in one session of con gress and that was in the fifty first the feed rules session which sat un til october 1 the congress in seven months did as mich m ich talking on the floors of the house and senate as the fifty first did in ten months the house contributed the greater volume of the orator but the 70 day senate debate on the railroad rate bill was quite un in that body for its con quantity rapidity and technical character the official reporters of the house who take an interest in such things have collection of figures which show that the debates in that body average a more rapid rate than any where else tor instance the record often contains 60 columns of reported matter for a six hours session this means an average of about words a minute the whole time some men like mr tawney mr hepburn clr mondell and mr clayton speak with such delightful deliberation and clear ness that they could almost be taken by a good longhand writer but the average Is made by the rapidity of oth ers like mr lacey mr hull mr de armond mr stephens of texas mr bonynge mr gillett of calif ania mr mr cockran and mr little field whose conversation in colloquy often goes about the word mark but the debates on the floor are only part of the never before have there been many committee hear ings A brand new chairman ot the house committee on appropriation came in this session and under the leadership of mr tawney the depart ments of the government have received such an overhauling as never before this committee was in session almost all th time and the printed hearings on the appropriation bills alone equalled equal led in alume the entire house in some former con greshes there was scarcely an important houe committee that has not had more hearings than usual often six or seven committees have been in session at once and there was one memorable day when 11 committees of the house sat at the same time and seven of them ran all day the committee sten og raphers record of the assignments to hearings shows that there have been during the session of these the regular committee force reported and ci aside reporting firms had to be called in to take care of the e was very little general cal debate strange as it may seem almost all the talk has been of the klad seeks to attain a definite re suit and whether on it appropriation bills or on matters ot specific tion the debate was of the sort tha the senate committee hearings while very much less voluminous than those of the house were also heavy notably the canal commit tee hearings hed rings which amounted to more than 1 words altogether there were more than 40 words spoken and reported at the capitol in seven months a record the e of which the world have levei 1 1