Show THE mirFIBST COVfiKESh TUB Flftyflrst Congress of the United fctates will meet In regular swslon one wcel from today and already the clans are beginning to congregate and speculate upon what will be done first The Senate Is prcsumbly always In a state of organization or-ganization being a continuous body but theUonscof Representatives be comea completely won eft on the 1th of March of each old numbered year eo that most of the planning contriving and guusslngare directed toward it The last house contained 325 I members tho Democrats having an I average majority of about fifteent I f The present body contains 330 the t rectal admissions of States in the a thei Northwest having added Ore to the I list all of these being Republicans and giving that body amajority of eight enough to work on and dec officers with but not enough to rely upon throughout till term or even the present session as I a thing fixed and determined There have already al-ready been three deaths among the numbers elect and the reaper never forgets to thrust In his sickle one or more times during a Congress besides one member stands n fair chance of being chosen a senator m Iowa VIce Allison but this uAese the latter should from some cause step aside In the I meantime would not make a dlflcr cues In tho House as the member would simply proceed from tile 4 lower branch to the upper when the I present term expires Besides all the conjectures the d Republican preponderance Is too small to be relied upon for extreme partisan measures or very obnoxious prrceeuings even ir they should ail hold out In the flesh to the last for two reasons there are several of their number who aro known to be con TntlTe and independent and who would hardly follow the party leaders in the roll call onrach measures for example as the enforcement en-forcement and Ku Klux bills for ties South and there are still more of them who are already classed as against tho Senate tariff bill the substitute adopted by that body for the Mills bill of the last Congress which caused the longest debate and longest session of any mcasuie over Introduced l As the Democrats will go against it almost If not quite unanimously the Republican ma jority j will be unable to pats it or any similar measure and this being the great Issue now between the parties tho question of Republican supremacy for any other purpose than organization and technical party points be may considered as practically negation Then besides It should be considered con-sidered that the minority always has advantages which the majority has not the former being always OB the offensive while tho latter of necessity is on the defensive The last time the Republican had con I trol of the House from lISt to iStit they had a larger majority than they have now nnd party lines were more distinctly and closely drawn and yet they were tied up for days at n time on obnoxious legislation legisla-tion through the strategy and skill ful leadership of the minority It would seem therefore considered from all points of view as if the Democrats occupied a moderately advantageous position being possibly pos-sibly able to defeat objectionable legislation l while the responsibility for everything naturally rests with tho other party Besides they can be quietly accumulating the materials mate-rials with which to go before the country next fall when the Kitty second Congress will be chosen and getting themselves In trim for the Presidential race They will have ample time and opportunities for this as tho drudgery of the term so called will have to be performed by those who are responsible for it The political status of the Senate cannot yet be determined on at i ount of the squabble In Montana The new state Is I reveling in the luxury 01 iwo legislature one unanimously Democratic the other totally Republican the former claiming recognition by vlr tue of certificates of election from the county clerks under the terri torial law the totter because of cer tificates from theircturnlngboard un der the iww State lew Iti Is I quite probable that each of the bodies will elect the two Senators to which the Sl1te is entitled but It Is also morally certain that Governor Toole will coUlml lon those elected by the Democrats If these should be admitted the RepublIcan majori ty In the Senate If would be four Vat the Republicans should be seated it would be eight otherwise six The contest for the Spcakcrshlp of the House seems to havo narrowed down to three contestantsThomas B Reed of Maine William Jfc kinley of Ohio and Joseph G Cannon of Illinois The compli mentary nomination on the Demo erotic side will be likely to fall upon John G Carlisle of Kentucky Speaker of tho last House and the Fortyeighth and Fortyninth also |