| Show iN TiE I IIALLSOF FAME Majority of Congressmen Are College Graduates SelfMade Men in Evidence Hor Amos Cummings Writes of His Colleagues Representatives Kahn Loud Miers Stark and Polk Who Have Been Heard to Advantage in Some of the Debates of the 8 Present Session Correspondence Tribune Washington D C Feb 20It may astonish many a theorisC to learn that there are 203 graduates from colleges and universities In the House of Representatives Rep-resentatives You always hear of the selfmade men In Congress and very little of the collegebred Every barefooted bare-footed boy wandering along a country lane on his way to school knows that Abraham Lincoln was a flatboatman and a rallspllttcr ho is familiar with the fact that James A Garficld drove a mule along the towpath of an Ohio canal You would never surprise him by telling that Ulysses S Grant sold wood by the cord and worked at his trade ao a tanner but this was seventyfive years ago when district schools were the nurseries of education and the teacher boarded around with the parents of his pupils Nowadays the academy Is usurping tho place of the district school and the teacher wean Piccadilly collars and is known a the master or the professor Colleges are nearly as numerous as were district schools years ago In no place Is the change more apparent than In the halls of Congress More than half the Senators Sena-tors and Representatives are men who have finished their educations In colleges col-leges and universities The White House may be termed an educational thermometer ther-mometer Ptesldent Roosevelt Is a graduate of Harvard William McKinley McKIn-ley was a student of Allegheny college p Grover Cleveland received his educational educa-tional training in the shadow of Hamil ton college Benjamin Harrison wns a graduate of Miami university and Chester A Arthur matriculated at Union college This brings us back to the barefooted boy who used the gad I on a canal mule became f Campbelllte i preacher was elected to both branches I of Congress and finally was sworn In II I as President of the United States The man with a classical education Is slowly but surely striding to the front In political politi-cal life The colleges are strongly represented repre-sented In the House The membership Includes fourteen Yale graduates nine from the University of Virginia seven from Harvard four from Princeton three from Amherst five from Dartmouth Dart-mouth throe from Bowdoin two from Hamilton two from Union two from Williams two from Cornell and one from Oberlln The selfeducated boy hOWL v ris still a strong feature In the House of Representatives He takes a leading part in legislation and hc leaves r clear Imprint upon its pages Although he has never had a classical I education he is usually well versed In the classics Such men have uncon sciously absorbed the information necessary to a successful career and often are far better equipped to fight tho battles of life than those blessed 1 with collegiate ih coleglnte honors Stand here in the south wing of tho Capitol near tho elevator leading to the hal of the House of Representa tives A steady stream of selfmade mon Ia pouring along the corridor and ascending to the realm above Self reliance Is indelibly stamped upon their features The step Is firm the manne confident the courtesy American and not Parisian and the conversation sug gestive of early days on the farm and 1 in the shop or foundry Each Is on the way to his committee where he aids in r kneading the dough of legislation At high noon when the steam hlstlcs In l the District of Columbia are calling other workmen from labor to refresh ment they enter the House and start the orchestrion of declamation Let me call your attention to the robust gentleman awaiting the arrival of the elevator He Is clean shaven and has a clear complexion a bright hazel eye brght hnzel and hair hall as bushy as was that of Beethoven He wears the proverbial I frock coat and has the air and tho confident swing of a statesman This Is Congressman Julius Kahn of San Francisco He Is a real knight of thq i buskin You can hardly I realize that fifteen years ho ago was supporting I such stars In the Thespian firmament as Edwin Irmament al Booth Joe Jefferson and Clara I Morris Mr Kahn secured an education in the public schools of San Francisco Ten years ago he was a barn stormer In Sacramento Ire played I part In I tho Legislature that gave him great eclat and eventually led to his election electon to Congress Genial and wholesouled 1 he passes the time of with evel tme day wih every body he meets creating a cheery atmos phere wherever goes Worth however is a far stronger Innredlent In his com position than either leather or prunella prunela A good actor In his day he la a far better Congressman Keep your eye on him aa ho ascends In the elevator and disappears through the entrance to the hal of the House An hour Inter you will Jlnd him on the floor enacting tho I role of a patriot Hc addresses his col leagues on the proposition providing propositon proldlns shelter for our soldiers In the Philip Phlp I pines before they arc decimated by the deadly fevers attending the rainy season sea-son Four months ago he visited these islands and certainly knows I what he Is talking about Better still he has the I faculty of accurately describing what he has seen In n full round tone > with every syllable distinctly enunciated and every sentence fervently uttered and illustrated he pictures the city of tents surrounding Manila Anon you hear cloud bursts and the rush of waters In a tropical tempest You see the troops knee deep In mud drenched to the skIn vainly seeking shelter Last of all those stricken with fever are depleted moaning on their hospital cots awaiting the last summons The dead march follows the last tattoo and the final volley over the open grave This actor and statesman needs no dIploma di-ploma from Harvard Heidelberg or Oxford to commend him to the people His patriotic impulses are his LL D This is his second engagement In Congress Con-gress He Is now a star of the first magnitude and Is probably booked for many 0 reengagement In the years to come 4 California however has supplied him With a stock company of more than ordinary ability Here Is n member of the company at your left coming out of the ofllco of the sergeantatarms He Is Eugene F Loud chairman of the Committee on Postofllces and Post Roads As he pockets a roll of crisp 5 notes he moves toward the elevator I His face Is one familiar to all old soldiers I Is the face of a man who received the sword of Gen Pemborton a VIcksburg in the hot July of 1863 Veterans of the Army of the Potomac who fought In the Wilderness recognize the likeness at once Loud himself by the way was a soldier of that army As a member of the Second Massachusetts Massa-chusetts cavalry he swept through the valley of the Shenandoah with Phil Sheridan Yet before he wore the blue he became a sailor Born In Mason chuHctts he followed the example set I by Richard II Dana shipped before the mast rounded Cape Horn and landed In California Mr Dana crowned with collegiate honors made an effort to reach the National House of Representatives and was beaten by Benjamin F Butler while Loud has Buter whie already al-ready represented San Francisco dls j trict eleven years and ought to be good I for eleven years longer In inany legis 1 Jate respects he resembles tho lato William S Holman Hc has tho same economic tendencies and tho same persistence In asserting them Atone At-one time he was 1 lettercarrier yet on economic grounds he opposes tho bill to Increase lettercarriers salary For years has ho endeavored to reduce the volume of books and periodicals carried as secondclass mal matter and has repeatedly been defeated Un chastoned by defeat he persisted In the effort At last the PostmusterGon eral came to his relief by making a ruling that accomplished the object without legislation Publishers printers print-ers and newsdealers are In arms over this flank movement but they are apparently ap-parently helpless Loud shrugs his shoulders and smiles grimly whenever the subject Is mentioned I Is hardly likely the old system will be restored while IIQ Is a member of the House No man here has the courge of his convictions con-victions more thoroughly Although a veteran with an unstained record ho attacks pension bills unhesitatingly If not convinced they are Just J nor can any Influence however great sworvo him from thlsj attitude This may weaken his popularity1 In the House but In the long run It makes him respected re-spected If not feared by those incensed in-censed at his action Follow him Into the House today and you will hear him a his best The urgent deficiency bill Is up and he i bitterly fighting a proposition to Increase the pay of rural ru-ral lettercarriers Economy Is his tutelary deity and he Is as inflexible of purpose as an Aztec priest His argument ar-gument Is able and persistent You can hardly Imagine that so able a statesman has llgurcd in a sailor hornpipe on the deck of a merchantman merchant-man or Joined In the song of Black eyed Susan while awaiting his watch In the forecastle With the grit of a bulldog he makes his fight in Committee Commit-tee of the Whole and loses by the skin o his teeth You may be sure however how-ever that this Is not the least of It Some day this legislation Is sure lo be revised and the chairman of the Post office committee will be in at the revision re-vision Even the lawyers on the floor the most of whom are collegiate Graduates Grad-uates are apt to give him 0 wide berth for whIle a Jettcrcarrler he studied law and was admitted to tho bar I would surprise no one If some day he should traverse the legal luminary from Maine on a fine point of law and get a decision in his favor Now hero is another patriot making his way out of the postoflkc with 0 handful of letters and newspapers Ho Is one of the minority In the House a graduate of the University of Indiana and a native of the Commonwealth that held Blue Jeans Williams up to the admiration of the American people He was a wellknown Judge in Hoosler dom before he came to Congress In figure and address he recalls the tall sycamore of the Wabash There Is the same snowy mustache the same gray eyes and tho same deliberation In movement Sturdy In physique leonine leon-ine in face and disposition ruddy In complexion and grave In demeanor he Is the beau Ideal of Judicial dignity This gentleman Is Robert W Miens of Bloomington the leading member of the minority in the Committee on Invalid minorty Commitee valid Pensions and a recognized authority au-thority In public buildings and grounds Serving his third term In the House he carries much weight with his associates asso-ciates Pic ought to be a member of the Committee on Judiciary This committee Is fairly swamped with lawyers and It I needs another Judge to give It tone Miens Is regarded In the House as the champion of the veterans of tho war Watch him this afternoon and see how magnificently he strides to the front on the proposition to > provide shelter for the American soldiers In the Philippines before the rainy season appears ap-pears His speech stirred the House to Its center and was clinched when his name appeared among the sixteen members of the minority whose votes wero recorded in its favor Hear his Words There Is not a dollar in the treasury that is too good or dear for the boys who fight under the Star and Stripes The rcsponslbllty is with you0 he shouts turning toward the majority When you say that this money is needed for the maintenance noe and support of the boys upholding the flag I take you at your word I will vote for the amendment MIera Is one of the best and most pleasing speakers on the floor Ho Is cautious and conservative con-servative and wields a corresponding Influence among the thoughtful and considerate While we are talking another sailor heaves In view I Is many a year since he lost his sea legs He comes from true Pilgrim stock and was born In Mystic Conn although a fustonSst representing a district In Nebraska I Is thirtyfive years since he spliced the main brace and furled his last Ball His education was gleaned from the scrap heaps of knowlcdce at that time characteristic char-acteristic of tho common schools of the Nutmeg State This sailor Is at home on tho billows oC legislation He is I William L Stark of Aurora An exnert political navigator ho Is serving his third term In Congress Tho trade winds of political life are filling his sails and hcluus every prospect for another an-other successful voyage Stark Is flrm ly I knit has a clear complexion a profusion pro-fusion of light hair and piercing gray eyes On leaving the ocean he taught taug1t school In Illinois and afterward sold soap sugar socks and salaratus In a drY goods store This experience drove him to a law school In Chicago where he became proficient In less than two years and entered upon tile practice of his profession Within a few months however he transplanted himself to the Blackwater State and was superintendent super-intendent of schools In Aurora nearly two years He was appointed County Judge and reelected five times before he found the trail to the House of Representatives Rep-resentatives With an experience hereof here-of five years he Is one oC the best equipped men on the floor Ho received receiv-ed the unanimous Populist vote for Speaker last December Judge Stark seldom takes the floor but when he does Open fire something Is sure to drop In the last Congress Gen Gros vonor was Indulging in his usual dally saunter over the plaza of animadversion animadver-sion when ho amused himself by shy lug a brick at the military record of Cot William J Bryan It whizzed past the ear of the Nebraska Judge He made a reply that winged the Ohio statesman Clad In lucid phraseology and reploto In Judicial lore it was so chastening and effective that nothing more was to be said Grosvenor dropped drop-ped his bricks and left the plaza while Stark resumed his seat and finished his epistolary correspondence Now here approaches another self made man and only 36 years old As thin as a caseknlfe ho has the activity of a Tartar He IB Rufus K Polk of Danville Pa Born In Tennessee he has served his time In the Iron foundries foun-dries of the Keystone State and graduated gradu-ated as a mining engineer Withal hc woo a lieutenant In a volunteer regiment regi-ment in the war with Spain On being mustered out he broke Into Congress This lo his second term Winning the district from his political I enemies he undoubtedly holds It through tbp favor of his army comrades and of tile men vlio wojd < a ilia irlchanuncj Cb bl5j side and who know him from the pupil of his oye to the core of his heart Ver eatllo In word and notion his Impulses lead him to the front where ho becomes be-comes a conspicuous figure Ioik is over on the skirmish line taking his Intervals and doing effective work The Senate la also well sprinkled with selfmudo statesmen all active In legislation leg-islation and attracting the attention of the country Some are healthy wealthy weal-thy and reasonably wise others wealthy weal-thy only The poorer are usually the wiser All draw moro or less Inspiration Inspira-tion from their collegiate associates and Indulge In the same dreams of political po-litical advancement AMOS J CUMMINGS Copyright 1002 by Amos J Cummings |
