. Thirty years in Washington; or, Life and scenes in our national capital. Portraying the wonderfuloperations in all the great departments, and describing every important function of our national go vernment ... With sketches of the presidents and their wives ... from Washington's to Roosevelt's administration . d in attending to a vastprivate correspondence. There is an intermittent andirregular clapping of hands, like the report of distant fire-crackers, and frequent and urgent calls from impatientmembers for the pages, who are constantly running about,lending life and adding confusion to th
. Thirty years in Washington; or, Life and scenes in our national capital. Portraying the wonderfuloperations in all the great departments, and describing every important function of our national go vernment ... With sketches of the presidents and their wives ... from Washington's to Roosevelt's administration . d in attending to a vastprivate correspondence. There is an intermittent andirregular clapping of hands, like the report of distant fire-crackers, and frequent and urgent calls from impatientmembers for the pages, who are constantly running about,lending life and adding confusion to the scene. In thebackground, behind the tall screens, we catch glimpses oflobbies, coat-rooms, and barber shops, where members aresmoking, laughing, reading, telling stories, and loungingabout. High up behind the white marble desk quietly sitsthe Speaker of the House, the most powerful man in the A SCENE OF CONFUSION. Ill government next to the President. He appears to be theonly serene and undisturbed person in the room. Justbelow him one of the clerks is droning in a sing-song mannersomething which nobody seems to hear or cares to a still lower desk are more clerks and up one of the aisles a man suddenly jumps to his feetand makes a violent but only half-audible speech, to which. DIAGRAM OF THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF Doorkeepers. S. Sergeant at-Arms. no one listens except a stenographer who swiftly runs upthe aisle with note book and pencil in hand, sits at a near-bydesk and takes down every word as if too precious to belost. Having made his speech, he strolls back to the cloak-room and lights a cigar; the stenographer returns to hischair and the clerk above him continues his monotonousdrone. The confusion increases and the Speaker strikes thetop of his desk with a heavy mallet, the report ringing outlike the crack of a rifle. Comparative silence reigns for amoment, and he follows up the temporary advantage thussecured by remarking:
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherhartf, bookyear1901
