LUXURIES FOR LEGISLATORS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 9013, 24 December 1907, Page 4

LUXURIES FOR LEGISLATORS.

When the public subscribe for tht re-erection of Parliament Buildings it may be hoped that they will insiss upon greater conveniences being pro vided for the elect of the electors In the premises destroyed recently their comforts were so badly neglect ed that they actually had to complaii amongst other things that they hac not sufficient lady typists to conduci their sessional correspondence. Thej had, it is true, the easiest and mos' comfortable seats and lounges al over the building, the finest libran in the Southern Hemisphere, retir ing, refreshment, sitting, smoking and reading, rooms, furnished upor an elaborate scale. Messenger! tumbled over each other in response tt members' summonses upon electric bells placed in every convenient nooli and corner; bath-rooms and lavator ies of the most up-to-date charactei were installed, and a multitude o; other little etceteras were providec to give them rest, and peace, and enjoyment. These, however, were onlj what the average member has always been accustomed to in his own home, and were not up to the requirement; of the legislator on duty. In the nev House of Parliament, which it is confidently expected the people wil. provide for out of their owr pockets, it is to be hoped the subscribers will insist upon having conveniences provided equal, if no! superior, to those now being installed in the United States Parliament Houses. According to the American correspondent of the Melbourne "Age," hitherto unheard-of conveniences are being installed at Washington. There are being erected two wings to the Capitol solely for private offices for members of the two Houses. Members will' be some 200 feet away from the Houses to which they belong, but they will be in constant communication with the Chambers. By the help of certain ingenious contrivances a member will be abb to hear just what is going on in either House, or in the committee room in which the member is interested, as conveniently as if he were present. In order to do this he will not be obliged to hold a receiver to his ear. All he will have to do is to insert a plug in one of several holes of a small box that stands in the back of his desk, and from the box will come the sounds of {he debate which he wants to hear. A member may also dictate letters from his office in one of these .vings to his stenographer in a committeeroom in the main part of the Capitol. To do this he will not bother about holding a telephone to his lips, but will simply talk quietly to the wall opposite. Every senator will have two offices and a bathroom. The rooms will not contain beds, but who will say that these will never come? Every senator and representative has a private secretary whose salary is paid by the country. The doings of the Houses will be recorded on a screen in the offices of members at the same time as a cleric writes a summary of the proceedings in each House. For the further convenience of members lictle trains will run between the offices and the chambers through underground tunnels. They will be operated by electricity, and summoned by pressing a button.