opening of a new Congress is regarded as an important event. The
House of Representatives must go through the entire process of
organization. To the clerk of the preceding House are intrusted the
credentials of the members, and from these he makes out a list of
those who are shown to be regularly elected. At the hour of
assembly he calls the roll from this list, announces whether or not
a quorum is present, and states that the first business is to elect
a speaker. After his election the speaker takes the oath of office,
which is administered by the member who has had the longest service
in the House. The speaker then administers the oath to the members
by States. The election of the chief clerk and the other officers
follows, after which the House is said to be organized.

The Senate is a "continuing body," and no formal organization is
necessary. At the opening of a new Congress the Vice-President
calls the Senate to order and the other officers resume their
duties. After the president _pro tempore_ has been chosen, the
newly elected members are escorted to the desk in groups of four,
and the oath is administered by the president of the Senate. Each
house, when organized, notifies the other of the fact, and a joint
committee of the houses is appointed to wait upon the President and
inform him that quorums are present and are ready to receive any
communication he may desire to send.

The House of Representatives occupies a large hall in the south
wing of the capitol. The desks of the members are arranged in a
semicircle about that of the speaker, with the Republicans on his
left and the Democrats on his right. When a member gains the floor,
he speaks from his own desk or from the space in front of the
speaker's desk. Unless the question is one of importance, but