The Portland daily press., 1882-12-19
The Congressional Library. (


In the House last week the question of ap-
propriating money for Congressional Library
building came up, and in the course of debate
Mr.. Reed spoke as follows:
Mr.. Speaker, confess that feel deep inte-
rest in the result of the vote that is TO be taken
on this bill. believe the history of the world
will bear me out in the assertion that every
civilization has endeavored, in proportion to
Its means, to furnish to its people all of the
books that were necessary for their progress,
their enlightenment, and their development.
Libraries have come into existence not entirely
from logical intentions, but very often from
the situation OF circumstances. Men have not
ordinarily started out intending to erect or ac-
cumulate great libraries. But they have found
themselves after little period in their history
in such situation that they we're Obliged TO
consider the question whether they should
make great national library out of what had
grown, perhaps, from small collections. We
have reached precisely that crisis In our his
tory
Originally the library the building for
which we are now discussing here, was estab-
lished for the benefit of the two Houses of
Congress- 1t was small in dimensions and Sc
lect in character; but owing to the annual in
crease resulting from appropriations by Con-
gress. from donations of individuals, and other
causes it has now reached a large size, SO large
indeed as to be utterly unfit for the use for
which it was originally established. Four
0uNOf6u ana eighty buOuSauu UOOkS lOr q OOu-
gressional library for use, for practical business
purposes, by these two Houses of Congress, is
on the face of it and is in fact an absurdity.
In addition to that the books have outgrown
tne building in which they are stored; and no
man who has any regard for learning, who has
any love for books, can visit the rooms of the
Congressional Library without indignant feel
ings of sorrow and regret to see the contemptu
GUS treatment by great nation of the rich
treasures of literature and learning which are
scattered around on the floor and in every pas
sage-way. 1t is perfectly evident to every man
that we must do something with these aceumu-
latiOns. The present apartments are not fit
either in size or location. No man can consult
the Library to-day. 1t might as well be buried
in the crypt of the Capitol as to be where it is
This Library, Mr.. Speaker. contains at this
time 100000 volumes, 100000 pamphlets $780,
600 engravings, maps and photographs, and
other matter of that character, and it contains
| 100000 musical publications. Now, it is per-
fectly apparent tina. 1t cannot be confined
where it is. What are we to do? Are we to
meet this condition by statements that this
was originally intended to be nothing more
than Congressional library, and that one
half of the books it contains ought to be burned
to get them out of the way? Which half? The
half which the gentlemen from Maryland does
not like or the half which any other gentleman
in the House does not like? Who is to deter
mine? say thai in great library no book is
useless. In great library meant for a great
nothing pertaining to library is out of place.
| What is trash in my library is not trash in tue
library of another man. What is useless for
| my mind or what is useless to me may be an
| other mans food; and when I remember that
the most splendid hist Try of the greatest nation
| OF earth owes its very existence, its strength,
| and its picturesqueness and power to the au-
thor's careful study of pamphlets which had
been despised for being mere ephemeral
pamphlets by other historians, look forward
haf or G0f1la nfh INN
| there will be some other men who will gather
| everything that is preserved in our great lib
rary and utilize it for the benefit of the Ameri-
can people. [Applause.]
| Our thoughts, our beliefs, and our minds are
| as different as our bodies. No man mistakes
| one man for another when they stand side by
| side, and il we could have the same sight of
minds that we nave of bodies we would find
| Just as great diversity. Those matters which
| might despise and which my intellect would
undervalue, and the lofty intellect of the gen.
tleman from Maryland might disregard and
wish to destroy, may prove to be material from
which some other man may conceive some
| thing that may be of use to the whole of us
Americans and to the world at large This ma
lion has become great enough to meet the ex-
| pectations OF this people. Among these expec-
| tatlons is the establishment of library large
enough for the needs of the whole of this great
nation. On this continent there ought to be
one library where everything is. Why should
|
nection, as If it were the only question? / am
not one of those, MIR. Speaker, who despise the
| question OF cost; but economy is not The refusal
| to spend anything. 1t is refusal to spend
j money unwisely, and there has been no nation,
| no municipality, no collection of people that
| ever was civilized enough to have library
| that did not realize that they ought to have a
| place suitable for it, building fitted for the
treasures library building ought to inclose.
| My friend from Georgia is unable to look
down the centuries and see the want of this
| country for future times. But say to him
the people of this country believe in its perpe-
| tuity. They believe in laying the foundations
| of what we build deep and strong. And say
| that the people of this country would gladly
| expend money for the erection of building
| that should be suitable to us for all time. We
have 100000 books pow-the British Museum
| has 400 000--and we never shall cease from
| our collection of books until we have equaled
| the nations of the Old World; for we are rap
| idly approaching them in numbers, we are
! rapidly overlapping them in wealth, and we
| shall excel them in civilization as we'll. And
one OF the brightest insignia of civilization, one
OF the surest guarantees of the spread of litera-
| ture and of knowledge, is the preservation of
| those means whereby knowledge and wisdom
| come to men. "As good almost kill man as
kill good book says Milton; many man
| lives burden 10 the earth, but good book is
the precious life-blood of master spirit en-
balmed and treasured up on purpose to life
| beyond iife." Let US be worthy of the nation
we belong to: let us be worthy of the civilza-
| ton we believe in; let us make building
for which we build it. Applause.
|