Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-02
HISTORIC FURNITURE.
The Desks Occupied by Great States
men I'm the Senate.
H. aHo

From the Washington CriHc]
Daniel Webster resigned his seat in
the United States Senate on July 20,
1850. His desk is still in the Senate
Chamber but which one, where it sits,
and who is the lucky Senator who has it,
are secrets to all the world except Capt.
Bassett, whom Mr.. Webster brought
here when q mere boy, and put him in
position as page eighteen years before
he resigned. Capt. Bassett has held a
place in the Senate from that day until
the present, being Acting Sergeant-at-
Arms now. But to the story of the desk.
As above stated, the possessor of it or it's
number is as profound secret to the
Senator who sits at it as it is to an Egypt
ian mummy. Capt. BassetG's reason for
keeping all knowledge of the numbers
of Mr.. Webster's, Mr.. Clay's and Mr..
Calhoun's seats secret is that, knowing
and understanding the desire of the aver
age American citizen, both male and fe-
male, for relics, he fears to give the
secret away lest the desk would be
Clipped away by piecemeal by the curious
who throng the Capitol every day.
There has been no change in these desks
from the day they were brought into the
Capitol until now, other than the annual
coat of varnish. Capt. Bassett has q
memorandum record of their numbers
and places, which he keeps carefully I'M
der lock and key, and will, when he
comes to shuttle off this mortal coil, fur
nish to the proper person all the inform
alton relative to these desks, in order that
their history may be carefully preserved
and handed down to future generations
ates in the Senate.
There are three other desks in the
Senate Chamber which curiosity hunt
ers would like to be able to see and
know that they are the right ones.
Those are the desks of Jefferson Davis,
of Mississippi Stephen 4. Douglas of
Illinois, and Charles Sumner, OF Massa-
chusetts. Mr.. Davis desk occupied the
same position in the Chamber that
Beck's does now, but it is not known
to any one except Capt. Bassett
whether or not it is the same one. MIR.
Douglas was in the same place rs that
occupied by Mr.. Pendleton, and MIR.
Summers was in the place now occupied
by Mr.. Dawes.
In 1862, when the New York Zouaves
were in the city, about twenty of them
went into the Senate Chamber early one
morning to destroy the chair and desk
that had been occupied by Mr.. Jefferson
Davis. just as they were in the act,
Capt. Bassett put in his appearance,
and asked them what they were about.
They quickly told him that they were
going to destroy that seat and desk
because they were the ones used by
jeff Davis. Capt. Bassett suggested
to them that their mission to Washing
ton was to protect public property and
not to destroy it. They saw the point.
and Capt. Bassett at once proceeded
to SO change the numbers on the desks
as to be able to say to all who might
inquire about the several desks referred
to that the desks that were used by the
Senators alluded to were not now in the
same places that they had been changed
around for the purpose of preventing
them from being mutilated by relic and
curiosity hunters. Capt. Bassett is
annoyed very much nowadays by
strangers who visit the Capitol to know
which was Mr.. Conkling's desk. As
yet be has not seen proper to change it
from its former position, but anticipates
doing so at an early day. All knowl-
edge of who has the honor of using the
three desks above referred to, to-wit
Davis, Douglas, Summers, is as pro-
found secret to all the world, save and
alone to Capt. Bassett, as any knowl-
edge Of Webster's, Calhoun's or Clay's.