Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-25

| Bassett also notifies the Senator'S When
| caucus OF either party is 10 be called. he
| is a very venerable appearing gentleman,
and has long, snowy white beard ana
white hair.
Next to Capt. Bassett, Mr.. Edward
/ Clark, who since 1865 has been the archl-
tect of the capitol when he succeeded
! Mr.. Thomas U. Walter, whose assistant
1 in that office he had previously been, has
! probably had the longest continuous ser
| vice in or connected with that building.
He began duty june 80, 1851, and helped
! TO stake off the ground when the founda-
tons OF the north wing, now occupied by
the United States Senate, were being
! made. Mr.. August SchOenbOrn, who is
also still in the architects Office in the
! capitol, began his duties there in 1851,
/ and the first plans he drew were for the
! cellar of the Senate wing
The venerable c0lored man, Thomas
! WEIGH, who, whenever the United States
/ Supreme Court sin session, sits outside
the main entrance door and opens and
/ closes it for visitors and lawyers, has
! been in the employ Of that court fully
/ 30 years, and, having a clear head and
! good memory. is full of Interesting reml-
niscences Of the Justices he has known
/ belonging to that court and Ofthe lawyers
who nave practiced before them since
| 1876 or thereabOuts. He thinks much of
]
that should be shown it. He and eX-Jus-
tice Campbell, of Alabama, are now prob
ably toe only persons living who were
directly connected with that court at the
beginning of President Buchanan's ad-
min istrahOn.
Maj. Ben: Perley POore, the well-known
writer, has had the longest continuous
service as q clerk of Senate committee.
He first served as clerk TO the House of
Representatives Committee on Foreign
Relations in 1859, when Tom Corwin was
its chairman. He was in 1861 transferred
to the Corresponding Committee of the
Senate, of which Mr.. Charles Sumner was
then chairman. He served in the army
for few months and tnen returned to the
same place on the same committee.
In 1862 Maj. Poore became Clerk of the
Senate Committee on Printing, Of which
Senator Anthony was chairman, and eX-
cept the two years when the Democrats
controlled the Senate, 1S79-S1, and Sena-
tor Anthony was Chairman of the Com
mittee on Revolutionary Claims, and his
faithful friend, Maj. PoOre, was it's Clerk,
he has been up to the present time Clerk
of the Committee on Printing. and as such
has ably edited the Congressional Direc-
tory. Mr.. G. G. SIMPSON, next to Mai.
Poore, has served longest as Clerk of
the Senate. He is the Enrolling Clerk,
and has served since July, 1861. He
writes very handsome hand for the prep
aratiOn of bills and is very conscientious
and faithful in dischaIging his duties.
Mr.. AinswOrth Spofford, the Librarian
of the Congressional Library, has been
there since 1851. He was first Assistant,
and was made Librarian in 1864. Since
that time he has been invaluable to
those in search of Information of all
kinds.
Smith, a very intelligent colored
man, who has been the Librarian Of the
House Of Representatives library, and is
now an assistant there, has had deserv-
eddy long service in connection with that
library, with the contents of whose vol
umes he has most amazing familiarity.
HIS memory is very accurate.
The 'oldest inhabitanP7 in the Wash
IngtOn monument grounds is Mr.. John
Shea, one of the watchmen, who was APP.
pointed To that position in 1862, and he
was then, and until the government as
sumed control of the work, in the employ
of the Monument Society. He is now 80
years old. At the White House, Pen
die, one of the ushers, who has been there
since November, 1864, is the "oldeet in
habitant."
What is most worthy of note in connec-
ton with all these veterans IN the civil
service of the government is that they are
so faithful to their duties in spite OF the
! advanced age of most of them. Scarcely
one of those named ever loses a day from
the office in which he does his work. ex-
I eept from real sickness, and, as most of
them enjoy the best of health, they are
| rarely absent at all. except during the
vacation permitted them by law. Many
of the Younger clerks and employees lose
far more time than the patriarchs.