The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-03
TCOPYRIGHT, 1901

errands for them. 1t seemed to him, he
said that such strike would stop the
wheels of Government; and so it might
if there were no means of filling the
places of the strikers, for presumably
very few of the Senators would know
where to 60 or what to do to procure
the documents, ETC., for which they
keep the pages running. But about the
Capitol and in the sever-l departments
of public life in Washington there are
enough men of National renown who
began their political careers as pages to
fill the places of all these boys; So
What if the Senate pages should
strike?
The Government would go right on.
The number of famous men who once
were pages seems to warrant the pre-
sumption that embryonic greatness is
now scampering about the Capitol in
knickerbockers, running errands, per-
haps, for men not fit to bear it's shoes.
Surely this is excuse enough for devot-
ing little consideration to the pages
Of the Senate.
Four years is the longest term boy
to the office only between the ages of
twelve and sixteen. In the Senate
there are fourteen of these bows, under
the immediate direction of Alonzo H.
Stewart, young man of nearly twenty
years, who four sCa'S ago closed his
career as a page and is now attached
to the Sergeant-at-Arms under the title
of Messenger on the Floor of the SEN
ate But this chief page and all his
assistants are under the supervision of
Captain Isaac Bassett, the venerable
assistant door-keeper, who has served
continuously as an attache of the Sem
ate since he was appointed a page,
fifty-seven years ago, by Daniel Web
ster's request. Captain Bassett, with his
long white hair and beard, is the most
striking figure on the Senate floor,
and if any man is indispensable
there it is he. In the matter of cere-
monialS he is the authority on whom
Vice-President, Presidents pro tempore
of the Senate and all the officers
and members of that august body have
to rely. For more than half a century
he has kept a memorandum book at
hand and made entries of all those acts
which were likely to be useful as prec-
edents. When death strikes Senator
down, or any thing else of an unusual
character happens, the presiding officer
of the Senate turns to Captain Bassett,
who sits on his left and is informed as
to what is the conventional mode of
procedure under the circumstances. 1t
is said that Captain Rassett has, during
all these years of service in the Senate,
kept close memoranda of such speeches
and acts as have marked events in our
country's history. He can tell the pre-
else spot where Webster stood when he
made any one of his famous arguments;
where Sumner sat when he received the
blow which helped the cause of emanci-
patton along; where every word was
said and every act performed which has
had direct bearing on the great events
of this last half century. But he is as
uncommunicative as the Sphinx, and as
for his memorandum books he would
no more let newspaper correspondent
look at one of them than he would will
ingly sever his connection with the
Senate.
The fourteen Senate pages are all
bright, interesting lads Harry Long,
Mckee Cochrane and Albert Mackey are
the seniors. They have served three
years. And Warner Moody and Fred
Kappeler are the Juniors. Warner
Moody is the son of Senator Moody, Of