Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-04
RECORDS 35TH ANNIVERSARY
CONGRESSIONAL PUBLICATION
REACHES MATURE AGE.
Was Begun, It Is Said, as Temporary
Expedient While Bidders
Fought.

| When the big bells in the tower of st.
Aloysius Church tolled the midnight hour
last night the force of printers at work
on the Congressional Record at the gov
eminent printing Office were reminded that
it was the beginning of the thirtyfifth an
niversary of the Record, which publica-
ton came into being March 4. 1873.
| Simply as a matter of expediency, it is
said. the Senate of. the United States
| tEirty-five years ago ordered the head of
| the government printing Office to assume
charge of the production of the daily pro-
ceedings of the extra session called for
the purpose of taking care of the execu-
tive matters brought up by the new Presi-
dent. A bitter contest was being waged
| for the privilege OF doing the printing of
the proceedings and debates of Congress.
and the services of the congressional
printer he was then called, were eX-
pected to be temporary.
The name of Congressional Record was
bestowed on the few. leaves printed for
the extra session of the Senate convened
March 3. 1873 and the results of govern
ment production were satisfactory that
| a complete equipment was installed. For
the first half dozen years of it's existence
the new baby was printed from fiat
| forms but owing to increasing circulation
and additional size perfecting presses and
stereotype pages became necessity. At
| the present time $4,000 copies of the Rec
ord are printed, and the three perfecting
| presses have a combined capacity of 81,
GOa copies of a 12O-page Record per hour.
Columns of Reprint.
TIE size of the daily Record is deter
mined from the volume of copy" sent in
by the official reporters. varying from
eight pages for q Sunday devoted to
eulogies. to 1872 pages on a particularly
busy day on the Hill" Often. too. the
leaves to print" will command consid-
cradle space in the official publication,
and tabular statements. newspaper clip
pings or other detail too long for reading
on the floor will be accepted as copy by
the printermen with equanimity. although
when called upon to reprint Henry
Georges Progress and Poverty" they
| thought the limit had been rea ched, but
in few days a Senate report followed
which filled forty-five pages of the Record
| with solid nOnparel.
| After the daily issue is printed the type
is again made up in the same shape for
the library edition. corrections being
made of the errors of senator's and repre-
| sentatives, the reporters and the printers.
| This bound edition is worked up into
| handsome volumes-about five for a short
session and ten for long one-and tucked
away into libraries.
When Congress Was Bashful.
That the progenitors of our present-d y
politicians were not favorable to the pub
lication of their official acts may appear
absurd, yet that contention is forcibly
| illustrated in unsuccessful efforts to au-
thorize the publication of the proceedings
of early Congresses Ever-present report
ers gave to the world the daily proceed
! ings of tire House of Representatives
! through enterprising newspapers during
the first few years of our newborn indie
pendence, yet they found their path "hilly
and full of stones For number OF
years every politician who wished to
avoid the effects of injudicious remarks
made scapegoat of the newspaper men
and many rules and resolutions We're
adopted restricting the rights of the news
gatherers.
For a time reporters were allowed with
in the bar of the House. but in January
| 1901. the stenographer was even expelled
tfrom the gallery. where he had sought
refuge from the prohibition of the Speak.
| err, Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts,
| This ruling was reversed by the report
of committee in 1892, but it was not unit
1924 that the printing of the Annals OF
| Congress was commended, fOrty-two Oc-
| tavo volumes, covering the proceedings
| and debates from 1883 TO 1894.