Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-06

question was fired at him. The secret
of this performance was that in the
meanwhile a hurry call had been sent to
Mr.. Church to supply the needed refer
one ever blamed Mr.. Church for pro-
longing the speeches in the Senate
chamber.
AS clerk to the committee Of which
Senator George F. Hoar was chairman,
Mr.. Edwin c. Goodwin had occas on to
use the library much as any senator,
almost much NJ. Church. for Mr..
Hoar was a most interchangeable inyestiga-
tor. and he had as clerk of his COM
mittee and private secretary n man of
legal training and studiouS habits Ten
years or more with Mr.. Hoar was eQuiva-
lent to ten years of university instruction
under a score of learned professors. Mr..
Goodwin became the librarian and it has
been said jokinsly by his friends that he
has started in with the topmost shelf in
the fartheSt corner and is reading through
the entire collection.
James NJ. Davis, though he has been
favorably mentioned for high office in his
own state of North Carolina, remains as
an assistant in the Senate library. and
the Senate of the United States would al
most as soon part with the library itself
as with the librarians. Moreover, the
senate would as soon part with any OF It's
time-honored prerosatives as with the
library.
one of the largest government libraries
is that of the bureau of education, a
branch of the Department of the In
terror On July l, 1908, according to the
report of the librarian, there We're 62,oO2
volumes and 81, 4SS pamphlets in the
library despite the fact tat 5S,6uS books,
pamphlets and periodicals were trans
ferred to the Library of Congress and the
Public Library of the District of Column
ba.
William Dawson Johnston is the libra
rian, a young man as distinguished IN APP
pearance as in achievements. He Is the
sort of man who would be picked out at
once as having the qualifications OF
leader and at the same time those OF
communicable associate. He is presi-
dent of the District of Columbia Library
Association, a man who comes into con-
tact with many persons and who ADDS 10
his circle of friends as naturally as he
adds to his circle of admirers. a tall,
well dressed man, mentally as well as
physically alert quick at perception and
thorough in methods-he is one who does
not rest content with appointed tasks and
is an efficient administrator. MT. John-
ston, while a member of the StaH or the
Library of Congress, wrote the first vol
ume of history of that library, describ-
ing the growth of that institution from
it's foundation to 1864, and has out
lined plans for continuing the ms
tory to date and for writing the
history of other libraries of the gov
eminent. He has been librarian of the
bureau of education since September ),
1907, and his first report indicates that his
office is one of the busiest in any OF the
government buildings. and that Its staff
of nine needs several additions to develop
plans for proper cataloguing, exchange
and reference work. On holidays and
after hours the staff has worked on a
compilation of educational works pub
lished in the United States before 1921,
and part of the work undertaken has been
the preparation of a union catalogue of
the more important pedagogical colles-
tions in other libraries of the United
States A list of the writings of William
Torrey Harris. former commissioner OF
education was one of the publications Is
sued this year. 1t was prepared by
Henry Ridgely Evans. assistant librarian.
Mr. Johnston has among his other as
sistants Miss Gertrude L. Woodfn.
graduate of Wellesley College and Of the
New York State Library School, who for
four years was a cataloguer in the De-
partment of Agriculture library; Miss
Edith A. Wright. for two years assistant
in the library of the National Museum,
and later assistant in the catalogue divi-
sion of the Library of Congress. and Miss
Grace O'Nell, another graduate of the
New York Library School. who has been
a cataloguer at the Library of Congress.
Mr.. Johnston was born at Essex, VT,
in 1871, and is the son of a clergyman.
He graduated from Brown University and
was an instructor of history at the Uni
VerSity of Michigan and later at his alma