The Washington herald., 1911-04-02

GEORGE KONG, Maryland.
Announcement of the personnel of the
controlling faction of the House COM
mittee on the District Of Columbia which
is to become active at once and to
serve during the Sixty-second Congress,
was made yesterday afternoon during the
caucus Of the Democrats The affairs of
the District. as far as this committee is
concerned. will be stccred by men almost
equally divided in profession, between
lawyers and those in other walks of
life. For general versatility the commit
tee no doubt will acquire something OF
a reputation. 1t is already claSsed as one
of the unique organizations Of the House.
for ia addition to the array of legal tai
ent furnished by Representatives john
son. Rothermel, Hamillf Adair, Dies.
Oldfeld. and O'Shaunessy. there are on
the list a contractor, a manufacturer. a
business man. banker. a travelling man,
{. farmer. and writer. With the COM
pletion of the committee by the addi-
ton of six Republicans and Victor /.
Berger. the only Socialist in Congress-
IL Is likely to stand as a body ready to
attempt the settlement of the most in
trlcate problem of city government that
can he furnished anywhere let alone in
the District of Columbia.
Three Old Members Retained.
As vas announced some time ago in
these columns. the craftsmanship of the
committee went to Representative Ben
Johnson. OF Kentucky As ranking Dem
there vi hn ba
of the committee, Representatives Aiken
and Rothermel, the only old members
of the committee to be retained along
with Chairman Johnson.
James A. HamiII, of New Jersey, has
had experience as a lawyer in Jersey
City. He was born there in 1877. He
served four Une-year terms in the New
Jersey house of assembly, during the last
two of which he was minority leader He
is considered to be well fitted for service
on the District Committee.
John A. NJ Adair. the fifth man on the
committee. halls from the far-famed Jay
County. Ind He was born in 1865. He
was admitted to the bar in 1895, after
serving in the Indiana general assembly.
Election as president of the First Ma
tionaI Bank of Portland. Ind, in 1904.
caused him to abandon the law and to
enter the ranks of the Indiana money
kings. Mr.. Adair is serving his third
term in Congress.
Started in Life rs BOotbIhck
Carl c. Anderson. of Ohio. served in
the last Congress as a member of the
Committee on Indian Affairs and PEN
sions. He finds coveted promotion in his
assignment to the District Committee.
Like several well-known members and
Senators. he started life as boot
black. in fremont Ohio. He is thirty
four years old. He was twice elected
mayor of FoStoria, and is at the present
time president of the Fostoria Board of
Trade. Mr.. Anderson considers that he
knows something about city government.
Judge Martin Dies is the first Texas
member to serve on the District Com
mittee since Representative Burleson left
it. He was born in Louisiana. in 1870.
He served as district attorney and county
judge in Texas. Judge Dies attained
prominence in the House last
winter through his manifesto, sent in cir
cular form to the newly elected Demo-
Gratis, setting forth that the committee
places were to be gobbled by the mem-
bers of older service, and that only the
pickings were to be left for them. The
picturesque language of the circular i'm
put copies of it at a premium.
From Arkansas. the District Committee
has William A. Oldfeld, who was born
in 1874. He soldiered during the Spanish
war. and then returned home and resumed
hsi practice of law. He served two terms
as prosecuting attorney before coming
to Washington as Congressman, in 1859
The District Committee has drawn the
new member of rare old Irish name,
George +. O'Shaunessy, of Providence,
r. I. Mr.. O'Shaunessy for years
watched his chance to seize the oppor-
tunity of representing the Democrats of
the First district. He entered the lists
against Representative Sheffield last year
and was swept into Office. He is a law
yer and an orator of ability.
Henry George, jr., wrote from New
York that an assignment to the Com
mittee on the District of Columbia would
be pleasing to him. AS the son of the
great political economist, he long had
been known to the members having the
committee assignments in charge. His
wish was granted. with the result that
q close student of civic affairs has been
placed on the committee.
Edmund ]. Stack. Of Illinois, was the
man who had the .temerity to sally forth
in the old Lorimer dist let OF Chicago
and 60 after the scalp of Eugene Mox-
ley. AS a man of experience in the af-
fairs of a big city, the District Com
mittee was considered the proper place
to assign him.
Travelling Man in List.
c. O. Lobeck, of Omaha, is the travel
ing man of Congress. Years ago, before
allying himself with the municipal gov
Of Omaha as a Republican. he
regularly Travelled various railroads in
the West with line Of hardware sam
plies. He later became a Silver Republi- |
can. and then a Democrat. Mr.. Lobeck's
knowledge of city government. as glean- |
ed in Omaha, no doubt will be of great
service to the District Committee.
William c. Redfield halls from the |
borough of Brooklyn, where he served |
for a long period as a commissioner of |
public works. When II was learned that |
be would be q member Of the next House,