Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-03-10
TBy Oliver Owen Kuhn.]

Beneath the great dome Of the ma
tional capitol are the treasure houses
OF congress. IT. them are not kept
great hordes of silver and gold, but
there are things more precious than
either. Thru the rich Accommodations
carefully stored away and as carefully
guarded there may be traced the &C
tual iegisla tive measures of decades
and decades. Thru the hundreds and
hundreds of tons OF matter the temper
Of the nation as reflected thru those
august statesmen who have made up
American congresses. may be traced.
Here are bills, resolutions, laws and
htreaties bearing the names of all ma
tional legislators who have woven
piecemeal, year after year. the great
legislative fabric that has made this
government the greatest republic on
the face Of the earth, it's people the
most satisfied.
Few Of the thousands Of nephews
and nieces who come visiting Uncle
Sam during his working hours. and
gaze with awe down from the galleries
, upon the senators and representatives
arguing on the floor Of congress know
. that without a moments there can be
supplied any document that has ever
been printed by the government rela-
tive to any subject that may be under
legislative consideration.
1t is an Immense task to keep all
such papers year after year 1t re-
quires careful and complete filing sys-
TENS to always have them where they
can be found for ready reference. But
there they are in the document rooms
Of both house and senate.
When any one Of the ninety-six SEN
ators or ABS representatives or hum
dreds of members Of the fourth estate
wants a copy Of bill he wants 1t IN
hurry. And that's the way he gets 1t.
There never is any delay in service In
the document room. owing to the eX-
cellent system OF filing whereby any
employee can lay his hands Immediately
upon any one Of the millions upon mil
lions of documents tucked away in fire
proof compar tments.
The majority Of the visitors at the
capitol never get an opportunity TO
look in at the valuab BILE dusty and time
stained documents preserved beneath
the capitol dome which Is part Of the
domain Of the congressional document
rooms. Even the famous old Daniel
Webster room. directly over the SUI
preme court to which that statesman
was accustomed to retire in confer
ences, is part Of the senate suite.
'Suite"-It's the sort of suite that
would drive a careful housewife to
distraction. One little cubby hole. hall
room, circular, winding compartment
after another, now UP few steps.
again down, twisting and turning every
which way.-That's the layout Of the
document room sutes-some in what
might be called the attic Of the cap
itol. others what are called the
trenches" in the basement. They are
quaint catacomb- like recesses that give
a visitor a feeling that he Is treading
among the graves OF departed states
men.
The senate document room entrance
is from the gallery floor and 1t recedes.
twisting and winding thru eight COM
partments thru and around the dome.
The entrance to the house document
70 om Is Off Statuary Hall leading from
the .rotunda of the capitol on the
chamber floor. 1t twists around a CEN
trail office and delivery. room and then
climbs up wandering iron stairs to the
very dome. It jumps down two flights
into the basement unOer the mouse
chamber where the heavier books and
older accumulations have been placed
in the trenches" with a battery of big
rat traps which prevent their being
carried off by raiders. ..@
Whenever bill or resolution Is pre-
scented to congress for consideration it
is printed and copies are available for
all who may desire them In reasonable
quantities. At every important stage
of it's life as it goes thru the legisla-
tive mill the bill or resolution is print
ed again with whatever revisions have
been made The treaties are not
printed until proclaimed after they
have been ratified, except in such cases
as the Nicaragua treaty which was
ratified and made public by special
order Of the senate.
Besides these bills. resolutions laws
and treaties, the document rooms must
keep copies Of many bulletins and pa
pers issued by the various federal de-
partments and bureaus. In the senate
document rooms all bills and papers
are filed by numbers. This system Diff /
fers frern that used by the stpsr!r-
tendent of documents in the govern.
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