Evening star., 1917-03-25

tees are meeting or reporting and the
subjects of their hearings; the statu:
of all measures before the Senate; Wha
the Senate has done, is doing and VIII
do before the day closes; what ap-
pointments have been sent up by the
President; what members are to make
set speeches and when, and whether
thI speeches have been prepared foI
the press; what writer's and newspapers
have been approved for listing in the
Congressional Directory; what public
documents have been issued that the
boys" ought to see: where every mem
Der of the gallery is or can be reached
at moments notice-thcse are only
part of the routine duties of the su-
,perintendent-
Plans Ahead for Events.
His larger work consists in planning
days, weeks and months ahead for
every great and every small event
which requires the services or may at
tract the interest of the corps of Wash
ins.on correspondents, wherever it may
be.
Mr.. Preston always is sergeant-at-
arms OF the press section at all great
national conventions. This means that
under the direction of the standing
committee of correspondents. he makes
all the seatinS arrangements and car
Preston begins his fight with the local
committees for adequate accom- m oda- =
tions in convention halls. hotels and
with the railroad aid telegraph COM
panies for the working newspa ar raen.
He makes repeated visits to New York.
Chicago or St. Louis as necessity may
demand, and directs personally the con
ventlon architect how to design the
press section. He distributes all tick
cts, answers all inquiries settles all
disputes and generally is the center of
all information and assistance for the
newspaper writers and editors of the
country. They all know him. and, al
though the standing committee of cor
respondents is the actual power behind
the throne. Preston sits on the throne
The energy, foresight and executive
capacity of this remarkable man are
little short of marvellous. Washington
correspondents religiously believe that
his duplicate cannot be found any
where.
Informed of Selection March "a.
March "a. 1897. President William Nc
kinley. who had just been inaugurated
held an informal reception in the ca ST
room of the White House to meet the
washington correspondents. To this
meeting was brought the news that the
standing committee had elected Mr.
old. Superintendent of the Senate press
saHery- The moment was an exciting
one. ana for while Preston held the
reception and President Mckinley was
only an interested bystander
The son of Herbert A Prestor tho,
dead, but who, for twenty-one wears
hau peen Washington correspondent
OF the New York Herald, had been EN-
pioye9 Tor year previous by Louis A.
SooHuse, now treasurer of the United
Shoe Machinery Company. then Gov
respondent of the New York Recorder
and the Boston Journal For three
years before that he had been with
the late E. B. Wight, correspondent ~
the Chicago Inter-Ocean. and the Ros-
ton Journal. with whom he had been
placed by the elder Preston. who he
neyed , that If the young man was to
mother had frequently contributeS
snort stories to daily newspapers and
an uncle was a newspaper man for
many years-Mr. Wight was the ono
man who could start him off in the
right way.
Only Two Employees to Greet Him.
On March %. was formally sworn
IN. says Mr. Preston. MY arrival at
the gallery was not greeted with stares
from the employees. eager to size nm
the new boss. There were onIv two
other employees. one an aged veteran
OF the civil war, slightly deaf and nm.
able to walk without a cane: the other
boy of thirteen. who was serving his
second session 1t was certainly a
session full of hard knocks, for NV
Ignorance OF the duties led me into
many mistakes. But to such mon as
Francis f. Leupp of the New york
Evening Post, and the late f G.. Dun
nell. 1 would go with my troubles and
I always found them appreciatiye and
neiprui- The work of the press gal
lery today is not the work l found
there twenty years ago. Today, with
TOUR telephones going busily all day
L wonder how the $50 correspondents
were able to get along that first busy
tarin session, with just one telephone
on the wall and that unprotected by
a booth. We had no typewriters then.
Today there are twelve, going most Of
the time"
Only Twenty in Present Directory.
OF the 151 correspondents listed for
the first session of the Fifty-ifth Con-
gress, the names of only twenty are
found in the Congressional Directory
today, and the service of some of them
has not been continuous Richard V.
Oulahan, now chief of the New York
Times bureau. was associated with the
old United Associated Presses that ses-
sion. Mr.. Oulahan was absent from
Washington little more than two
years, for twenty months as publisher
of the New York Sun and later as Lon
don correspondent of that paper North
q. Messenger has remained with The
Washington Star during the entire pe-
riod. Charles f. Kern, then one of the
Capitol representative of The Wash
tngton Star, later went with the Asso-
ciated Press and Is now correspondent
of the Oil City Derrick. Frank l. White
head, a former United Associated Presses
man, is now with the Washington Post
Edwin NJ. Hood, probably the best-tn-
formed upon State Department and in
ternational affairs of any newspaper
writer, has been continually with the
Associated Press. Arthur W. Dunn, for
Press force of the Capitol, now repre-
sents the American Press Association
Major Alfred J. Stofer. representative
of southern newspapers, was out of the
gallery several sessions. but has been
back for a long time. II. F. Tighe OF
the Hearst newspapers then repre-
sented the Washington Times
Long Service for Some.
A. Maurice Low. for quarter of a
century with the Boston Globe. now rep
resents the London Morning Post Louis
Garthe has remained continuously for the
Baltimore American. as have Charles A.
Hamilton. for certain New York upstate