Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-25
LINCOLN AND CLAY'S HAT TREE
GIFT FULFILLS WISH OF 40 YEARS
William Tyler Page, Clerk of House, Gets
Relic He Longed For When
Page Boy.

|, What is believed to be the oldest
piece of furniture in the Capitol
|building-an umbrella stand and hat
tree on which Henry Clay, Daniel
Webster, John c. Calhoun, John
Quincy Adams and other famous
statesmen were wont to hang their
"stovepipe" hats, was presented yes
terday to William Tyler Page, clerk
of the House, as wedding anniver-
sary gift from. his associates in the
clerks and disbursing office.
The gift was a complete surprise
to Mr.. and Mrs. Page. He had long
expressed a desire to own it and had
tried to buy it when it was discard
ciates cooked up a scheme on him
and a fake auction was held in which
IT. F. Mcguire. assistant disbursing
clerk, outbid Mr.. Page. His assoc
ciates then had the stand restored,
Mr.. Page understanding that it was
to be taken to the old home of Henry
Clay. He prepared a letter setting
forth the historic associations of this
old relic. Then after he had read
this account Mr.. Mcguire in behalf
of his associates presented 1T to Mr..
Page with a silver tray.
History of Oldest Piece.
Mr.. Pages history" of the old
piece of furniture Is as follows:
IF the old-fashioned hatrack and
umbrella stand which you recently
purchased from the House of Repre-
Sentatives could talk it would tale
unfold that would reveal an inside
history of some of our greatest
statesmen that for human interest
would surpasS anything of which we
have record. But, unfortunately it
stands only as mute but neverthe-
less eloquent reminder of a time and
of men who left the impress of their
lives and deeds upon the history
of our country. Inanimate as 1t is.
its very design, its carvings, and its
stately dignity bespeak the atmos-
phere and companionship of the long
line of American statesmen whose
stovepibe silk hats found Judgment
upon it's carved and ample pegs.
1.-The exact date or time when this
old hatrack was made. when pur-
chased, and the cost, if ever recorded,
is not known-and it matters little.
Certain it is that it's genesis was
some time in the forties, the decade
in which Henry Clay was returned to
the Senate and when John Quincy
Adams was in the House after his
service as President. Then the Sen
ate met in the old Capitol. now the
Supreme Court room-there were no
wings as at preSent-and the House
met in what is now statuary hall.
The distance from one TO tne otner
chamber was not as great as 1t is
today-just across the rotunda-and
fraternizing there in the center of
the building was easier between Sen
ate and House members than 1t is to-
day-and they had many things in
common. This old hatrack which
you are taking to Lexington, near
Clay's estate. which was Ashland,
probably is the last piece of the old
furniture in the Capitol used by Clay
and his contemporaries, unless, per-
chance, in or about the Supreme Court
chambers. there remains like relic
which ] doubt.
There in Clay's Time.
L Forty years ago, when I was a
page boy in the House, this old hat
rack was venerated by men whose
memories ran back to Clay's time
and it was even admired in those