The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-26

Washing tOL, ~ ~ JAIL So Az
records of the proceedings OF the
great legislative bodies of the
world have been properly kept and
preserved for a relatively short pc
Rod. For many centuries the Brit
ish parliament rigidly excluded
anyone corresponding in the re-
hottest way to the modern news
paper man, and even such chroni-
clers as would correspond to the
present day official reporters of
debates. Samuel H. Gray, one Of
the official stenogra phic reporters
Of the house OF representatives has
spent several years going into the
whole history of legislative report
ing, with the result that a remark
ably interesting and accurate his
torical account has been produced.
Samuel Johnson, who came to
London to do any kind of hack
writing that would insure a living.
was the first real reporter of the
proceedings OF the British parlia-
ment, and he had to do it in a
roundabout way to avoid the legal
consequences of publishing any
thing that occurred in parliament
In those days Edward Cave was
the proprietor OF THE Gentleman's
Magazine, and because of an Off
cial position he enjoyed, was priyi-
legged to hear the proceedings of
parliament. From the notes he
made and from memory he would
sketch to Johnson what had oc-
CURED and Johnson would not
merely outline it, but write out
lengthy debates, the language of
which was his own, but the action
portrayed being painstakingly cor
rect
In order to dodge the legal con-
sequences, these debates appeared
oftenest when parliament was not
in session. Also, as a further safe
guard, the accounts of the debates
were headed Parliament of the
Empire of Lilliput" The names of
the speakers were skeletonized or
slightly changed, but an intelligent
reader could place accurately each
speaker. Johnson did not particu-
larly relish this job and told Bos-
well few weeks before his death
that it was the only thing in his
writings OF which he was ashamed.
Reporting From Memory.
Two remarkable men named
Woodfau and Radcliffe were the
successors to Johnson. By this
time enforcement of the rules OF
the house Of commons had been so
relaxed that people were admitted
to the gallery, but no rotations
could be made. Woodfall, without
taking a single note, would write
at the conclusion of each session
as much as Is newspaper columns
afternoon newspapers published the
next day. Radcliffe performed even
more remarkably. When the days
session ended, he would post him
self between two compositors and
from memory keep up a running
fire or dictation of two different
portions Of the proceedings to the
two men as fast as they could set
the type.
Two Englishmen named Gray
and Perry then purchased the
Morning Chronicle" and in order
to get the proceedings OF the par
Lament for their paper, invented
the relay system of reporters. This
system is followed, in a highly per-
fected manner, to this very day in
every legislative body OF conse-
quence. One Of the men employed
as reporter was none other than
Dickens, before he set all
England laughing with MIR. Pick
wick and Sam Weller
Dickens had worked in SINH
lar capacity on a sheet called THE
of Parliament" before the
purchase Of the Morning Chron-
icle' by Perry and Gray.
Even now the house OF commons
is not entirely reconci1ed to its Of
fetal reporters. They are station
ed in small sort of gallery, not
having the privilege of the floor,
as in our senate and house of rep
reSentatives. AS a result much of
the actual wording Of speeches is
lost and much of the record of the
British parliament is written in the
third person on that account The
have corps of stenog-
raphic reporters present also. The
official corps and the newspaper
corps check their records one with
The other.
There exists among the parlia- |
mentary rules governing the Brit
Ssh parliament provision that any
member can call the attention of