The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-26
The Records of Congress
BY FREDERICK J. HAsKIN

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 26-The
records of the proceedings Of the great
legislative bodies of the world have
been properly kept and preserved for
a relatively short period. For many
centuries the British parliament rigid
ly excluded anyone corresponding in
the remotest way to the modern news
paperman, and even such chroniclers
as would correspond to the present
, day official reporters of debates. Sam
uel II. Gray, one, of the official Steno-
graphic reporters of the house of rep
resentatives, has spent several years
going into the whole history of legis-
| lative reporting, with the result that a
remarkably interesting and accurate
historical account has been produced.
| Samuel Johnson, who came to Lon
! don to do any kind of hack writing
! that would insure him a living, was
! the first real reporter of the proceed
| ingS OF the British parliament, and he
| had to do it in a roundabout way to
avoid the legal consequences of pub
| fishing anything that occurred in par
! lament.
| In those days Edward Cave was the
! proprietor of THE Gentleman's Mag
azine," and because of an official po-
sition he enjoyed. was privileged to
hear the proceedings of parliament.
From the notes he made and from
memory he would sketch to johnson
what occurred, 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 correct
! In order to dodge the legal conse-
quences, these debates appeared oft
enest when parliament was not in SEES
sion. Also, as further safeguard
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 particularly relish this job, and
death that it was the only thing in his
writings of which he was ashamed.
Reporting From Memory.
Two remarkable men named Wood
fall and Radcliffe were the successors
to Johnson. By this time enforce
ment of the rules of the House o
people were admitted to the gallery
but no notations could be made. Wood
fall. without taking a single note
would write at the conclusion of eacl
session as much as Is newspaper col
umns OF the debates, and sell this t
the afternoon newspapers published
the next day. Radcliffe performe'
even more remarkably. When thu
DAVIS session ended he wOuld nos
himself between two compositors, ant
from memory keep up running fir
of dictation of two different portion
of the proceedings to the two men
fast as they could set the type.
Two Englishmen named Gray ant
Perry then purchased the "Mornini
Chronicle" and in order to get tn
proceedings of the parliament 70
their paper, invented the relay sys
tenn of reporters. This system is 70
! lowed, in a highly perfected manner
to this very day in every legislatlV
body of consequence. One of the me
| employed as reporter was none othe
than Charles Dickens, before he sc
i all England laughing with Mr.. Picl
? wick and Sam Weller.
Dickens had worked in a simila
r capacity on a sheet called THE Mi
: ror of Parliament" before the pul
: chase of the Morning Chronicle" b
4 Perry and Gray.
Even now the House of Commons
e not entirely reconciled to its officia
1 reporters. They are stationed in
S small sort of a gallery, not having tn
privilege of the floor, as in our senat
e and house of representatives As