The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-30
Topeka STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
washington, D. O.
THE RECORDS OF CONGRESS.

| washington, D. c., Jan. 27.-The
records of the proceedings of the
great legislative bodies of the world
have been properly kept and pre-
served for a relatively short period.
For many centuries the British par
lament rigidly excluded any one cor
/ responding in the remotest way to
the modern newspaper man. and even
! such chroniclers as would CORRESPOND
to the present day official reporters
of debates Samuel H. Gray. one OF
the official stenographic reporters of
the house of representatives has spent
several years going into the whole his
tory of legislative 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
publishing anything that occurred in
parliament.
In those days Edward Cave was the
proprietor of 1.-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 had occurred, and Johnson
would not merely outline 1t, but write
cut 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 often
est when parliament was not in ses-
sion. Also, as a further safeguard,
the accounts of the debates were
headed Parliament of the Empire of
/ Lilliput." The names of the speak
ers were skeIetonized or slightly
changed, but an intelligent reader
could place accurately each speaker.
johnson did not particularly relish this
job, and told Boswell a few weeks be-
fore his 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 of
Commons had been so relaxed that
people were admitted to the gallery,
put no potations could be made.
\ Woodfall, without taking a single
note, would write at the conclusion
| or each session as much as l 5 news
paper columns of the debates, and
sell this to the afternoon newspapers
performed even more rmarkably
| When the days session ended, he
would post himself between two COM
positors, and from memory keep up
a running fire of dictation of two diff
ferent 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
| Inc - f1a1
paper, invented the relay system of
reporters. This system is followed
in a highly perfected manner, to this
very day in every legislative body of
consequence. One of the men en-
ployed as a reporter, was none other
than Charles Dickens, before he set
all England. laughing with NJ. Pick
wick and Sam Weller.
f Dickens had worked in a similar ca
pacity on sheet called 1.-The Mirror
OF Parliament" before the purchase
OF the Morning Chronicle by
Perry and Gray.
Even now the house of commons
is not entirely reconciled to it's official
reporters. They are stationed in a
small sort of a gallery not having the
privilege of the floor, as in our senate
and house of representatives AS a
result much of the actual wording of
speeches is lost. and much of the rec
ord of the British Parliament is writ
ten III the person on IldC ac-
count The newspapers have a corps
of stenographfc reporters present also.
The official corps and the newspaper
corps check their records one with
the other.
There exists among the parliament
tary rules governing the British par
lament provision that any member
can call the attention of the speaker
to the fact that there are strangers
in the gallery and the speaker then
must order the strangers removed.
J This would clear the gallery of all
, newspapermen. OF course. the rule
has been allowed to become a dead
letter~and is preserved more as as a
curiosity than anything else. Should
! any member ever bring this question
quickly nuf1ify the ancient law.
Older Records Not Authentic.
From diaries, memoirs, and per-
} sonal papers of old time members. 1t
has been possible to compile more
or, less fragmentary record of the pro-
ceedings of parliament all the way
| back to the Norman conquest of Eng
: taken these records as authentic and
, first-hand, aitho they cannot. be ac-
cepted in this class.
The first records of the proceedings
: of our own congress were semi Off
cial, beginning in 1S4S. An organ
called the Congressional Globe" was
= published with accounts of the pro-
: ceedings of the house and senate as
nearly exactly recorded as was posi-
BILE then. The relay system first in
: troduced in England was employed in
I reporting the debates of congress
p Records of congressional talk and
action before this date were compiled
from newspapers and other unoffi-
S cial sources by Joseph Gales. His sor
/ succeeded him in this work, forming
rf1 Coo
= ton. They published a paper called
S the 'Intelligencer." This publication
: carried accounts of some speeches and
i, debates and compilations of earlier
records until the establishment of the
s Congressional Globe" in 1S4S. Th5
= younger Gales reported the two princi-
: pal speeches made by Daniel Webster
. Young Gales and his partner covered
/ the proceedings of both the senate and
| house.