Evening star., 1923-04-01
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

The Constitution has been versed
for the National Association for Con-
stitutional Government by Col. Archi-
bald Hopkins. its first vice president.
| who nearly threescore years ago led
the advance against Lee which forced
his surrender at Appomatox, April Q.
1865. The preamble in verse is an
follows:
| We tfe United States people
| Union more perfect to make,
! And Justice impartial to 'stablish,
! On bases that nothing, can shake.
Peace TO insure in our borders
| For the common defense to provide,
To promote every citizens welfare.
And that Libertys blessings may bide.
\ For ourselves and for those who come after,
| Do esta blish and hereby ordain
| 4 Republic with this Constitution
Which we trust may forever remain.
| "Uncle Joe" Cannon has gone back
\ to Danville. III. which he put on the
! map, after nearly haif-century in
! the House. and since he announced
his intention to retire 1t has been
| quite the tad among his colleagues
TO have their pictures taken with
| "Uncle Joe" But there is one man
who more than any other has been
Uncle Joc's" best friend and helped
70 make him beloved throughout the
land. That's L. white Busbey, who
| has been Mr.. Cannon's secretary for
| twenty years. going with him first in
| 1903. when Cannon became Speaker.
| Busbey has never had his picture
| taken with Cannon.
AS a matter Of fact, Busbey was
never hired by Mr.. Cannon. lie was
| drafted as clerk to the Speaker. The
| first thing he knew was on the morn
Ing after Cannon was elected Speaker,
| when Busney found a note tucked in
the letter slot in his Office door, ask
ing him to call at the Speakers Of
| flee the next morning before the
House went into session. When he
did so, Mr.. Cannon said. before an
Office full OF people: 81 want you TO
| take that desk and run this Office"
Busbey protested and Cannon replied,
You're drafted"
Cannon explained that he had heard
there are people who believe there is
news In the Speakers office. He
wanted a man who knew news. knew
| tho men in the press gallery and had
their confidence Without consulting
Busbey he had stopped off in Chicago
and seen the editors OF the Inter
Busbey had been running. and fixed IL
! up for Busbey 10 be released TO be
the Speakers clerk. He wanted a
man in the Speakers room who would
be Speaker when the Speaker was
out-and for eight years Busbey was it,
When Cannon came back on March
4, 1915. after a vacation from the SiA-
ty-third Congress. the first thing that
Busbey knew was when South Trim
BILE, then clerk Of the House, notified
mons secretary. Again he protested
| that he had not been consulted. The
clerk hire was then $500 and Eus
bey was earning $4,000. But again
at Cannon's insistence Busbey made
the personal sacrifice. and for eight
years earned his living outside the
| office by writing.
X y X
Claim that all Of the great southern
m elodies were written by q Pennsyl-
vanian Is made by Representative /.
Clinton Kline, who is just leaving
Congress. He pointed out that "OJd
| Black joe" The Old Folks at Home"
and Ny Old Kentucky Home" were
all written by Stephen Collins Foste-
| OF Pittsburgh. Pa. He proposed that
| monument should be erected by a
| grateful people to one who wrote
those folk songs and set music ring
| ing in the hearts OF the people around
| the world
The last copy Of the Congressional
Record for the Sixty-seventh Con.
| gress. containing q number of long
I speeches under extension of remarks,
including some fifty pages by Senator
Tom Heflin of Alabama, which cost
the government some thousands of
dollars, has provoked L. discussion
among Capitol veterans about the
practice of having speeches printed in
the Record and then sending out
! many thousands OF copies.
| 1t IS recalled that E. O. wolcott,
senator from Colorado from 1859 10
1901. made a speciality OF getting out
speeches: He had many copies Of the
! Monroe doctrine printed and had 1G0,-
! 600 copies distributed Of one speech
/ on bimetallism.
! Representative Tom L. johnson of
| Cleveland, Ohio great single tax
| exponent. had Henry Georges single
\
/ was objected to at first, but Johnson
| got around that by having a number
Of democrats insert different portions
| of the book, SO that with eight or ten
J working IN relays the whole book
| eventually got in. Then Johnson had
a million copies printed, not in the
government printing Office. as is Gus
| tomary, but by New York firm.
| These were distributed free 10 any
| members OF Congress who cared to
send them out.
| Back in the elder days members
used to make a specially OF getting
up an attractive title page for the
| speeches they mailed out 20 constiu-
| uents. Sunset" Cox, representative
| from Ohio and New York, who was
! elected speaker pro tempore, was a
title page expert, and after him came
Representative William l.. Wilson of
West Virginia, later Postmaster Cen
! eral. New members especially came
1 to these two for help in fixing up IN
/ attractive title page. In later days
| more for this on Andy" Smith the
| government printing office represent
J ative in the Capitol, who has been on
the job for forty-eight years.
| At one time Representative Galusha
A. Grow of Pennsylvania, who served
as Speaker in the Thirty seventh Con
gress, about 1900, had 100000 copies
printed of one Of his speeches on free
| coinage OF silver. About the same
| time James X. Jones, a senator and
repr esentative from Arkansas, who
was chairman of the democratic ma
| tional committee, sent out hundreds
OF thousands of copies of spaeches on
Tree coinage by Senators Dick" Pet
| tigrew of South Dakota and Dave
Turpie of Indiana.
| One OF the we'll remembered
speeches sent flooding the country
| was on popultsm by Representative
| Rhoderick Dhu Sutherland of Ne
braska, who served two terms as a
| populist.