Evening star., 1924-07-20

Congress who has served at
any time during the last SO
years and he will promptly tell you
that he has been and still is one of
the most valuable workers Uncle Sam
ever had on his pay roll.
In fact, Congress, as the great law
making body of the land, has for
mally gone on record in attesting it's
appreciation of the indispensable
quality of Mr.. Grayson's services by
writing it into the statutes that he
shall continue to hold his present post
as presiding genius of the House doc
ument room, a job that was created
for him, and that he-can be removed
only by special act of Congress
signed by the President of the United
States
He has the distinction for thirty
hVe years of being tho only person
in tho whole government service
from the President down to the hum
blest charwoman-whose pay is ap-
propriated from the Treasury in his
own name. Others, of course, are
named in the appropriation acts, but
their pay is for statutory jobs and
goes to whoever holds the job, while
in Grayson's case the job was created
for him by virtue of the fact that he
was the only pers>n who could do the
work, and the job dies with him.
Made Special EmpIoye.
1t happened this way: He came to
Congress in 1875, as a page. under
the patronage of Representative John
T. Harris. Seventh Virginia district
about the same time that "Uncle
joe Cannon made his legislative
debut. But Grayson has never missed
session of Congress in the years
that have rolled by since, while
Uncle Joe" has, both volunta rliy and
Unfortunately. During the first six
Years Joel Grayson was page and
then was shifted over to the House
document room, where the law desig-
rates him as "a special empIoye."
This legislation was put through by
Judge Sayers of Texas, then chair
man of the appropriations commit
tee. because of GraySon'S familiarity
with the bills, resolutions, reports
executive communications and acts
Incoming majorities of either party
hunting for patronage berths, had
been shunting Joel from post to pill
lar, giving his job other titles while
he continued to do the same work
AS it is now fixed by federal statute,
the job dies with him.
Joel Grayson is often referred to
by members of Congress in debate
and in committee hearings as an in
valuable and Indispensable employe
VINO is invariably appealed to as an
authority in regard 20 old bills and
acts and the history of legislation
So his pay is not al all in the nature
OF a pension. He has a wonderful
who is in doubt regarding bills and
resolutions calls upon Mr. Grayson
and gets set right.
There is no one who can find old
documents but himself. In ten large
dungeons in the basement of the
Capitol that resemble the famous
caverns of Luray, Page County, Va,
near which Mr.. GraySon was born.
March %, 1858, there are more than
a half million documents and books,
many of them now out of print and
containing valuable da ia. Then there
are fully a million and a half tucked
away in the attic of the Capitol
There are two rooms away up under
the roof. over what used to be the
hall of the House and which is now
Statuary Hall. A hole was cut in
the wall and these rooms made for
Mr.. Grayson's use. They are reached d
has filed in an orderly way all docu-
mentS from the Nineteenth to the
Forty-second Congress. Again, in the
portion of the garret over the old
greSSional Library, Mr.. GraySon has
disposed of all documents from the
Forty first Congress down to the
present time.
Alone Can Find Documents.
No one else can be depended upon
to find just the particular document
in these millions of dusty copies ex-
cept Grayson. And this includes cep-
les of all the laws. Up a spiral stair
case from the business office of the
House document room are some cub
byholes, and in these Mr.. Grayson has
assorted the public laws from the
Thirty-seventh Congress to the F'if-
tieth.
Mr.. Grayson has endeavored by