Evening star., 1925-10-18
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

THE oldest man living who
served in the Congress OF
the United States is not
Il the world-famous Uncle joe
Cannon of happy. cigar
s1anted memory about Capitol Hill
hut one William Wallace Crapo o.
New Bedford, Mass, now 95 years
old, years older than Uncle Joe,
though Cannon came to Congress two
years before Crapo did.
The United States never had 2
president for one day" even though
the latest general biographical Con
gressional Directory. published il
1911. gives that unique honor tc
David II. Atchison of Missouri.
These are but two of many inter
esting items of information uncov-
cred i'll the preparation of a new
general directory. to keep history
straight for posterity regarding the
men who have made our laws and
about many of whom very little car
now be learned.
14-Year Task Nearing End.
For ii years Ansel Void. native OF
Minnesota, clerk to the joint com
mittee on printing. has been putting
his heart into the preparation of
this new biographical directory. and
since March Is, with force of 10
persons, he has been working inten
sively to get some 10000 biographical
sketches accurately prepared.
The new directory will contain an
authoritative biography of every
man who ever was in Congress since
1883, when it was first organized. be-
sides those who served in the Con-
tinental Congress. When you con-
slider that Alr. Void has sent out
1aft rah OF rai n
nation and Verihcation on each one
of these 10000 names, and as many
as 3 to 20 letters on most of them
and that many biographies have been
written and rewritten three or four
times as new Information or cor
rections We're received, you get some
idea of the magnitude of the work
and the care of the compiler to give
each man his full credit in history.
There has also been much research
work in the Congressional Library,
going through original records to
gather shreds of fact about individual
legislators to pass on. At times very
large number OF the staff specialists
in the library were working on the
material for this new history of our
Government. All during the Summer
this staff of searchers and classifiers
and biographers worked day and
night and Sundays to get the work
completed So that the very valuable
volume may be issued by the incom-
ing Congress. 1t will not only have
wide distribution in this country, but
will be sent to every library in the
world.
Delves Into Aged Records.
Away back into the hand-written
records of the Continental Congress,
Mr.. Void. as official biographer of
Congress, has gone to give proper
place in history to some men about
whom the existing Congressional
Directory is entirely oblivious. There
IS Philip Pell, elected from New York
State. who was the last delegate to
appear at the Continental Congress,
who was sworn in on Monday, March
>. 1888, served only one day and was
the only member to remain in at
tendance throughout that closing
day. One year later to a day the
first Congress of the United States
assembled. Mr.. Pell had a distin-
guished career in the American Revo-
luton.
Orlando HubbS, Representative
from North Carolina in 1881, is an
other man about whom the existing
directory is remiss, who was lost as
far as posterity was concerned. MIR.
Void has located him, still living.
and received letters in his own hand
writing. Mr.. Hubbs is now IS years
of age and resides at SmithtoWn
Branch, n. Y.
About our alleged President for a
day." Mr.. Void has exploded that
bit of fiction by ferreting out that the
Senate term of David r. Atchison of
Missouri expired on March 4, 1849,
and that thereafter he was a Senator
elect until sworn in again. He was
sworn in again under new credentials
on Monday, March 5, the same day
on which Zachary Taylor took the
oath of office. The Senate was a
continuing body" but as Atchison
was not continuously a Senator, he
had to be sworn in when the Senate
met in special session on Monday,
and thereafter was elected President
pro tempore before Taylor was sworn
in as President.