Evening star., 1926-11-21
Capital Sidelights

AECUlfOS Va - AiOtAOh s~A ~ NAA~
basis of its history" and it is because
extreme care and precaution should
be taken for their existence and to
make them readily available to stu
dents Of history that an archives
building ID to be erected at Twelfth
street and Pennsylvania avenue 10
properly house these priceless docu'
ments.
While each Government establish.
ment has a precious store OF records,
the state Department Is the custodian
of perhaps the most valuable and In.
dispensable Of the historical papers OF
the Nation. The laws OF our land'
the Federal statutes and other I'M
portant papers such as treaties "ltn
other nations. the proclamatlons ano
executive orders Of our Presidents
never detertorate into mere scraps OF
paper." for they are carefully pre-
served. The Journals Of the Cont
mental Congress and the proceedings
Of the Constitutional Convention form
part of the State Department
archives.
Here are kept the original copies OF
all the laws passed by Congress from
the very beginning Of the Govern.
ment. incidentally. the first Federal
statute was passed on June i. 17SS.
and was to regulate the time and
| manner of administering certain
oaths There is no official record OF
the number Of these Federal laws. but
that they reach a stupendous total ie
indicated by the fact that one recent
session of Congress passed 2s0 public
laws, 81 public resolutions and 10
private acts.
While Congress iB In session these
original copies are kept in a special
safe in the State Department. and at
the end Of a session they arc bound
and stored in steel casea in the sub
basement Of the department,
The early laws, ornateay written by
hand on parchment and bound In
calfskin, make very large volumes
They are signed by the greatest men
in thehistory Of the country. for each
act must be signed by the Speaker OF
the House, by the Vice President OF
other presiding officer I'm the Senate
and by the President
+% 49,
The treaties negotiated by the
United States Government With other
nations, 748 I'm all. make another
important historical collection which
| the public "wots not Of" Uncle Sam
treasures the original document az
signed by the negotiators. which ID
the real treaty. This is often rather
informal and unsightly copy. because
they scratch out and inter1ine as they
go along. There is also kept what ID
| known as an Exchange copy, or
perfect draft after ratification
Frequently this exchange copy "a
beautifully gotten up. engrossed on
parchment and ornately embellished
~ <1,A 0rfa
| into these reflnementS much moro ex
tensively than this country. So, some
Of these official copies OF treaties are
bound in morocco or velvet. and some
| of the older ones are in special cab
inets Of intricate workmanship. Some
| OF the seals of foreign governments
affixed to these treaties are extremely
decorative, with ribbons and even gold
| tassels. Some English seals are hvs
| inches IN diameter ana enca4ed in q
| special silver box to prevent their
| being broken.
There have been 1,7sS presidential
proclamations, every one of which is
preserved in the State Department
archives. These include such histor-
ical documents as Lincoln's Emanci'
| patton Proclamation.
These proclamations are equivalent
to acts Of Congress.
There have also been 4.644 execu.
tive orders, which also are kept In
the manuscript division.
Hundreds Of other interesting his.
torical documents are found in these
archives. Formerly the original OF
the Constitution Of the United States
| was kept there. but this was recently
| moved to the Library Of Congress,
| where a special shrine was built. be-
cause the State Department did not
have the space or facilities for keeping
| 1t where 1t could be readily seen by
the people Of this great country who
wished to see the corner stone Of their
Government.
There are still many manuscripts
connected with the. drafting Of the
| Constitution and all the papers tela'
| tive to the 10 amendments to the
Constitution under Mr.. Dw1ghts
custody.
The people of the United, States
do not stop to realizes that the Presi
dent takes no part in the mechanical
work Of amending the Constitution
as we in Washington are now asking
that it be amended to grant us
national representation. Congress
drafts the proposal, which is signed
by the Speaker Of the House and the
President Of the Senate. This IL then
sent to the Secretary Of State, who
submits 1t to the governors Of the "a
States, who in turn lay 1t before the
State legislatures.
When these Legislatures have acted
either approving the proposed amend
1 -
| their action is transmitted to the
Secretary Of State. when the legis
latures Of three.fourths Of all the
States have acted favorably upon thu
proposed amendment the Secretary OF
State formally proclaims 1t as q valid
amendment to the Constitution
X *
The documents showing the results
In a presidential election are also pre-
served in the State Department
archives.
The electors Of the several States
meet and cast their votes. The
results are transmitted to the Secre
tary Of State, who lays them before
Congress. The mechanics Of electins
a President is a subject which the
public seems to know little about. ever
though It is the highest privilege OF
their right OF suffrage. and is sci
forth in article Of the Constitution
*sk
A large number of documents sub
sidiary to treaties are also preserved
For example, regarding the boundary
between the United States and Canada
which depends chiefly on the Treaty
Of Ghent. after the War Of 1919.
Under that and other treaties bound