Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-31
Capital Sidelights

National House Of Representatives
has had as one CT the most important
aids In the prompt and orderly trans
action of business q "hole in the WALL
about which visitors to the Capitol are
very seldom told.
Over the stairs, just opposite the Of
flee of the House leader in the Speak
er's lobby, Is a window about foot
and q half in diameter. This Ia the
hole in the WALL" and behind it is n
small room, less than by IL feet in
size, with entrance through n narrow
door from the House chamber. This
little alcove room Is lined double thick
from floor to ceiling with books of
ready reference which the members OF
the House may want to refer to dur
ing debate On the floor.
| For more than 20 years George Sa-
bine was the presiding human en-
lcyclopedia Of ready congressional ref
erence" in this cubbyhole; since then
three have tackled Inc Job-one dleu'
another could not stand the pace. The
present surviving incumbent, who is
librarian for the House, is Harry +.
Halves, who has been on the job lit
tie more than a year, and who is CIV
Ing excellent service. He Is O book
lover, ana Is specializing on the In
trfcate and unique job to which he sue
ceeded after making an index of the
journal and keeping history OF bills
Tor the House Journal. Before coming
to help Congress he was Secretary Oh
the Sena.e IN Maine.
The real library Of the House is in
the lower corridor of the House Office
Building, but during debate In the
House chamber members frequently
want to know all sorts of things and
to get authoritative references-then
they call on Librarian Halves.
| This pigeonhole library contains all
he records from the first Congress-
md in the earlier days these were
compiled by private parties. and were
AnoWn as ANIMALS, debates and the
Globe. 1t contains also all the laws
ioIiI The first congress TO the presen.
lime, all letters and messages of the
Presidents, all document indexes and
Congressional Directories, besides law
wurhs, encyclopedias. works on the
; Constitution and few miscellaneous
works.
Old records for the most part supply
i, he information that members OF the
House are seeking in a hurry for use
n debate The calls are widely
varied. For example, on one day
here was an inquiry as to where Lin
coin boarded while he was in Con
gress, the search disclosing that II
: vas house on the grounds now oc'
,upied In part by the Library Of Con
! gress A few minutes later Mr.
, iIawes was asked to look up an amend
.nent offered by Garfield in the
Thirty ninth Congress, following the
Civil War;. bearing on the publicity
OF tax returns; and then, right on tor
, of that, came a call for complete IN
ormation on when the House switchet
away from the custom Of making ap
preparations for specific projects anc
adopted lumP-sum appropriations foi
rivers and harbors Improvement &c
be expended In the discretion OF the
Secretary of War. OF course. such in
uuiries necessitate work for severa
DAYS each to prepare adequate re
plies. Back In the early days the
records were often indefinite and the
ndexing poor. so the desired infor
nation is often very hard TO dig out
This ready reference "thumb-nail
library is on the Democratic side
, 1t Is on the opposite side of the Hous'
=. chamber from the Republican seats
Not infreauently during debate ooIi
Republicans and Democrats are seek
ing information on the same subject
, and each side is careful not to tip the
, rival parties off to what they want
This causes trouble and delays.
. The Republican membership Is nov
considering plans for putting In :
, new ready reference library on II
own side OF the House chamber, ant
thus provide adequate facilities for bot
Republicans and Democrats. This i:
believed to be progressive step u
facilitate consideration of legislation
, &*
, Miss Alice" Robertson, formerl.
member of Congress from Oklahoma
9 and now a member Of the House pres
gallery, is a prime mover to max
r easier the lot Of other women who ar
, now ii. Congress or may later com
5 bore. Oftentimes Miss Alice wa
! physically fatigued, but forced by
sense of duty to sit in the Hous
, chamber awaiting action on som
. measure Both Republican and Dem
e ocratic members have lounging room
S to which they can retire and lie dow
S for a half hour or so. with page o.
! guard to awaken them when thei
( presence is needed on the floor tn
e lady member had no such restroom
e and she felt more reluctance to fallin
asleep in her chair In the House, OF
served from the gallery, than mos
, male members do.
t Now there are three woman men
= bers OF the House, and more said t
s be coming. William Tyler Page, cler
3 Of the house, has hearkened svmps
|. thetically to miss Alice's" plea fo
Q restrooms for woman members, an
e Speaker Longworth, who Is chairma
e 1T the commission that Drovides qual
n tiers for all House members and Hous
l. activities. has said he believes 1t woul
be a good idea. SO future generation
e Of congresswomen are likely to rise u
t and call Miss Alice" blessed.
. The linotype machine that wa
. used at Gen. Pershing's headqual
: most confidential communications o
! the general staff Of the America
|, Army now occupies place Of homo
!, in the worlds greatest battery of lint
= type machines in the Governmer
. Printing Office. The Pershing m;
chine is a model No. s linotype {
q American manufacture, but was oris
: inallv equipped with a French Ike,
!, board and designed to cast slugs lowe
2 . than the American height.
o The machines were provided wit
). gasoline heaters to melt the type me
n al. but this equipment was so DANCE
GUS on account of frequent explosions
from which the operators had sewers
narrow escapes, that electric heater
were secured from the United State
When Gen. Pershing decided to e
tablish printing plant at his heat
quarters In Chaumont he detailed Ma
e w. w. Kirby to procure the necessar
n equipment in France. Maj Kirb
located two linotype machines in
II small French printing Office. and. d.
2. spite the protest Of the French Nil
e tary Commission, transported them b