Evening star., 1926-11-28
Capital Sideligghts

Connally of Texas, a member OF the
House foreign affairs committee:
''It has been 140 years since through
revolutions we drove the armies OF
a king from our shores and emerged
from a colonial form of government
and became the great Republic OF
the |Set. 1t was not many years
after our struggle for liberty had
made us nation before the French
people, laboring under centuries of
monarchy, laboring under centuries of
oppression, rose in their wrath and
struck from their cramped. limbs the
chains of slavery. 1t was not long,
during the period from 1910 to 1920,
catching inspiration from our own
example and that of the FRENCH be-
fore the Spanish colonies of Central
and South America set on foot revolu-
tions that brought them independence.
little later the spirit of revolt swept
through the monarchies of Europe.
The same tide of revolution against
the old system has been progressing
all through these years, and it is on
the march now. 1 think l can hear
the footsteps of the peoples of the
earth marching on the way from king
doms and monarchies to lf-govern-
ment."
X X j: x
When the Federal Archives Build
ing, or Hall of Records" is erected
in the S5O,0 900 program for Wash
lngton to redeem the triangle south
OF pennsylvania avenue to the Mall.
every agency of the far-flung Federal
service will contribute many valuable
ana interesting documents, which will
be available for students of history
and research
For example, the General Land Office
mas an original land patent granted
py George III of Great Britain to
James Baird for 10000 acres in Flori-
Ga in 1875. This document is written
on parchment 25 by 32 inches. to
Whlcf. the seal OF King George is at
tachei. This seal is made of brown
wax, and is Az inches in diameter
and one-half inch thick. 1t is secured
10 the parchment with a piece of fad
ed blue ribbon pressed into the wax
Other parchment original land
patents in the General Land Office
are signed by Andrew jackson,
James Madison, James Monroe, John
Quincy Adams and John Adams,
which were exhibited at the St Louis
and Panama-Pacitic international ex-
position at San Francisco. Thus it will
be seen that visitors to Washington
when on sightseeing trip through
the public buildings will have an op-
portunity most any day in the year
OF seeing on permanent exhibition all
the treasured memorabilia of the
Government which have been attrac-
tive features at great international eX-
hibitions and world fairs.
Bounty land warrants for military
c,n1s .S1.~~
Robert +. Lee, Abraham Lincoln,
Ambrose E. Burnside, Ulysses s.
Grant, w. S. Hancock and Winfield
Scott will be included in these his
toriCal documents.
OF great historical interest is land
relinquishmen of 500 acres in the vi
cinity OF New Orleans, which had
been given to "Maj. Gen. Lafayette"
by act of Congress. lie relinquished
the land because of the difficulty of
locating it. This document is on
parchment and signed by Lafayette
With Congress coming back and a
new session opening, the compilation
of an up-to-date issue of the Congress
sional Directory is in progress. The
growth of this most handy reference
pOON' WHICH oCIllC vi TIE DIS5 city
libraries have reported is their most
used book, is remarkable and it's his
tory interesting. Senator Moses, chair
man OF the joint committee on print
ing, has for the last three years been
engaged on a very valuable work
winch Will correct and combine into
one permanent record the biographies
OF all those who served in previous
Congresses.
Prior to 1920 apparently no effort
was made to keep Il history of Con-
greSs, or a directory of its members.
The first publication approaching the
dignity OF a congressional directory
was compiled and printed by Daniel
RapIne, agent, 1920 1t is a small
volume of some 40 pages and contains
the names OF the members of Con-
gress; the names and local addresses
or the heads of the executive depart
ments; an imperfect list of American
Ministers in foreign countries, and an
list of Washington, d. c.,
boarding houses. With succeeding ses-
SlonS OF Congress similar publications
from time to time.
At the beginning of the second ses-
sion of the Thirty-eighth Congress, a
resolution was unanimously adopted
providing for the compilation and
of the first Congressional
Directory, under the supervision of
the JOINT committee on public print
inS. The committee held numerous
sessions, obtained and examined like
publications issued in foreign coun-
tries, and finally decided upon a work
similar in essentials to THE House
of Commons" published in London
since 1852.
Biographical sketches first appeared
in the directory of the third session
of the FOrtieth Congress in 1869.
The work of preparing and publish
ing a permanent biographical direc
tory, to include all the preceding Con-
crosses, was first undertaken by
Charles Lanman in 1859. 1t bears the
imposing title Dictionary of the
United States Congress-" There have
been at least six subsequent editions
which We're intended to give up-to-
date and authentic biographical data.
Since Mr.. Lanman'S last volume, how
ever, the succeeding compilers ap-
pear to have done little more than to
add to the permanent volume such
as could be obtained from
the periodical Congressional Direc-
tories. 1t seems that no effort to cor
rect, revise or perfect the work of
the earlier compilers was made, and
thus numerous errors were perpetu-
ated
The present committee has under
taken the work Of general revision
and verifcatiOn. It has not only care
fully caused the contents of journals
and records of debates to be searched
but it has also engaged a staff of en-
ployes to consult all available bio
graphical publications; has made spe-
cial appeals to Government deposi-
tories, public libraries, historical as
sociations, pOstmasters and State
county and municipal officers. as well
as to individuals, for specific and gen
eral information. Every biography III
this volume has been corrected and
revised.