Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-30
SILENT PARTNERS
LONG ON us. Jobs
Careers of Capitol Employees
and Specialists Cover
Many Years.
BY WILL +. KENNEDY.

three score years. regardless of politi
cal party affiliations.
In both Senate and House there are
veteran members who have been con
spicuous in the public eye. and who
have been heard throughout the length
and breadth of the land. But they
are out-numbered and out-distanced In
longevity record by several score men
and few women, who, have kept the
legislative machinery in motion from
their seats behind the scenes.
These workers came to the Capitol
as boys, most of them as pages or
messengers, and they stuck. They
came to know all the moves and ges
lures of parliamentary procedure III
the making of laws and the service OF
lawmakers and hlazed the trail as the
business of Government expanded and
multiplied Their youthful zeal has
mellowed and been tempered into most
expert and efficient routine service.
Shuey Nestor of All.
Nestor of them all is Theodore f,
Shuey, who has not missed q day S
work at the Capitol in SO years. Mr.
Shuey is dean of the official reporters
and for almost three years has
been taking down the senatorial ora
tory. He began his long career at
the Capitol more or less by chance.
In 1868 Col. Crutchfield of Rich
mond, Va, publisher of Literary Pas
time, decided to remove to Baltimore
to publish a weekly paper and offered
Shuey a position. Shuey started for
Baltimore. but never having seen
Washington, decided to stop off and
get glimpse of the city. Washington
appealed to him, he found an open
ing at the Capitol and remained here.
On February 2, Mr.. Shuey will be 80
years old He is a native of Augusta
County, Va.
In charge of the Congressional
Record at the Capitol is William A.
Smith, better known as Andy" who
has been on the job for So years. He
has lived in the District since 1868.
He went into the Government Printing
Office in 1873 AS the first messenger
appointed in the the proofroom, and
served under all 10 public printers
but the first once, Cornelius Wendell.
The Government Printing Office start
ed that year to print the Congress
sional Record, which previous to that
was known as the Globe. w. H. Col
Inns, afterward chief clerk of the G. P.
o., was in charge of the Record at the
Capitol for two years and then Andy"
Smith took the work over.
Assisting Mr.. Smith are two Con-
gressional Record messengers, for the
Senate and House, respectively. Sam
Robinson, after 46 years work. is well
called the wheel horse" of Congress,
for he rides his bicycle all over town
each night collecting speeches that
members of the House have held out
for revision. Billy Madden performs
q tic ~ <-sI ID
where he has been on duty nearly 40
years.
Jake Cameron 48 Years On Job.
For AZ years Jake Cameron has
been connected with the office of
official reporters of debate in the
House and for 35 years he has been
at the Speakers desk in charge of
assembling all the transcript of de-
bate for the Congressional Record.
Fifty-two years ago Joel Grayson
came from Virginia and served six
years as a page in the House. For
the last as years he has been indis-
pensable to members in the House
Document Room, for he is the only
man alive who can put his hand
readily on any old bill or report or
speech. This daily service to both
Republicans and Democrats led to
Mr.. Grayson being signally honored
some years ago in having his name
written into the law, so that he is
one of two men in the whole Govern
ment service who have their salaries
appropriated in their name.
The other is Henry M. Rose, as.
sistant secretary of the Senate, with
a background of 80 years of high
grade work. From 1900 to 1905 he
was chief clerk of the Senate. In
1905 he was about to take the post of
collector of customs at Detroit, but
the Senate protested and passed a
resolution creating the Office of as
sistant secretary for him by name
ana liking a salary of $1,000, which
was exceedingly good in those days.
Illustrating how the increase in leg
aslative business has forced a speeding
up of the machinery, the reading style
OF John G. Crockett, chief clerk of
the Senate and reading clerk for 20
years, is in distinct contrast to that
Of Mr.. Rose. Mr. Crockett had pre-
Wously attracted attention for expedit.
ing procedure as reading clerk in the
Iowa Assembly, so Senators Dolliver
and Allison brought him on to Wash.
ington, where he won the job of read
ing clerk in the Senate in q notable
contest against 49 candidates.
1t is rather a contradiction in terms
to mention reading clerks among
silent partners" of Congress, but the
House also has two veteran employees
in this capacity who are performing
daily-A. +. Chaffee, who has been a
House employe for % years, and P. j.
Haltigan, whose resonant voice Is
known all over the United States as
lecturer and as reading clerk at
Democratic national conventions and
who has been reader in the House for
10 years.
Record Of William Tyler Page.
Forty-five years ago boy--the great
great-great grandson of Carter Brax
ton. who signed the Declaration OF
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. from Cumber
land, Md, wearing q homespun suit
of clothes that his mother had sat UP
two nights to make for him. He still
had the CRIME of printers ink in his
hands that were swollen from starting
at piecework press feeding in a paper.
bag factory. He had been forced tc
leave school when he was 10. He
came as page boy In the Office of clerk
Of the House and he is today in charge
of that office, self educated and vel
educated, an expert on the Constitu
ton and history of Government, au
thor of THE Americans Greed" and
a handbook on congressional business
That Is the record of William Tyler
Page, who now signs some 5000
checks a month, being in charge o.
the housekeeping business for the Ma
tional House of Representatives.
Mr.. Page is also executive secre
~
centennial of Washington's birth, o
which the President is official chair
man. And Mr.. Page gives credit TO
much of the efficiency with which h,
dispatches such a large volume O
work to his assistants, especially I.
Miss Lily Mcconnell, who has beef
his clerk for 13 years.