The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-02-26
BY RODNEY BUTCHER
(NEA Service Writerl


BY RODNEY BUTCHER
(NEA Service Writer)
Washington, Feb. 26.-Once IL was
considered honest enough for both
houses OF Congress to turn back their
clocks and continue to function. in
stead Of dying decorously promptly
at noon on March 4.
And II a president-elect, to say
nothing of a hundred thousand or
more spectators. were kept waiting
for the Inauguration ceremony, what
of that?
The Hon. William Tyler Page has
served IN Washington through doz-
en- inaugurations and his memory. as
the Hoover Inauguration approaches.
goes back to the time when President
Chester A. Arthur and President-elect
Grover Cleveland were forced to cool
their heels outside the Senate cham
Der while Congress passed a bill for
the financial relief OF an ex-president,
Ulysses 8. Grant.
Mr. Page is clerk of the House Of
Representatives. He Is widely known
as the author of the Americans
Greed. He has served IN the house
far longer than any elected member
OF that body, for he went there as
page boy aged Is years and is now
60 years old.
As q page boy. he played no unim-
portant part in that clock pushing
drama which attended the first in
auguration of Cleveland in 1885. He
came to Washington in 1881, but just
missed the Garfield Inauguration. Ed
ward MACPHERSON. who had just been
elected clerk Of the house, wrote and
asked hts mother II she had a boy
old enough to be q page In his office.
william Tyler was a printers devil
and Mrs. Page sat up all night to
make him homespun suit. He came
from Frederick, Md, to take the Job
1t $50 month.
Cleveland had grand weather for
his first inauguration and tremend-
Gus crowd" he recalls, for his was
the first Democratic victory since be-
fore the Civil War. Everybody said
the weather was Cleveland luck
Pennsylvania avenue was seeth-
ing. milling mass of people here for
q typical old-fashioned Inauguration.
And Washington was packed full of
state militiamen. Pennsylvania alone
sent $1,000 troops and the problem of
housing them all was so great that
they were allowed to sleep in federal
buildings.
\ \ \
"As the fourth OF March dawned
Congress had been in session all
night. for the house was tied up with
filibuster over the contest Fred
erick Of Iowa had made for the seat
OF lamar JIM Wilson, who later was
secretary Of agriculture under Nc
Kinley. Roosevelt and Taft.
THE corridors Of the Capitol were
TANNED with people and men in uni
form were sleeping all over the place.
Not 2 seat in the galleries was va
cant. for they were ideal sleeping
places.
1.-THE Frederick Wilson contest,
which had been pending all through
the 46th Congress which was now
about to expire, had been before the
house for several days, and appar-
emily 1t would still be up at noon.
Filibusters in the house were easy
then because the rules permitted
dilatory motions. which were often
pyramided. Roll calls were demanded
and those on the filibustering side re-
Trained from voting so as to break
the quorum. On this particular occa-
sion . great deal of legislation, in
GLIDING appropriation bills. was held
Up.
The Democrats had q majority.
but some Of them favored the bill
which the Senate had passed to put
ex-President Grant on the army re-
tired list with q lieutenant generals