Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10
Capital Sidelights
RY WILL p. KENNEDY.


Dayton, Ohio. one Of the most versatile
headline grabbers in Congress, is hob
nobbing during these torrid days with
the dignitaries of the newest great
nation, the Emerald Isle, kissing the
famous Barney Stone, shaking his thirst
at the Meeting of the Waters" boat
ing on the beautiful Lakes of Killarney,
climbing the Giants Causeway and
testing the sturdiness of the stored
junting cars.
Representative Fitzgerald is deep OF
chest, wide OF girth, cordial in hand
clasp and tireleSs in his acqu1sitiveness
about the best interests of his fellow
men. He swan the Hellespont, tum-
bled down a mountainside in Alaska,
was the original pioneer Flying Con-
gresham" and has generally done his
share OF seeing the world.
He was captain of Infantry in the
American expeditionary forces during
the World War and Is lieutenant colonel
in the Infantry Reserve Corps. He has
been president of the Federal District
Bar Association. He belongs to the
Sons of the American Revolution. the
American Legion and the Mountaineers
OF Seattle; an honorary member OF the
Grand Army of the Republic and the
United Spanish War Veterans. He was
delegate in 1927 to Paris and in 1928
to Berlin conferences of the Interpar-
liamentary Union in the interests OF
codification of international law-and
that's why, following the work OF the
London Conference, he is being enter
tanned so laVishly in Ireland these days,
with headquarters in the Royal Hi
bernian Hotel, Dublin, as guest of the
Irish Free State.
He has proudly sent us a picture OF
himself being greeted by the governor
general at the iatter's garden party,
backed up by Prof. Jere O'Sullivan,
minister of education; Representative
Ruth Bryan owen and the American
consul, Benjamin M. Hulley.
Representative Fitzgerald writes that
he had pleasant talk with Desmond
Fitzgerald, minister of defense; John A.
Costello, the attorney general: Michael
Hayes, speaker Of the Dali Eirean, and
other officials OF the Irish Free State.
* X
This campaign Is bringing out some
of the old-timers, incongruous bed
fellows" OF politics and some nationally
known characters. Take, for example,
Alfalfa Bill" Murray, so named be-
cause ne was the first farmer to grow
alfalfa in Oklahoma and an inveterate
booster for that crop.
Now, after being out OF politics. and
about everything else, for more than q
decade, he comes back with q smash
ing defeat in the primaries OF an oil
millionaire for the Democratic nomina-
ton for Governor by some 10000 votes.
He Is "hitch- hiking" his way to the
Governors chair. Almost penniless, and
not hiding that fact, he Is stumping his
State, begging rides and boarding
around" with his friends.
Like many another man who mas
made q name for himself, at the age OF
IL Murray ran away from home with
less than so cents In his pocket. He
had never gone to school and could not
read or write. He picked up job on
Texas farm at $3.50 month and
started in to educate himself, with such
success that after going through high
school he taught school, started news
paper, took q law course and was ad-
mitted to the bar.
Then he moved to the old Indian
Territory, opened law once and
drifted back to farming. When Okla
homa became a State, Murray helped
primed himself with copies of the con-
situations of all the other States, which
he studied on the front porch Of his
three-room log cabin. This work made
him Speaker of the State Legislature
and brought him to Congress.
He is a perennial frontiersman with
a complex or converse against too much
civilization. So, six years ago he
trekked to Bolivia, talked that govern
ment into giving him a concession and
started an Oklahoma colony there
which fizzled out. The colonists all de-
veloped a hankering for home, and last
to leave was Alfalfa Bill'' himself
broke.
If elected, Murray promises that he
will live in the garage back OF the
Governors mansion, rent the palace. ;"
which he declares is too grand for him:
fire the gardener and raise his own
truck"
The ravages of time on one OF the
Capitals historic structures have just
caused the cutting away of some OF the
brownstone trimmings in the interest of
public safety. The old red-brtck build
ing, in the French Renaissance style, at
Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania
avenue, occupied for many years by the
United States Court of Claims, was
originally built for the Corcoran Art
Gallery. James Renwick was the archi-
tect. Eleven exterior inches encircing
this building at the second-story leve!
were formerly occupied by statues OF
sculptors and artists, executed by M.
Ezekiel.
This building was completed in 1889,
but was not opened to the public as an
art gallery until 1873. because 1t was
taken over during the Civil War for use
by the Quartermaster Generals Depart
ment.
The Court Of Claims was established
by act of Congress in 1855 and had
general jurisdiction over all claims
founded on the Constitution OF the
United States or any act Of Congress,
except for pensions, and on any con-
tract with the Government. The court
has been given specific Jurisdiction over
claims reaching into billions of dollars
growing out of the World War. Among
the famous claims adjudicated In this
court were the French spoliation claims
and those arising out of the Civil and
Spanish American Wars.
This court has an interesting gallery
of portraits of famous American juristS.
For many years the benches used in
this court were those originally made
for the United States House of Repre-
sentatives when it first occupied what
is now Statuary Hall at the Capitol.
Recently some of these were taken back
to the Capitol and are now in The ro-
tunda. Such famous statesmen as Dan
iel Webster, Henry Clay, John Ran
dolph and John G. Calhoun occupied
these benches during the heydays Of
their careers.
1t was recently discovered that it was
necessary to chisel off loose portions OF
the broWnstone trim of this historic
structure, which threatened to fall.
Time has proved that the builders put
these stones in wrong. Instead of plac-
ing them so that the seams would be
horizontal they were set up perpendic-
ularly, and successive rain. snow, ice,
freezing and thawing for many years
have eaten into the stones, so that por-
tions of them were on the verge Of
falling.
Two large bronze lions, cast from