Evening star., 1932-02-21
Capital Sidelights
by WILL p. KENNEDY.

History is repeating itself. and
prophecy made more than 10 years ago
Is being fulfilled.
Fifty years ago young boy, dressed
in homespun, came to the Capital as
a page. He was direct descendant of
two of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence. but his family was in
such reduced circumstances that his
hands were swollen from working
overtime on piece work feeding paper
bags into press. and his mother had
sat up all night to make his homespun
suit.
That boy, by dint Of steady applica-
tion to his work. by being obliging and
by education. has remained in the
House ever since, and was for many
years clerk of the House. That was
William Tyler Page, author of The
Americans Creed"
Some IL years ago Mr. Page noticed
a young page who he thought prom
ised well. He became interested in
the boys efforts. He had the boy as
signed to special work at the Speakers
desk, in practically the same position
as he himself had started many years
before. Near the close of the session
Mr.. Page arranged for a special resolu-
ton to be passed assigning this boy to
work in the clerks Office. where he
has been employed ever since.
When he started work in the clerk s
Office Mr.. Page gave him a fatherly
dicted that II he would do his best he
might eventually fit himself to be
clerk OF the House He carefully
tutored the boy in the work of the
clerks ONCE, and explained to him the
reasons for doing certain things in a
particular way. Gradually the boy be-
came thoroughly conversant with the
duties Of the clerk Of the House.
The other day South Trimble the
Democratic clerk of the House, who re-
Gently succeeded Mr.. Page, wanted to
start on little trip South. Under the
rules he had to designate an assistant
clerk who would perform the duties of
clerk in his absence. He wrote a letter
to Speaker Garner, naming his selec-
| tion as substitute. which was laid be-
| fore the House and entered on the
Journal. as required by the rules of the
House-and he designated Harry New
| lin Megill, the page boy whom Mr.
Page had trained. and who is now per-
forming the duties of clerk, as Mr..
Page predicted decade ago.
= ~
hIly Ntc WHO otSlTeS 10 nave an inter-
esting library Of Washingtoniana- about
Washington the man and Washington
| the city-can get 1t, many of the VOL
umes free, through the George Wash
ington Bicentennial Commission and
congressional distribution, and other
volumes for the mere cost of printing
from the Government Printing Once.
There has never been a time when it
| was so easy to get 50 many human
| interest volumes about Washington, man
| or city, because these volumes are being
| published for the Bicentennial year
| This Washingtoniana library is both of
attractive artistry and high literary as
we'll as educational and historical value.
The Public Printer in his annual re-
| port called the attention of Congress
| particularly to the work being published
Under the heading Writings of George
Washington" We are told that good
progress Is being made in the printing
| Of the Writings Of George Washington,
monumental set of 25 volumes author
lied by Congress to commemorate the
Bicentennial Celebration in 1882 of
Washington's birth year. Three VOL
umeS have been printed and bound and
the text for six more volumes is in type.
A bill now pending in Congress provides
| that of the 1000 sets authorized for
sale by the superintendent of documents,
| those ordered not later than July /
1882. by public libraries and institutions
and societies of learning shall be priced
at $50 per set One thousand
additional sets will be printed for the
| official distribution designated by law.
George w. Jones of London, dean of
, master printers. who designed for an
| American company the Granjon type
used by the Government Printing Office
| for the first time in the printing of the
Washington books paid the following
! tribute to the Bicentennial publication
Il want to tell you how much I appre-
ciate the generously worded copy you
sent me 1t is neXt-doOr companion to
DR.. Bridges Testament of Beauty
These two books are my most chariShed
! because they are the most personal and
| intimate of my book possessions I can
not tell you how proud l am of them.
| II can well believe that beautiful work
such as this coming from the Govern
ment Printing Once will exert a big
influence on American printing. because
after all the purely 'highbroW' and the
g-after-effect' work is seen by a
comparatively few
| Other special publications in COM
memoration of the Washington Bicen-
tennial include An Account of the Vir-
ginia Campaign and the Blockade anG
Siege of Yorktown" by Col. H. A. Ian
ders. royal octave volume of 2l9 pages
printed in 12-point Kennerley type or
antique rag paper and profusely illus
trated by the offset process: The Cor
respondence of George Washington anG
Comte de Grasse.' from the Washington
1 ;yo hn il1~nr nf q
royal octave of 168 pages in 12-point
roman type also on antique rag paper
and 853 copies of the following PAM
phlets relating to Washington issued by
the United States George Washington
Bicentennial Commission THE Mother
of George Washington" Homes of Wash
ington." Family Relationships" Youth
and Manhood. Home Making of George
and Martha Washington" Social Life,
George Washington the Christian" the
Man of Sentiment" "A Friend and Pa.
tron of Music" the Leader of Men.
the Builder Of the Nation" the Mar
of Action in Military and Civil Life,
the President" and Year by Year,
and Programs and Plans for the Ma.
! tion-Wide Celebration Of 1882 of the
Two HundrAdth Anniversary of the
Birth of George Washington
|
| A book review of yorktown. 1881,
by Col. II. L. Landers, has been issued
by the press section of the War De-
partment: George Washington. re-
sourceful and successful commander in
chief of our ragged Continentals. is al
his best in the remarkable series OF
land and sea operations that eliminated
in the surrender of CORVALLIS at York
town. His masterful leadership in ef.
fecting the final concentration. involv-
ing the employment of French and
American troops in harmonious CO.
operation with the French fleet under
De Grasse. is ably presented in York
town. 178l.'
In preparing this book the author
has gone deeply into the most authori-
tative original sources and has studied
the ground with an appreciative eye fol
military values. His work displays no,
only professional military training. but
a breadth of view which embraces the
background of diplomatic maneuvers ir