Evening star., 1932-04-17
Capital Sidelights
BY VILE p. KENNEDY.


tive appropriation bill, which is before
the House as unfinished business, and to
which the pay-reduction and economy
measures are to be tried out as riders
for protecting legislative interests by
making Elmer A. Lewis, superintendent
of the document room, a permanent fix
ture, just as his predecessor, Joel Grav-
son, was for more than 40 years The
unusual procedure of appropriating the
salary for this Office in the name of the
individual is being followed Just as IL
was inaugurated in the case of Mr..
Grayson.
During hearing on the bill it was en-
phasized that this is a position which
requires man of long training and
experience, familiar with old documents
and their history, as well as to have all
the new measures, bills. reports and re-
lated material promptly available at the
call Of any member of Congress Mr.
Lewis was trained under Joel Gravson
who had devoted his life to the work
and has been on the job there for IL
years.
Joseph j. Sinnott, the doorkeeper of
the House, who has been an employe
at the Capitol for nearly 40 years, an
pealed to the Appropriations Commit
tee to continue to appropriate for this
job in the name of Elmer A. Lewis, F"
saying that under the new Democratic
regime there would have been untold
confusion but for the experience and
efficiency of Mr.. Lewis. Il do not know
what would have become of our service
in the. document room" said Mr.. Sin
mott. Before he had that position, /"
Mr.. Sinnott continued, Joel Grayson
was carried in there for nearly 40 wears.
&c
must have some one in that lob all the
time TO get service, especially when
changes take place in the House politi-
cally hope you gentlemen will con-
tinue him"
Members of the committee literally
tumbled over each other, to testify. in
very extraordinary tribute to Mr..
Lewis. Representative Ludlow of IN
diana, said, He is very efficient. -
Representative Hardy of Colorado. said
He knows more about that work than
any 40 Congressman you could get to-
gether." Representative Ludlow further
stated that "Mr. Lewis has a most
phenomenal memory, and can locate
any document Immediately" Doorkeeper
Sinnott climaxed the discussion by say
ing, you cannot learn that Job in a
day. 1t takes a lifetime to really
know it."
Then along came Representative
Blanton of Texas, a member of the
committee at later meeting and said
In my judgment Mr. Lewis is one OF
the most valuable men we have In the
Capitol You can go right down there
now, ask him for any document or any
bill or any report In which you are in
terested and he will not put you off q
Gay. He will get it for you immedi-
ately. He knows exactly where it is
He knows more about the past history
OF bills and reports and public docu-
ments and public acts than any man ir
the building" Representative Hardy
extended that to "any man In tht
United States and Mr.. Blanton accepted
the amendment
He is a second Joel Grayson," con-
tinued Mr.. Blanton. Joel Grayson was
SO valuable that they carried him in the
bill by name. He was the first man ever
carried by name in the bill Lewis was
his protege. He was put in there lust
before Joel Grayson died. He has been
carried by name in the last five bills
l hope the committee will continue that
practice and make it permanent as II
was in the case of Joel Grayson.
He has helped me, I suppose, 5000
times since 1 have been in Congress
I can go there and ask for something
right now and he will get it for me i'm
mediately, If you gentlemen have had
occasion to call on him I am sure you
have found him the greatest help in
the world"
That's the way some of the veteran
employees about the Capitol occasionally
have it brought home to them that
their work for many long years is ap-
preciated. They are the key men who
Keep the machinery of legislation run
ming smoothly behind the scenes, no
matter what changes there may come
IN party shifts or changes in commit
tee ehairmen.
Although it is approximately decade
ago that Congress decided to have the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture cease and desist from its benefac-
ton of many years in distributing free
through Members of Congress flower
and vegetable garden seeds that made
the entire United States bloom and
flower and produce-some members of
Congress are still getting requests for
the seeds.
Perhaps it is this period of depression
that has made many people think of
the nice home gardens they used to
have through this free-Seed distribu-
ton. At any rate Representative
Allen T. TreadWay of Stockbridge,
Mass, has been driven frantic during
the past week by hundreds of letters
daily asking for various quantities of
any and all seeds that Uncle Sam is
giving away. And Mr.. Treadway's
clerks have t. answer all these letters
saving that there is no longer any
congressional distribution of seeds.
The legislative counsel employed by
Congress has been busy for the past
seven weeks on one of the meanest jobs
it has ever tackled-Whipping into form
for legislative action the almost count
less pay-cut and economy proposals that
have been considered by the Special
Economy Committee of the House and
in working with the Budget Bureau in
drafting the economy proposals of
President Hoover.
Middleton Beaman, the legislative
counsel, explained to the Appropriations
Committee the other day something
about the work of his Office 1t con-
sists of q branch in the House and one
in the Senate. 1t was created in the
revenue act of 1918 in the Spring of
1919 Just as the Democrats went out
of power. The office was created to as
sist the committees of the two Houses
in drafting public bills and resolutions.
That Office has nothing to do with poll
cles. 1t simply helps the committees
in the legal work of writing the bills
SO that they will carry out the commit
tees intentions.
Probably 80 per cent Of the work of
the office consists in helping the COM
mittees TO analyze the problems before
them, so that they may determine what
their policy is. The actual writing of
the language probably takes the least
time of the Office.
Charles F. Boots, legislative counsel
for the United States Senate agreed
with Mr.. Beaman that the biggest part
of their work is in finding out exactly
what is wanted. Many times the COM
mittees have a general idea that some
thing should be done. 1t may be done
in five different ways. The legislative