Evening star., 1933-03-12
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Romney. This very efficient oficez
runs . bank for the benefit Of the
members, where they cash their
checks. etc. incidentally, 1t was the
only bank in the country open the
other day during the banking holiday
The "Rogues Gallery" Is made up OF
framed photographs of all members Of
the House. hung In groups by States
It's prime service is to afford identifi-
cation Of members. not only when they
present themselves to have checks
cashed, but 1t also enables members
to find out each others names after
they have met casually for the first
time.
The overhauling now In progress is
the most extensive ever done since the
gallery was first set up more than half
a century ago. It will probably not be
completed for months to come, until
all the portraits are In of uniform
size. As there are 1853 new members
this means culling out that many
whose terms have expired and SUBJ
stituting the new photographs. But
some States have lost seats under the
reapportionment while others have had
their delegations increased in size
Therefore, there must be not only
the taking down of one picture and
hanging up of another, but an entirely
new grouping by States.
This "Rogues Gallery" Is one Of the
interesting sights for visitors to the
Capitol.
n II -
The "ex-convict" member Of the
House, sworn in on Friday after his
colleagues were convinced that his
term In Leavenworth penitentiary was
more in the nature of political perse-
cution" for an infraction of postal
regulations In "seno ng scurrilous mat
ter through the mails" and not the
result Of moral turpitude-Represen
tive r. H. Shoemaker Of Red Wing,
Mimi, displays on the license plate on
his automobile q number he is not
likely to forget. It is 38163-the num-
Der he carried while an inmate of the
penitentiary. He considers his service
there badge of honor, because 1t
came to him as q result Of q bitter fight
he made to protect the meager inheri-
tance Of widows and orphans.
Now this fellow Shoemaker is living
down bad name, and has really con-
trtbuted something worth while to his
fellow man. You have heard the
watermelon peddler singing his song
watermelon. ripe, juicy watermelon,
red to the rind." Well. after IL years
Of experimentation in his back yard
Representative Shoemaker of Red
Wing, Mimi, has produced an apple
that is red ripe clean to the core-and
- hot xxr1x1 ral
pulp. Hort rticulturists are making fur
ther experiments IN an effort to i'm
prove its quality. Some day soon Mr.
Shoemaker will be placing q real red
apple on Speaker Rainey's desk.
The new baby" member of the
House, Repres cntative Joseph P.
Monaghan Of Montana-who is only 26
years old-is pretty wise" about hav-
ing his office run properly He has
picked for his secretary a young
woman who has spent her entire life
making q closeup and intimate study
Of how the wheels go round in the
legislative machinery. 1t was her
dad" Representative Edward w. Pou
Of North Carolina, dean of the House,
now serving his thirty-third year in
Congress. who represented the House,
riding in the automobile with Presi-
dent Roosevelt on Inauguration day.
MIS-. Margaret Pou Moran was born
while her father was in Congress and
has had daily association with the most
intimate phases of legislation especially
since her father has been chairman
Of the important Committee on Rules.
Also. during the past two years she
helped Senator Morrison of North
Carolina to run his Office.
There was a new word coined in the
House the other day-by Representa-
tive Frank Oliver of New York. 1t has
been approved by William Tyler Page
former clerk Of the House, who is
recognized as something Of q purist in
terminology.
While talking on the repeal of the
eighteenth amendment to the Consti-
tuition, Representative Oliver said:
This question will not be settled by
the hierarchy of any church, but by
the lcwerarchy."
Heirloom furniture, historic desks and
chairs have never been cherished very
carefully in the Capitol. There are q
few restored benches in the Rotunda
that were originally in the hall of the
House of Representatives, now known
as Statuary Hall. and which were SUBJ
sequently used in the Court of Claims
Building. And there are few crystal
chandeliers that came out OF the White
House.
However, there Is q wonderful desk
habilitated, that is more than 100 years
old, and was last used by the famous
Speaker Thomas Bracket Reed OF
Maine, who was Speaker in the Fifty
first, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Con-
crosses, closing his service in 1899
This very remarkable piece Of furni-
tlre has been restored as labor OF
love by william F. Ochsenreiter, prop
erty custodian. 1t has been placed in
the beautiful marble caucus room In
the House once Building, where it is
attracting much attention from visi-
tors.
South Trimble, clerk of the House
intends to have proper disposal made
of this historic desk as soon as Con-
gress takes care Of the Presidents 8
emergency relief program. The sug-
gestion has been made that it be placed
in the National Museum. Another sug-
gestion Is that when the new Supreme
Court Building Is completed that the
present Supreme Court chamber be
turned into q Museum for the proper
display of such historic pieces.
This desk, which stands nearly Is
feet high, was originally In the small
ONCE, then occupied by the Speaker
and now by the House leader, in the
short corridor between the Speakers
ofnce and the Speakers lobby on the
south side Of the House chamber.
The history of the desk Is being
looked up by DR., Charles Fairman,
curator Of art work in the Capitol
who is author of an elaborate work on
that subject. There is a picture of the
old desk in Volume of the large vol
umes recording the construction Of the
Capitol.
The screws used In the desk are of
the ancient vintage that were SQUARE
on the end instead of pointed as are
screws today. It is made of dark wal
nut and Is elaborately decorated. There
are three large doors above the writing
shelf, which open upon racks fol
books. and each of these doors is a
LARGO mirror moro thon fo1a Ls~L