Evening star., 1936-03-08
Capital Sidelights
By VIII p. Kennedy.

Congress is building up one of the
worlds best botanical collections which
attracted 1896 visitors last year.
Orchids is one of the specialties in this
new drive to improve one of the veteran
institutions in which the Capital visitors
are particularly interested-and already
the collection includes Is varieties of
orchids including "a distinct species
1t was less than two years ago that
Congress took over the old Botanic
Garden, under its Joint Committee on
the Library and placed it under the
administration of the architect of the
Capitol The effort has been made to
develop the garden in such a manner
and make it place of ever-increasing
interest to horticulturists and botansts
AS we'll as students in these fields of
learning and to the general visiting
public.
There has resulted a decided change
in the direction of procurement and as
Sembllng of larger varieties of plants
and flowers. Horticulturists, botanists
and students have been attracted by the
rareness and flneness of the species that
have been added.
In addition to the orchid collection,
plants procured last year include: Azaleas.
26l varieties; herbaceous perennials 189
varieties; crotons, 40 varieties; bromelia,
56 varieties; iris, % varieties; evergreen
plant material, 80 varieties; dracaenas,
26 varieties; tulips. 81 varieties; chrys-
anthemums, 20 varieties-and thousands
of others.
In "Statuary Hall" at the Capitol
there has been retained one statue from
each State contributing - the others
have been placed in appropriate positions
In corridors. Sixty-eight statues have
been contributed by the States. OF these
"a were received from 80 States. Four
States-Oklahoma, Idaho Minnesota and
Arizona - have contributed one statue
each. All of the Eastern Middle Atlantic
and Atlantic States are represented, as
are all the Southern States, with the ex-
ception of Louisiana. The Western
States unrepresented are Colorado Mon
tana. Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico.
North Dakota. Oregon. South Dakota,
Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
There is being created a hall of the
Presidents in the rotunda of the Capitol.
There have been placed the statues of
three Presidents of the United States,
bought by Congress-Abraham Lincoln,
Ulysses S. Grant and Thomas jefferson
To these have been added satues of
three more Presidents presented by their
respective States-George Washington,
from Virginia; James A. Garfield, from
Ohio, and Andrew Jackson, from Ten
neSSee.
Many members of Congress are now
using home movie cameras in connec-
ton with their legislative work Some
OF them loan their movie films through
out their districts to various organiza-
notwithstanding the work of a Con-
gresham, certain activities of the Gov
ernment of special interest and value in
their districts. or the scenic beauties of
the Capital City. Some use their cam
eras directly in connection with their
legislative duties. For example, when
members of the special subcommittee
studying traffic in Washington went up
in bllmp with the superintendent of
trafflc, William A. Van Duzer and the
major and superintendent of police,
Earnest w. Brown, to look over the traf-
nc tangle from the air, they took their
cameras with them, SO that in discussing
the trafflc problems they can throw these
pictures on the screen and visualize the
actual situation as they saw it. All
three OF the subcommittee members
MAKING these trips operate small movie
Observation-Disclosures Schultz Gn-
DIANA. Carpenter Kansas) and Reed
illinois.
It's quite job to keep the wheels of
legislation grinding. The Capitol group
nf hlli1Hinuc o;f,
selves. In the legislative appropriation
bill now being drafted, the pay-salary,
day wages or emolument-is carried for
some 10000 persons. You start with 96
Senators and 435 House members. Then
you have their secretaries and other
clerks, clerks to committees the Capitol
police force, pages in Senate and House,
the clerical force of the Senate and
House. official reporters of debate and of
committee hearings, and the mainte-
nance and housekeeping force. which in
cludes janitorS, charWomen, artisans of
all sorts, engineers elevator operators.
walters, etc. The disbursing officer of
the Senate has 1,150 persons on his pay
roll and the corresponding paymaster
for the House has ], ,463. Under the archi-
tect for the Capitol come the engineers,
elevator men, artisans, ETC., to total of
847. In addition, $50 temporary per diem
employees are on construction and MAIN
tenance. All Of these workers, number
ing over 1000, are employed daily in the
Capitol and Senate and House Office
Buildings. In addition to this the legis-
lative bill carries the pay for 1881 ex-
perts, and other employees in the Library
of Congress, $50, and in the Government
Printing Office, $3.50, making a grand
total of 1881 persons helping to make
legislation. And then you pyramid onto
that the vast force of those who help to
administer and enforce the laws-and
who interpret thefl -t