The Washington times., 1936-02-29
NOW
Randolph BLinn
Has o. Word
PAGING PAGES
BY HELEN ESSARY

. i AUl1NU i AUEO
BY HELEN ESSARY
The letter that follows is one
Of the incest things that has
happened to this column since its
first Happy Birthday two years
ago. The letter was written by
Randolph Blinn, a fellow journal
ist, whose kindness will un-
doubtedly send him to Heaven
some remote day. Here is his
letter:
Dear Helen EsSary:
You started something when
you wrote recently that you
would like to know what becomes
of the Congress pages. You
started bells ringing in my head
where more important things
should be. Such as who will
carry Rapid City. South Dakota.
in the next election. l promptly
went down from the Press Gallery
to the Senate floor to see Carl
Loeffler, who ought to know
about pages if anybody does.
I can't tell you Ill 1 then
learned about pages because
there have been hundreds of
the boys about Congress, but
can give you the news about
few.
Let's start with that same Carl
Loeffler. Forty-seven years ago he
was page in the Senate and now
he is what is called Secretary to
the Minority. When the Repub-
licanS had command Of the Senate
he was Secretary to the Majority.
Think of this-for Al years he has
been listening to the Senate!
Naturally you would not remem-
ber. but there was once a Senator
from Maryland named Arthur Pue
German. He began his political
career as a page and years later
came back to snap his fingers
just like Senator AshurSt does now
in the same place he once had
been snapped at.
The banking business has
claimed Hilleary HoSkinson, who
is now capitalizing the economics
he heard when a page, as vice
president of the Riggs Bank. I
suppose they did not talk about bill
lions in just the same light-hearted
way in those days, but it was a
pretty good start.
Then there is another ex-page,
DR.. William Thornwall Davis, who
is by way Of being one of Wash
ington's leading physicians and
surgeons.
Major Gen. John M. Wilson,
onetime Chief of Engineers Of
the United States Army, got his
start on the pages roster. Who
knows but that the contacts he
formed there helped him into the
U. S. Military Academy and a
distinguished career?
Thousands Of persons all over
the United States have laughed at
. play called THE Henrietta"
Chat was years ago, tool, and
''The Two Dromios," and a LOT of
other comedies. The man with
the high, squeaky voice, who was
one of the two stars, was Stuart
Robson. I would not dare to say
that he learned his comedy as a
Senate page, because in those days
I expect everything was done very,
very seriously but anyway, you
can think about it.
Carl Loeffler told me a nice
story about Stuart Robson. Some
years ago he was playing in Wash
ington and he came up to the
Senate to look back on his youth
full days there. He got quite
reception. and in appreciation he
set aside a box or two that night
for the Senate pages. And they
went-and how!
Harris Crist. who used to be
managing editor of the Brooklyn
Daily Eagle. was a Senate page.
He was in the Press Gallery for
his paper for five years or so
before he became the big boss.
The Washington attorneys who
began as Senate pages are Alger.
non Handy. Frank Peckham. and
Elmer Bell.
Carlisle Nav, of Utah, was one
Of Senator Smoot's appointees,
He learned so much there he
afterward got a Rhodes Scholar
ship to oxford University.
John Thompson, noted Archi'
tect in New York, was page.
Stanton Kalk, who, I am told,
was the first casualty in the Navy
in the World War, began as a
Senate page. believe there is a
Navy torpedo destroyer named
after him.
And speaking of war, four ex.
pages went into the first officers
training camp at Fort Myer. One
of them, Catesby Jones, is still in
the Army and the other three,
one of whom was Frank Weller
Loeffler, Carl's nephew, all went
overseas.
Jack Barbour, one of those
Hollywood Calf. millionaires. is
an eX,page.
Representative Donald Mclean,
of New Jersey, is another. And the
late David Barry, who was Ser
geant-at-arms in later years, began
as a page and went on to news
Nan nHnnn. rrrnHelr