Evening star., 1937-01-17
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

In Congress under the fifteenth census
enumeration each House member repre-
sents approximately 100000 citizens The
whole number of 435 Representatives
illustrates how this country has grown
since the constitutional apportionment of
IS members and with LOG in the first
convention of 1870.
And now into Congress has come a
new political subdivision started
our Government with the Thirteen
Original Colonies and there were 16
States represented in the First Congress.
Then we had some territories from time
to time with delegates" or resident
commissioners" but since there is al
ways something new under the sum-"
We now have represented by resident
commissioner the Commonwealth of
the Philippines" and Long may she
wave"
Occasionally members are quite frank.
Much has been smeared in printers ink
about the noxious Lobbyists" as blight
on orderly legislative processes. There
is in the present Congress at least one
man who openly-rather boastfully-tes-
sentative John NJ Coffee of Tacoma,
Wash, with an LID. degree from the
University of Washington and a j. D.
degree from Yale. who writes into his
biography in the Congressional directory
that he has been active as a lobbyist
before legislative bodies in behalf of
liberal and labor measures" He served
for time as secretary to former United
States Senator C.. C. Dill.
Most new members of Congress have
troubles on their arrival in finding their
way around the far-fung Government
establishment. Not so Representative
Charles r. ClaSon, one of the very few
who in the last election won back from
the Democrats a seat historically Re-
publican-which was held for more than
80 years by the late Speaker Frederick
H. Gillett. Clason is a native from the
bellweather Republican State-Maine.
He took his law course at GEORGETOWN
University and postgraduate studies at
oxford, then he was an instructor in
law at Northwestern University. He
knows Washington we'll, since he was
connected with the Interstate Commerce
Commission and the United States Office
of Education. Before the United States
entered the World War Mr.. Clason was
a member Of the commission for relief
IN Belgium, then he enlisted in the
United States Army. He was decorated
by King Albert of Belgium with the
Medaille du Roi Albert.
~ II X
While each 100000 group of citizens is
supposed to be represented in Congress
by one Representative, there is one small
town of approximately $4,000 inhabitants
Clinton, Mass. which boasts of four
native sons in this Congress-Senator
David I. Walsh, who was formerly Gov
ernor of that State; Representative
Joseph E. Casey, who now represents the
third Massachusetts, district, including
his birthplace; Representative Edward A.
Kenney, now of CliffSide Park, N. j.,
who is a persistent advocate of a ma
tlonal lottery, and Representative Fred
j. Douglas, now of Utica, N. Y, a grad
uate in medicine from Dartmouth, who
is fellow in the American College of
Surgeons.
Born in a log house on a farm in
Amity Township, Pa, a direct lineal
descendant in the eighth generation from
Isaac De Turk. emigrant pioneer who
came to America with Rev. Joshua Won
Kocherthal, first German Lutheran
clergyman emigrating from the Palati-
nate in 1708. This ancestor took title
to land on a patent issued by William
Penn. He had IL ancestors in the Amer
ican Revolution. He himself has been a
farm laborer, painter, paperhanger, pub
lie school teacher, % years in the classi-
fed civil Service-10 years as a railway
mail clerk and II as a post office in
spector-and then tried investment
banking for five years.
He is one of the countrys best authori-
ties on raising baby chicks-is Repre-
sentative Elmer H. Wene of Vineland, N.
J. He owns and operates one of the
most famous chick hatcherieS He took
a special course in agriculture at Rutgers
University. He has lectured on the
poultry industry in many of the leading
American colleges. He was for years
on the New Jersey State Board of Agri-
culture. He was president of the In
ternational Baby Chick Association in
1898.
Representative James p. McGranery of
Philadelphia was World War pilot
observer In the United States Air Forces
and wss sdjutant Of the ilIth Infantry.