Evening star., 1938-06-19
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL P. KENNEDY.

Credit to whom credit is due: The
House on Thursday eulogized the services
OF Representative j. Walter Lambeth of
North Carolina, chairman of the Joint
Committee on Printing, naming espe-
clally the recent reorganization consoli-
dation and pooling of the Governments
printing and processing work. Mr.. Lam
beth himself wishes full credit for the
great saving on printing and the in
creased sale OF Government publications
to be given to an humble employe, a
Swede from Minnesota named Ansel
Void, executive clerk to the Joint Com
mittee on Printing, who was chairman
OF the interdepartmental committee that
worked out the economy efficiency plan
with regard to printing, multigraph-
ing, multilithographig and distribution
throughout the entire Federal service.
Ansel Void has worked in the public
service for 38 years in Washington and
for the past 36 years in the Capitol He
was appointed by the late Senator Knute
Nelson. former United States Senator
and former Governor of Minnesota, who
was commanding figure in politics for
50 years from 1858 to 1928. On his 80th
birthday anniversary Senator Nelson re-
ceived congratulatory messages from
President Warren G. Harding, the King
OF Norway and the Norwegian Congress
That occasion marked the unanimous
election OF Mr.. Void as clerk of the
Joint Committee on Printing to succeed
George H. Carter when the latter was
appointed public printer. Mr. Wold was
born in Medelia. MINI. He was a clerk
in a country store in the general mer-
chand1se business under his father until
he was 18 years of age. He was appoint
ed as q clerk in the Census ONCE on
June 10, 1900 by Gov. Merriam on rec
ommendation of Senator Nelson. On
February 10, 1902, he resigned from the
Census Office to accept position in the
document room of the Senate Three
months later he was transferred to the
office of the secretary of the Senate,
where he served In various capacities for
eight years. For II years he was print
ing clerk Of the Senate, leaving that posi-
ton for his present post. Successive
chairmen of the Joint Committee on
Printing have repeatedly testified that
"Wold is indispensable on his job"
AS Congress neared its getaway date
various members have been passing out
souvenirs of the resources of their dis
tricts as advertisements. cheese, oysters,
seafoods citrus fruits, etc. One member
supplied all congressman, whether
smooth shaven or bewhiskered, with
razor blades. gratis. 1t remained for
Representative Elmer H. Wene of New
Jersey to make such gift, and an unique
one, from his own resources and the
80 III f,,S, H.
gave the members and the press repre-
sentatives an elaborate chicken dinner.
Then he sent to each member a carton
of as fine eggs as ever came from a hen.
Representative Wene, as may be guessed,
is in the poultry business and is nation
ally known.
He treasures as special appreciation
letter from Representative Louis Lud-
low, Democrat, of Indiana, who wrote:
II want to thank you from the bottom Of
my heart for the eggs. My wife person.
escorted them to the skillet and watched
solicitously over them as they went
through metamorphis that made them
suitable for introduction to our palateS,
sunny side up. With me an egg is an
egg, and I am singularly lacking in the
discrimination that would enable me &C
curately to differentiate between a good
egg and bad egg, with this exception,
that do recognize rotten egg when it
is presented to my olfactory sensibilities.
Generally speaking, like all eggs, but I
have certain prejudice against those
that are tossed at me by mean and low
political adversaries on the hustings
when they have no case and resort to
abominable practices as a substitute for
arguments. My wife, on the other hand,
is an expert on eggs and it would please
you and cheer your constituents to
hear her exhaust the possibilities of the
English language in describing those
eggs you sent me- You would think those
eggs were laid by glorified hen acting
on instruction from On High. She will
tell you ecstatically about the thin, white
shells, the light yolks, the consistency
that enables the beautiful round globule
in the center to stand up and refuse to
be runny-oh, wonderful! I came from
an egg country out in Indiana and my
principal cash income until was grown
up came from gathering up eggs around
the barn and selling them to the huck-
ster at cents a dozen. did not get
rich, but got along in horse-and-
I,o,acx,