Evening star., 1939-07-16
Capital Side|ights
By Will p. Kennedy

There are two earnest, daily workers
at the Capitol who have given Congress
a combined service of 126 years-William
Andy" Smith, Congressional Record
clerk, "a years. and Daniel B. Lloyd,
reporter of debate in the Senate, 62 years.
But by curious coincidence neither is
carried directly on the pay roll of Con-
gress. Andy" Smith is on the pay roll
of the Government Printing Office, while
Daniel Lloyd comes under contract
system'-that is also an interesting Sen
ate institution that has been in operation
for nearly 100 years. Smith and Lloyd
are mutual admirers-no petty jealousies
regarding seniority or which has known
the most men in public life. They are
rather of the Alphonse and CASTOR type,
each meticulously courteous and giving
way to the other. Andy" Smith is now
"a years young" He came to the Cap
itol in 1875 and is generally looked upon
as an employe of the Capitol His desk
was originally in corner of what was
then the Senate post Office, but now the
District Committee room. The first tele-
phone rigged up in the Capitol was at
his desk, connecting with the Govern
ment Printing Office, the secretary of
the Senate and the clerk of the House.
He used that original phone up to six
years ago. He learned to drive an auto
mobile when he was II. In his younger
days he was well known as an oarsman,
rowing in the single, four-oar and eight
oar shells. In the legislative appropria-
ton bill approved June 6. 1880, a pro-
vision was carried authorizing the public
printer to continue the employment of
William A., Smith, Notwithstanding the
provision of the Retirement Act prohibit
Ing the extension for more than four
years after the age of retirement. This
was specific, personal provision, by
name. Objection by any one member of
Congress would have thrown it out of
the bill. So Andy" still serves. While
Mr.. Lloyd has known and actually and
accurately quoted each Senator for his
tory during the past 81 years, Andy"
Smith goes him one better. He has
known every Senator and every House
member for 81 years. They are both
highly esteemed by all who know them.
X 4
Senator John G. Townsend, jr, of
Delaware, chairman of the Republican
Senatorial Committee, says this country
has already stored up enough silver to
make more than two dozen sterling silver
teaspoons for every man, woman and
child in the 48 States of the Union.
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Congress has before it legislation to
correct" the military record of Capt.
Oberlin M. Carter, U. S. Engineer Corps.
1t is an intriguing story. Undisputed
facts are that Carter was appointed to
West Point by Gen. Grant. He was
graduated with the highest honors ever
received from West Point in all its his
tory. Second in his class was Gen.
Goethals, builder of the Panama Canal.
Subsequently he superintended the con-
struction Of the engineering work at
Savannah, Ga, which attracted the al
tention of leading engineers of the world,
according to Representative Walter G.
Andrews Of New York, representing the
Military Affairs Committee. He was
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societies Of the world. Because of his
outstanding success he was appointed a
member Of the Isthmisn Canal Com
mission to determine the location Of the
canal connecting the Atlantic and the
Pacific-the present Panama Canal. He
was assigned by President Mckinley to
represent the United States Government
at the Court of st. James. This is one
OF the celebrated cases, comparable with
the Dreyfus case. Capt. Carter served
four and one-half years in the Leaven-
worth Penitentiary, although he stead
tasty maintained his innocence, on the
charge that he had permitted contractors
on the Savannah job to furnish material
different" from those required under
the contract.