Evening star., 1939-03-05
Congress Presents
Pageant 10 Observe
lis 150th Year
Speeches Set Record,
Opera Stors Sing,
House Packed
By BLAIR BOLLES.

Congress celebrated its 150th an
niversary yesterday with fiesta Of
speeches and songs, all of them At
ting together pageant of what
Speaker Bankhead in his speech de-
scribed as the drama of representa-
tive government"
The House chamber and galleries
sion, which produced some history
of its own Never before did the
Chief Justice, the President, the
Speaker and the president pro tenn
pore of the Senate all address a
joint session of Congress.
In all, the speakers numbered five,
the singers numbered two, and the
introducers of the speakers num-
bered five. These active participants
In the celebration totaled four more
than the Senators who gathered in
New York's Federal Hall on March
4, 1889, for the first session of the
Congress, which transacted no busi-
ness because of the absence of a
quorum.
Although a Gordon of police kept
out of the House wing of the Capitol
persons not holding special tickets,
the proceedings were brought into
the Nations homes by the National,
Mutual and Columbia broadcasting
chains. Twenty-one microphones
were set up in the chamber.
Floor Benches Packed.
The benches on the House floor
were so packed two Representatives
had to stand after giving their seats
to diplomats, who, headed by their
dean, Ambassador Lindsay of Great
Britain, attended SO strong. The
Chinese Ambassador and the Jap
anese Ambassador sat side by side,
although they said nothing to each
other. Hans Thomson, the German
Charge d'Affaires. watched the cere-
mony calmly as Mr.. Roosevelt, Chief
Justice Hughes and Speaker Bank
head praised the glories of demo-
cratic government.
On special seats arranged on one
side of the ample well of the House
sat the eight Supreme Court justices
in their robes. On similar seats on
the other side of the well were all
the members of the cabinet except
Secretary of the Navy Swanson, who
is i'll. Postmaster General Farley
and Attorney General Murphy wore
new Florida sunburns. President
Roosevelt, too, was tanned after his
Caribbean trip. He sat at the white
marble rostrum. leaning his cheek
on his right fist. Behind him was
his military aide. Col. Edwin M.
Watson, respondent in gold braid.
Below the President at his right
was piano, which was used to &C
company the songs by Miss Gladys
Swarthout and John Charles Thom-
as of the Metropolitan Opera. Each
Of them sang separately parts of
America" and together, at the
ceremony's close. they rendered "The
Star Spangled Banner"
Only Two Seats Empty.
Eager spectators found vantage
points for watching even in the
statue inches in the walls at the
back OF the gallery. They crowded
the aisles and filled the seats. The
only empty seats in the chamber
were two chairs in the diplomatic
gallery, which was occupied by eight
women and two men, one of them
George Summerlin, chief of protocol
of the State Department. Mr.. Sum-
merlin escorted the diplomats into
the House.
Behind the railings at the rear Of
the House the crowd was thick. Two
habited nuns and a priest could be
seen intently following the pro-
ceedings. Many members of Con-
gress brought children who sat on
laps. In one row of benches we're
District Commissioners Melvin C.
Hazen and David McCoach. and the
country's military leaders: Gen.