Evening star., 1942-08-24
Charles A. Hamilton,
Dean Of Newsnlen al
Capitol, Dies al S6
Held Cord to Congress
Galleries 50 Years;
Services Tomorrow


Services Tomorrow
Charles A. Hamilton. 86, member
of the Congressional Press Galleries
since January l6, 1888, and treasurer
of the National Press Club, died
yesterday at his home, zoos Col
umbia road NV. He was Washing
ton correspondent for the Bing-
hamton IN. " Press.
| 1t was in December of last year
that Mr. Hamilton handed Pres
ident Roosevelt the first big stick
to be available literally to a Fresi-
dent. Holding aloft a rough-cut
walking stick at press conference,
Mr.. Hamilton made his way through
the correspondents to hand it to
the President.
There hasn't been big stick in
the White House since Teddy Roose-
welt talked about one" he explained,
"and I think you need it today. I
bought this on in Wales"
Mr.. Roosevelt received the stick
with laugh and waved 1t over his
head to show it to the newspaper
men.
Perennial Press Club Treasurer.
White haired, ruddy complex
ioned, Charlie" Hamilton has been
familiar figure for many years
at the National Press Club. It had
become a tradition there that he
should be elected treasurer every
year as long as he lived, and no one
in recent years opposed him for that
office. He held it at the time of his
death.
Mr.. Hamilton was famed as the
dean of the Capitals newspaper
correspondents. AS reminder of
his long service, he carried the orig
inal card given to him in January
1888, by the chairman of the Senate
Rules Committee, which read:
"Forty-seventh Congress, I'd Ses-
sion. Reporters Gallery. This en-
titles Mr.. Charles A. Hamilton, cor
respondent for the Buffalo CONNER
clal Advertiser, to admittance to the
gallery until otherwise ordered by
the Committee on Rules.
"(No person interested in legisla-
tion is eligible to seat)
(Signed) Vim. p Frye, chairman
Washington, D. c., Jan. Is, 1888"
MI. Hamilton was born in Lon
con, England, March 13, 1856. His
parents, who settled in Buffalo, left
him in England to finish his school,
ing. But at the age of 13, Mr.. Ham
ilton signed up as member of the
12-man crew of German brig that
took 43 days to cross the Atlantic
First Sold Papers.
Joining his parents in Buffalo. he
started selling papers on the streets,
and in 1880 went to East Aurora
N. Y, where he become owner of
the East Aurora Times.
Il didn't have cent of capital" ;"
related Mr.. Hamilton at his 85th
birthday party. Some of the boys
in the west end of town put up the
money so could get the patent in
sides for my paper. When the paper
got up to 1900 circulation man
named Bartlett offered to buy it.
IL sold it to him because I had an
o1EeEof so a week and IS per cent
dsAHz144Aoaiad collect from overdue
ads on the Bradford (Pa.) Evening
Star. I invested several hundred
dollars in Pennsylvania oil stocks,
and IN 4 few days was cleaned out.
About that time I was offered the
job of Washington correspondent Of
The Buffalo Commercial Adver-
tiser.
Il sent dispatch to the paper
about Buffalo man being admitted
to practice before the United States
Supreme Court. The telegraph tolls
were 81 cents, but the paper refused
to pay them because the lawyer
was Democrat. Then I went to
work for Norman E. Mack on The
Buffalo Times and stayed with him
until he sold it many years later"
Got an Early Scoop.
At the start he got a scoop. He
flashed to Buffalo the story of bill
introduced that day in the House to
authorize construction of railroad
bridge over the Niagara River. On
the day he began his duties as cor
respondent, President Arthur signed
the Civil Service Act.
1t was while Mr.. Hamilton was
visiting his old home in Buffalo that
President Mckinley was shot there
in 1901. He counted the story as
the most important he ever covered
although he was one Of the first to
get The news of Admiral Dewey's
victory at Manila Bay.
Surviving Mr.. Hamilton are three
children, Mrs. Mary H. Barnard
Stanford, Conn; Charles Burwell
Hamilton, New York City, and Miss
Margaret D. Hamilton of this city
Another son, Maj. George Hamilton
who served through the World Wal
in the Marine Corps, winning seven
citations and the Croix de Guerre
was killed in a plane crash in 1922
Committees Named.
Funeral services will be held al
2 pm. tomorrow at the S. H. Hines
| funeral home, 2901 Fourteenth
street NV A committee of the
National Press Club appointed tc
attend the services follow:
James L. Wright, Harvey D
Jacobs, Ralph A. Collins. Homer
Joseph Dodge, James Stewart Rich.
ardson. Conrad H. Syme, Arthur
j. Dodge, Ira E. Bennett, Capt
James P. McGovern, r. T. Law.
renee. Truman Felt, Frederic J
Haskin, Thomas Mcintosh. Lorenzo
w. Martin, John j. DAILY, Frank B
Lord, James w. Bryan, George w
Simpson. John J. Leary, jr.; Will
liam D. Hassett. H. O. Bishop, Cliff.
| ford A. Provost, Lawrence Stafford
J. Lacey Reynolds, Walter karig
Felix T. Cotton, Paul R. Leach
Richard L. Harkness Sam A. ONeal