Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-05-12
Rayburn' S Greetings
To Pupils Prepared
By Army Craftsmen
Cupt. CuntreII of Marines,
Former Aide Of Speaker,
Arranged for Work

~ W. W WIN
Certificates conveying congratula-
tons from Speaker Rayburn to high
school graduates in his Texas dis
trict were prepared By Army drafts
men, it was disclosed today, although
it was done without Mr.. Rayburn S
knowledge. according to Capt. Will
liam Cantrell of the Marine Corps,
a former elnploye in the Speaker S
Office.
Capt. Cantrell said today he had
arranged for the lettering of the
names on the scrolls by the Army
after efforts to have the work done
elsewhere were unavailing.
Mr.. Rayburn thought the scrolls
themselves were damned good ideas
I paid for the parchment, of course
and am going to pay for whatever
time was taken by the Army" he
added.
Permission Granted.
Capt, Cantrell said Gen. Eugene
Reybold, chief of the Corps of En-
gineers, gave permission for Army
personnel to letter in the names.
provided the work was paid for by
Mr.. Rayburn. Capt. Cantrell said
the press of time, getting short be-
fore graduation exercises in Texas,
made him appeal to the Army for
help. The arrangements were made
in the latter part of March. before
he entered the service, Capt. Can
trell said
Mr.. Rayburn said he Thought it
was a good year to write to the high
school graduates in his district, re-
Winding them of the advantages of
democracy and pointing out to them
the benefits of the great democracy
in which they live" He intends to
send with each scroll a letter bear
ing the latter message, he said.
Craftsmen from Fort Myer were
understood to have lettered the
scrolls, which were headed by a pic
ture of the Capitol Building. Under
it was inscribed:
ITO too to whom these presents
shall come: Greetings" The individ-
ual's name was printed in bold, Old
English letters, giving the parch-
ment the appearance of a diploma.
Then followed:
1t is my pleasure to congratulate
you on the accomplishment of high
school graduation. May this day
begin a further achievement in
ideals of citizenship in your COM
munity and for your country.
(Signed) SAM RAYBURN. -
The Speakers official title as pre-
siding officer of the House was
printed in fine letters.
Mr.. Rayburn said the idea for
such greetings and letters never
before had occurred to him, adding
that he didn't give a damn" what
was said about it.
Cantrell Explains Work.
Arranging the entire matter was
difficult, according to Capt Cantrell.
I'VE had hard time getting the
paper" he said. TT was compost
ton paper. not parchment, and the
time was getting short. 1t was
getting close to graduation. The
Speaker had had these things en-
graved and as I was working for
him it was my Job to see that the
names were lettered in. The Army
did just the names, not the whole
thing.
Il knew Congressman had work
done at the Government Printing
Office and paid for it and I thought
we might be able to make the, same
arrangement with the Army. l
spoke to Gen. Reybold about it and
he said it could be done if the
Speaker paid for it. I've never
known Mr.. Rayburn to get anything
for nothing, so thought it would be
all right.
of course we didn't know how
much it would be because we didn' I
know how long it would take, but the
Speaker was to be billed for it. Ap-
proximately 1000 were lettered."
Byron Scrolls Recalled.
In June. 1910, the late Represent
alive William D. Byron, of the 9Th
Maryland congressional district, dis
tributed certificates to members OF
the Bethesda Chevy Chase Senior
High School worded exactly like
those prepared for Mr.. Rayburn
Mr.. Byron's were distributed at
gradua ton exercises, inclosed in the
individual diplomas and caused a
furore in Maryland educational
ranks.
The certificates were identical
with those of Mr.. Rayburn, with the
lone exception that Mr.. Byrons were
surmounted by an adaptation of the
Great Seal of the United States. Mr.
Byron also inclosed a letter which
read as follows:
Dear Graduate:
Il am inclosing a certificate which
am sending to my friends who are
graduating from the various high
schools in the 9Th district this year
Il hope the sentiment it expresses
will merit your keeping 1t as a
memento OF the good work you have
done in the past and my sincere
wishes. for a successful career in
the future"
Mr.. Byron that year was running
for reelection against Montgomery
County Commissioner Walter John
son, former baseball star who had
been nominated on the Republican
ticket. Certificates we're distributed
to $500 high school graduates, but all
except those presented the Be-
thesda- Chevy Chase students we're
mailed.
Mr.. Byron's Office explained at the
time that the custom was not new
and that "a great many Congress-
men have been awarding (certifi-
cates) to high school graduates for
years"
Mrs. Rand|e's Trial
Is Set for Wednesday
BY the Associated Press.