Date: 1981-02-03
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. during the spring and summer months as many as teln thousand persons visit the Capitol Building each day. They come from every state In the Union and from all parts of the world to see for themselves this structure which has become the symbol of the highest ideals of representative government. Those of us who have visited legislative bodies in other nations never cease to marvel at the wide access that visitors enjoy to tis seat of government. Many come with specific Issues or grievances that they wishi to discuss with those of us whom they have elected to be their representatives. Others simply want to explore. at first hand. this great citadel of democratic government. Just as our visiting citizens have a right to the widest possible freedom of movement and expression in these halls. so do we. their representatives. have the right to conduct our business without undue delay and without fear of restraint or reprisal. To maintain this often delicate balance. we are fortun."te to have the assistance of a dedicated and welltrained Capitol Police force. Today. In my continuing series of statements on the United States Senate. I plan to discuss the development of the Capitol Police from a oneman watchforce in 1801 to its current position as a highly -prof essional law enforcement organization. For the first twentyfive years of Congress residence In Washington. the Capitol was undsr the protection of a single guard whose charge was simply "to take as much care as possible of the property of the United States." The first guard. Mr. John Golding. and his Immediate successors. lacked the customary police authority to make arrests. We must assume that the solitary guards had frequent occasion to wish that they could call on more than simply the force of their individual personalities. We do know that from time to time. the guard had to seek ussistance from a detachment of Marines stationed nearby. By late In 1824. as the construction of the Rotunda neared completion. the number of visitors to the Capitol had increased significantly and. accordingly. so did the need for police protection. The arrival of one of the Nations greatest foreign friends. the Marquis do Latflayette. must have placed a great burden on the Capitol guard. On December 10. 1824. as Lafayette became the first foreign dignitary to address a joint congressional session. the guard complained bitterly of his difficulties in expelling from the building "disorderly persons. vagrants and drunks." A fire In the Capitols library. at Christmastime In 1825. demonstrated the growing necessity for increased surveillance. Fortunately. no one was hurt and only a few books were damaged. The ensuing investigation pointed clearly to the need for systematic professional protection to avoid the recurrence of what might surely have been a disaster. Action finally came in IG27 when President John Quincy Adams directed that a regular watch force be established. That force consisted of four mentwo for daytime duty. one for the nighttime. and one relief man. A year later. on May 2. 1828. the City of Washingtons police regulations were extended to include the Capitol and adjacent grounds. Accordingly. the year 1828 appears prominently on the shoulder patch of todays Capitol Police force signifying the date of its "founding." For the next quarter century. however. the force remained small. consisting of a captain and three men. They worked fifteenhour shifts when Congress was in session and ten hours at other times. Ahhough not required to wear uniforms. the police were directed to be "neat and tidy and present a gentlemanly appearance at all times. to be stern with violators of the laws. but courteous to officials. citizens. and strangers." Due to the forces small size. its area of responsibility was confined to the Capitol building and the walks and drives Immediately adjacent to It. In addition to providing general security Inside the building. the police served as tour guides and were. by all accounts. knowledgeable and helpful. just as they are today. A major source of irritation for the police came from the hack drivers who. In their zeal to pick up passengers. refused to keep their carriages within designated areas. The greatest difficulty. however. lay beyond the walkways. over the course of the Capitol grounds. Although the grounds were surrounded by a large iron fence. the gates of which were closed each evening. their many secluded areas offered ample opportunity for holdups and other crimes. In those days the grounds to the east of. the building. covered with more than six hundred trees. sloped upwards to a height of eight feet from the building to the eastern boundary line. First Street was then graded seven feet below the boundary so that It was difficult. If not Impossible. to see the Capitol or most of its grounds from the street. During daylight hours a single watchman. usually an elderly man unsuited for arduous duty. patrolled the grounds. At night. it was every man for himself. During most of the nineteenth century. the Capitol Police had to rely on the District of Columbias fifteenmember "Auxilary Guard" to control demonstrations and stop disorderly conduct on the grounds. Unlike the Capitol Police. the Auxiliary Guard did have uniforms. which were grey with flowing capes and a profusion of brass buttons. The "AG". as they were known. were armed with fearsome wooden sticks topped with iron spearheads. The weapon was said to resemble an ancient javelin. Both the Capitol and the city forces were provided with "whirligig rattles" Instead of whistles. When twirled. these rattlcs reporedly emitted a most unearthly noise. The need for an expanded force became acute by 1851. During that year. construction began on the Capitol extension which was to consist of wings housing our current Senate and House chambers. When completed later in the decade. the extension would more than double the available working space in the building. making it virtually impossible for a handful of men to guarantee the security of members and visitors alike. As 1851 drewto a close. another fire broke out In the congressional library. This time the damage achieved disastrous proportions. When the blaze was finally contained. more than 35.000 of the librarys 55.000 books were destroyed. Including twothirds of Thonms Jeffersons original collection. In a building containing 45.000 gas jets and hundreds of candles. the likelihood of additional fires was exceedingly great. A year later. In 1852. the Capitol Police force. described as "an ununiformed squad of ancient watchmen" was enlarged to Include a capitain and eight men. It was then that the term "Capitol Police" first appeared In the statutes. and one midght consider 1852 as the real beginning of the evolutionary process through which the small guard fort~e grew into a professional police organization. By 1854. the police. armed with heavy hickory canes. had begun to wear uniforms. possibly borrowed from the military. Not until the start of the Civil War in 1861. however. were they authior-. ized to wear badges. symbolic of their police authority. The increased activity that came In the wake of the wartime emergency. as well as the continuing construction work on the Capitol extension and the new dome. necessitated fu 4iher expansion and the .issuance of more detailed regulations for the police. Although supplemented by military troops. stationed in and around the building. the force was increased to constitute three sixman watches. Each watch was on duty twelve of every thirtysix hours. with an hours relief for meals. At that time. the Capitol building was open to the public from sunrise to sunset. Children under the age of twelve were not permitted on the grounds. or In the building. unless. in the language of the regulations. they were accompanied by "parents or some discreet person." In 1867. as the country slowly struggled to recover from the tragedy of the Civil War. responsibility for the Capitol force was transferred from the Commissioner of Public Buildings to the Sergeants at Arms of the Senate and the Iouse. As one of their first acts. those officials authorized the design of new uniforms to distinguish the police from the members of the general public. many of whom were attired in old military garb. and to instill a sense of esprit among the men. Salaxies were raised to $1.000 per year and three men were added to help with the increased flow of visitors to the top of the then recentlycompleted dome. With the expansion of the force came the Inevitable criticism that It was getting too large and that Its membership. which Included a large number of Civil War veterans. was not suited to the heavy responsibility of protecting the Capitol. Mark Twain was one of the forces most prominent critics. in February 1868. he speculated that ".the days of the picturesque. blueuniformed. brassbuttoned Capitol Police are numbered." He argued that they cost the government $80.000 per year and were not worth the money. Mark Twain reported that the forces members "have grown fat and comfortable dozing In chairs and scratching their backs against marble pillars.. He suggested that protection be Provided. when necessary. by regular Army troops. At the time Mark Twain made his observations. the services of the police were very much in demand. on February 24. 1868. the House voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. From early March until late May. the Senate sat as a court of impeachment. This unprecedented event drew huge crowds from across the Nation. The police provided added security. screening visitors to ensure that only those with proper credentials were admitted to the Senate galleries. Senators found It difficult to move In and out of the chamber. despite the best efforts of the police to keep the corridors clear. In 1873. the Capitol Pollee Board was established. adding the Architect of the Capitol to the forces governing body. The board assumed responsibility for a force consisting of one captain. three lieutenants. twentyseven privates. and eight watchmen. In addition. it supervised a newlycreated and separate guide force. The guides were allowed to offer their services to the Public for not more than fifty cents an hour. A Year later. in 1874. Congress appropriated $200.000 for a maJor redesign of the troublesome and unsightly Capitol grounds. UP to that time the grounds shoddy appearance confirmed Lord Bacons observation that "men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely." The soil consisted of poor clay which "turned to Powder in dry weather and to mortar In wet." The west front of the building had been particularly neglected. From the earliest years. it had been assumed that the city would develop to the east. Consequently. little attention was paid to the western portion of the Capitol until 1873 when Congress acquired seven acres on Capitol Hills western slope. The Senate and House retained nationallyprominent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmnsted to prepare a suitable plan for both the east and west grounds of the buildIng. As work Proceeded on Olmsteds Plan. Congress adopted a resollition. -to Februptry 3. 1981 WO prevent any portion of the Capitol grounds and terraces from being used as a playground. or otherwise. so f ar as may be necessary to protect the public property. turf. and grass from destruction and Injury." Congress also moved to keep the public from climbing on the exterior statues and walls by making the offense punishable by a $100 fine and sixty days in jail. Fire continued to plague the building during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In 1876. a gas explosion ripped through the Senate widg. killing the buildings chief carpenter and seriously injuring the superintendent of the Senate folding room. Five years later. another explosion damaged the Senate side of the Capitol. The most serious. and the last. gas explosion occurred at 5:13 p.m.. on November 6. 1898. in the vicinity of the firstfloor room now restored as the old Supreme Court Chamber. Two bicycle policemen. stationed at Second and C Streets. Southeast. hieard the explosion and saw a sheet of flame rise from the windows along the east front at the basement level. The police officers saved valuable moments by quickly sounding the alarm. Just before the blast. a policeman inside the building detected the smell of gas. As the Capitol was honeycombed with gas pipes. that odor was not considered uncommon. Nevertheless. the officer set out to investigate. Just as he left the Senate side and headed toward Statuary Hall. the accumulated gas. which had leaked from the service pipes beneath the crypt. Ignited. The force of the explosion heaved upward the very floor that the officer had just crossed. The resulting fire raced up an elevator shaft adjacent to the Supreme Court chamber. causing considerable damage on both the first and second floors. Although approximately $25.000 damage occurred to the building and its furnishings. the severest loss was a Priceless collection of manuscript copies of Supreme Court decisions for the period 1792 to 1832. The court Itself was not slowed by the calamity. It met the following day in the District of Columbia Committee room on the second floor of the Capitol. now known as the Lyndon B. Johnson Room. That room Is located across the hall from the Democratic leaders offices. which. In those days. used to house the Senate Finance Committee and the Official Reporters of Debates. By 1900. electricity had replaced gas for purposes of illu-. mination and. thereafter. all gas lines to the Capitol were closed to avoid what was then- becoming an altogether too frequent occurrence. Less than seventeen years later. another explosion rocked the Capitol. on that occasion. however. It was hardly accidental. on July 2. 1915. at 11:40 p.m.. Erich Muenter. a former German language instruictor at Harvard Unfversity. stood in front of. Union Station. his eyes fixed intently on the Capitol. At that moment. an Ignition device set off three sticks of dynamite which Muenter earlier had placed behind the Senates telephone switchboard located adjacent to the west wall of the Senate Reception Room. The explosion caused rmajor damage to the room. smashing windows. chandeliers. and mirrors. Officer Frank Jones. a 3yearveteran of the Capitol Police force. was stationed at the Senate Door on te first floor. The severity of the blast nearly knocked him off his chair. The only other policeman on duty in the Senate wing was Officer George Gumun. Only ten minutes earlier. officer Oumus had closed a window in the Reception Room Just inches from where the dynamite lay concealed. Meanwhile. Mr. Muenter. pleased with his dramatic protest against United States aid to Great Britain in World War I. quickly boarded the midnight train to New York City. On the following day. the Washington Star carried two banner headlines. The tlrst recounted the Capitol bombing and reprinted an anonymous letter in which the writer expressed the hope that the earlosion would "make enough noise to be heard above the voices that clamor for war and blood money." The writer. expressing his opposition to Americas faltering efforts at neutrality. concluded that "this explosion Is the exclamation point to my appeal for peace." The other Page One news story told of the shooting of financier J. P. Morgan. Jr.. at his Long island estate. Morgan was not seriously hurt and his assailant was arrested. His attackers motive was to strike a symbolic blow against J. P. Morgan and Company. Great Britains chief purchasing agent in the United States for war munitions and supplies. Morgans assailant was none other than Mr. Muenter. who. several days later. committed suicide in jail. Explosions and bombings aside. the life of a Capitol policeman at the end of the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries contained a large measure of boredom. This was a particular problem late at night. after the building had closed and the members and visitors had departed. Perhaps this situation accounts for a variety pf ghost stories that have been told down through the years. one of the oldest stories is recounted by newsman John Alexandler in his book of Washington ghost tales. it concerns the infamous denizen of the Capitols lower reaches. ."Demon Cat." As the story goes. Demon Cat always waits until its victim is alone. The animals prey are generally members of the Capitol Police force. One victim told of encountering the infamous cat on a winters eve. As it walked toward the policeman. the cat began to swell. The guard felt paralyzed as he stared Into the glowing. piercing eyes that came closer and closer and grew larger and larger. The animal swelled to the size of a giant tiger. yet never lost its unmietakable catlike form. its purring changed to6 a ferocious snarl. There was a deafening roar as the monstrous animal leapedwith claws extendedtoward Its victim. The guard couldnt move. His feet seemed nailed to the floor. He covered his face with his arms as the giant animal seemed just Inches away from landing on. him. He screamed. Nothing happened. The Demon Cat vanished Into thin air as the man screamed. The trembling guard stood alone. the corridor deserted. the silence pi.rceci only by his breathing. His limp body was covered in a cold. clammy sweat. He felt drained. The narrow marble hallway now reminded him of a tomb. The guard shuddered. tried to pull himself together. and headed back to his desk. For some reason he just didnt feel like finishing his rounea. This grisly feline wvas blamed for an elderly guards fatal heart attack and the cat is reputed to appear only onl the eve of a national tragedy. or upon the changing of presidential administrations I There are other stories of footsteps echoing through darkened halls. belonging. perhaps. to longsince departed members of the police force. still faithful to keeping watch over their posts. In the 1890s. a policeman entered Statuary Hail. the former House chamber. at midnight and allegedly Interrupted the entire ghostly membership of a much earlier Congress In solemn deliberation. Shortly thereafter. I the same chamber one New Years Eve. as the clock struck twelve. the marble and bronze statues were reported to have drifted off their pedestals in order to dance. A terrified guard fled from the chamber and into the still night air. On the following day. he recounted the eerie event to his supervisor. The captain immediately ordered the private to take an extended rest. I have heard. however. that even in recent times. the police tend to avoid Statuary Hall on New Years Eve[ In 1896. twelve privates were added to the force and seven watchmens positions were abolished. The outbreak of the SpanishAmerican War. two years later. served as reason for adding eighteen more privates. Although they were intended to be temporary. in 11)01. they became part of the permanent force. So. at the beginning of this century. the Capitol Police force had grown impressively. Including a newly established detective force. it amounted to sixtyseven men. Half the privates were selected by the Senate and half by the House. Of this number. foir officers were assigned to the Dome due to Its popularity among the tourists. During tihe height of the season. more than 2.000 persons -each day climbed the 390 stairs for a breathtaking view of the surrounding city of Washington. The grounds were. at that time. patrolled day and night by a bicycle squad to give chase to those who drove their twowheelers at high speeds and to catch. and send to the pound. all unlicensed dogs. in 1902. the Washington Star pronounced the forces evolution complete. In that papers Judgment. the Capitol Poliee was "the finest body of Indoor policemen in the world." Each member of the force was then attired In a natty dark blue regulation army frock coat and was armed with a billy club. pliable handcuffs called "nippers". and a distress whistle. They carried revolvers only when on "important service" or when assigned to tile grounds at night. Apparently not all of the officers liked their "natty" uniforms. for a number of appropriations acts of that period included the admonition that "the officers. privates. and watchmen of the Capitol Police shall. when on duty. wear the regulation uniform." By 1911. the farce was again the target of strong criticism because of its continuing expansion. Several years earhter the Senate and House had opened their new office buildings. those which we know today as the Russell and Cannon Buildings. Together. they required an additional twentysix offIcers. For some reason the House took only ten while the less populous Senate claimed sixteen. One senator noted that was because the 391 House members were more orderly than the 92 senators. The House. following the lead of its Democratic Caucus. reported a bill in 1911 to reduce the size of the force by fifty percent. The measures proponents argued that most of the recent Increase had been intended as temporary due to the SpanishAmerican War. Senator Clarence Watson of West Virginia agreed with the reduction plan. He noted the presence of many "sleepyeyed officers sitting around who would never be allowed In a real business institution." He claimed that they were "of no use to anybody. even themselves. except to draw their salaries." Democratic Senator John Sharp Williams of Mississippi concurred. accusing the policemen. whom he believed to be the appointees of the Republican majority. of being "Political hangers on." He said "to them we entrust the care of this great national property. and they attend to It with such little efficiency that although there are sixtyseven of them hanging around between here and the House somewhere. somebody came in here the other day and ruthlessly cut one of the pictures In the Capitol all to pieces." Senator Williams was referring to an Incident on December 19. 1911. In which a vandal cut a thirtyinch long strip out of the "Battle of Lake Erie" painting. located in the marble stairway to the east of our chamber. In 1955. that same painting suffered a similar outrage. Unfortunately. the paintings and statuary in this building have frequently been the target of mindless mutilation. a fact which presents a strong argument for an adequate and vigilant police force. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Francis Warren expressed the sentiment of a majority of his colleagues in 1912 when he told them he would rather pay the price of a sufficient police force than to risk the consequences of less protection. After extensive debate in 1912. the Senate decided not to concur In the Houses force reduction Plan. Senators realized that the Younger men. who had been recently hired. would have to be the first fired. That would have left a core of Civil War veterans. most of whom were in their late sixties. the men who were the very targets of the complaints about inactivity. Few senators were willing to take the action necessary to fire these old war veterans. from both the Union and Confederate armies. Their heroic deeds in days gone by were familiar to the senators. many of whom had served as their comrades in that bloody and tragic struggle. The veterans were allowed to remain. and the records of the Senate Democratic Conference indicate that as late as 1918 there were still a few Civil War veterans guarding our doors. Back in those days. the police were given fifty days of annual leave. One senator thought he saw a way to Rave funds by reducing the number of leave days to thirty. His plan foundered. however. when another senator. explained that those fifty days were from the entire year. barely giving the men each Sunday off I Even today. the official policy of the Capitol Police Board is that leave Is a privilege rather than a right. The police manual notes that the "requirements of the force must at all times come first." The police had great responsibilities on the eve of the First World War. They had to protect the Capitol. then valued at $17 million. The grounds had been expanded to cover fiftynine acres. and an estimated one million visitors traversed these halls each year. Among the particularly sensitive posts were one in Statuary Hall. to guard against chronic vandalism. the Senate gallery. where two officers worked to reduce congestion. the upper dome. "for the preservation of order. to protect the Dome from defacement. and to guard sightseers from dangerous places." In addition. there was a turnkey who locked and unlocked each of the Capitols thirteen doors. Several years earlier. the turnkey in the House Office Building lost his key and every lock in the building had to be replaced. A final Important post was the northeast grounds. where a patrol was assigned "to protect the lawns from trespassers and the roadways and plaza from Invasion by unauthorized vehicles and from fast driving of all kinds." As I noted earlier. World War I created the need for additional security. The bombing of the Reception Room in 1915 was directly related to the war. In 19 17. when the United States entered the conflict. the Senate attempted to add fifty men for the duration of the emer. gency. The House. however. refused to go along with the Senates plan. One Representative Interviewed the chief and quoted him as saying that fifty percent of the force was absolutely inefficient due to the patronage system of appointment. He argued that "a large number of the force are entirely unacquainted with the duties of policemen. They do not know how to make an arrest. and a large number are physically incapable of performing the duties of their office." In 1935. at. a time when the area of the Capitol grounds had just been increased from 59 acres to 126 acres. the chief of police appealed to the Senate and House for twentyfour men to supplement his 132man force. He reported to the House Appropriations Committee that his force was severely handicapped due to the large number of underaged or elderly policemen. and the lack of service standards. He estimated that onethird of the force did all the work. At that time. the men ranged in age from nineteen to seventyfive. One officer was 52" and weighed all of 120 pounds. During the previous year. the police had made 800 arrests and there were 112 automobile accidents. One of the forces two automobiles. a fouryearold Ford with 40.000 miles to its credit. was constantly out of service. leaving the other vehicle to make all the rounds. day and night. The chief recommended that the force adopt the standards of the Metropolitan Washington Police Department and require all new men to be between the ages of twentyone and fifty. He Indicated he would be happy to have World War I veterans because "they know how to shoot and know how to take orders." The House Sergeant at Arms supported the chifs request and added that he saw no need for the additional men unless they complied with the standards. He noted that standards would make the work of the congressional patronage committees easier. allowing them to turn down the unqualified candidates of influential members. Subsequently. both houses agreed to allow the Capitol Police Board to establish specific qualifications. Today. candidates for appointment must be within the twentyone to fiftyyear age bracket recommended earlier. Officers. must have a high school education and may not be less than 54" nor more than 65" in height and of proportional weight.I In setting those standards. the Police Board was wellaware that the Capitol has unfortunately been the setting for periodic acts of violence. As early as 1835. a deranged person attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson during his visit to the Capitol. As the president" left the Rotunda and headed toward the east front stairs. the man pointed a percussion pistol at him from a distance of less than ten feet. The pistol failed to fire and. as Jackson started to lunge toward his assailant. the man pulled the trigger of a second pistol. It also misfired. Jackson felt certain that Senator George Poindexter of Mississippi was responsible for the attempt on his life. but a special Senate investigating committee found no evidence to substantiate that claim. Several of the presidents enemies suggested that due to the improbability of two loaded pistols misfiring. the attempt had been staged to build popular sympathy for Jackson. Violence has also been directed against members of Congress. requiring Increased police protection. Slightly more than a half century after the attempt on President Jacksons life on February 28. 1890. there occurred a confrontation between a former House member. William P. Taulbee. and Charles Kincaid. a correspondent for the Louisville Times. Kincaid had charged that the former Kentucky representative had been involved in unsavory dealings. Taulbee encountered the journalist twice during the same day and. on both occasions. pulled his enemys ear. The second time. Kincaid drew a revolver and shot Taulbee in the head. There are those. even today. who claim that the stains on the marble stairs in the House wing mark the spot where a newsman first drew congressional blood. I have also heard that there is. among the Hills journalists. a "Kincaid Society." but I did not attempt to learn more of its obj ectives. .On March 5. 1921. retiring Nevada Senator Charles B. Henderson. who was cleaning out his office in what is now the Russell Building. was shot in his right forearm. The gunman Was a disgruntled constituent who had been nursing a land claim grievance for three decades. Senator Henderson was not seriously hurt and the assailant was arreste.d. on the night of Fe)ruary 18. 1924. Senator Frank Greene of Vermont and his wife were walking on Pennsylvania Avenue. a short distance from the Capitol grounds. Just as Senator Greene passed the ex~trance to an alley. he was hit n the head by a stray bullet from a gun battle between bootleggers and revenue agents. Although the wound had no apparent effect on his intellect. it left him with a severe speech Impairment. kept him from participating in debate for the remainder of his Senate term. and ultimately led to his death. Eight years later. on December 13. 1932. a twentyfiveyearold department store clerk entered the House gallery. waving a loaded pistol in the air. He dangled one foot over the railing and demanded the right to speak. There followed a mad scramble for the cloakrooms. Minnesota Representative Melvin Maas. who had been trained as a psychologist. gently talked the man Into turning over his weapon. When asked later by a reporter whether he had experience in handling. deranged persons. Mr. Maas observed. "Why not? Ive had six years in Congress." On July 12. 1947. Just before noontime. Senator John Bricker of Ohio left his suite In the Senate office Building and headed for the old monorail subway for a ride to the Capitol. As he boarded the car. a man with a 22caliber target pistol fired at him twice from a distance of fifteen feet. Neither shot hit Senator Bricker. who had the presence of mind to duck under the cars front seat and to tell the operator to "step on It." Arriving at the Capitol end of the subway. the senator nonchalantly headed for the chamber. stopping only to phone his secretary and neglecting to mention the incident. Meanwhile. the subway car operator returned to the office building terminal. only to find the assailant waitIng and very much alone. The gunman quickly fled in a taxi and. thanks to the combined efforts of the Metropolitan and Capitol Police forces. he was arrested within the hour. The man had recently lost his patronage position as a Capitol policeman. (The fact of his previous employment led several cynics to observe that the danger was minimail of his being able to hit the Senator.) The assailant. when questioned as to his motive. said that he was Just trying to "refresh" Sen-. ator Brickers memory about a savings and" loan associations failure fifteen years earlier In which the man had lost a considerable sum of money. For as long as there has been an organized Capitol police force. there have been public demonstrations to test that bodys training and experience. Many of us recall the Vietnamera protest marches and rallies thut ebbed and flowed across this federal city. More recently. farmers traveled with their f amilies. and often with their tractors and livestock. from the Nations heartland to deliver to their government a message of concern and frustration. Almost without