Capitol Page School - Congressional Yearbook (Washington, DC)

Page 59 text:

THE SENATE PAGES January 6, 1948, was a red-letter day for the Senate Pages, for, after more than a century, we graduated from the old knee length knickers into he-man long trousers. Feelings were mixed over the change because many of us wished to stick to the old system. The trousers would wrinkle too easily and time and money for pressing and cleaning would be needlessly consumed. In spite of the objec- tions, the Majority Policy Committee and the Secretary of the 'Senate ruled that long trous- ers were the order of the day, and, in spite of the jokes and insinuations which were to be expected, the new uniform has lived through. The general feeling is that they are here to stay. The chief reason for the change was the shortage of stockings and material for'the knickers. This, plus the time needed to change into the regalia, influenced the minds of the statesmen who instituted it. The Senate Page's work starts when he leaves school and does not end until some time after the session. As a rule his day is over at four-thirty, provided the Senate has recessed, but he stays late at night if his services are required. Filibusters and lengthy orations are not always appreciated by the Senate Pages. Early in the morning, on session days, the pages clear off the bills of the day before and put on the desks the records, bills, and calen- dars of business for that day. One of the boys of the majority side is assigned to prepare the desk of the President, and others have duties such as seeing that the racks are full of sta- tionery, the snuff boxes full of snuff, the ink and sand filled, and that the teletype ma- chines are in order. There is one chore boy in each cloakroom, and it is his duty to an- swer all ofthe many calls which come in each day, and to see that the other pages are doing their jobs correctly. Thesejobs are based on seniority and ability, one of the primary posi- tions being that of the phone boy. The Senate Pages are a long and standing tradition on The HiIl , and, unlike the snuff boxes and the sand, for which tradition is the only rope still binding them to the Senate, the pages still serve a useful and practical pur- pose. T. D. M.

Page 58 text:

THE PATRONAGE SYSTEM THE EDITORS DISCUSS PATRONAGE MATTERS WITH THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE, left to right, seated, The Honorable W. Sterling Cole, of New York, The Honorable Leo E. Allen, of Illinois, Chairman, and The Honorable Marion T. Bennett, of Missouri. To the victor belong the spoils! Even before a Senator uttered that policy-making statement in the time of Andrew Jackson the triple alliteration of Politics, Patronage, and Pages had been the keynote for the patron- age system in the Congress. Each House of the Congress has a com- mittee which assigns appointments to certain Senators and Representatives belonging to the majority party. These Congressmen in turn appoint the boys who become the pages. ln spite of the fact that both Houses of the Congress are naw Republican, and conse- quently only Republicans may appoint pages, many boys remain under Republican sponsor- ship who previously held office under the Democrats. The pages serve members from both the great parties, and much to their satisfaction and relief, the Democratic pages have found that the Republican Members are not particularly partisan in their choice of boys to fill up the patronage positions. The patron is usually more than a pass for a job. He is an adviser, a helper, and, above all else, a friend. To these men, our sponsors, we owe a tre- mendous debt, for it is entirely through them that we have the great opportunity of serving on The Hill . lt is with this borne in mind that we have dedicated The 1948 Congres- sional to our patrons, for we try from day to day to repay with our gratitude and services this debt. --M. E. H. -54-

Page 60 text:

HOUSE PAGES - ' ' kg , . . . . .. , . ., Lm,,, . 1 - Lkk, .- g .- - ' . , : Q .-if em ' ' r '- V - A g I A ' P - - . , ,. M .f .- uf- - ' Are you one of the forty-niners? lf so, then you are one of the Pages of the House of Representatives. Our duties, much like those of the Senate Pages, are varied in that we run H. O. B.s and floor calls, file records, call members from the floor for visitors and friends or to the telephone. Each Page must be appointed by a Member of Congress, and he is assigned a job by the Doorkeeper of the House. Beside each chair on the House floor is a button, which when pressed, connects with a number on the board by the Page bench. The overseer immediately calls out the number and the Page sitting next to him runs to this assigned chair to ask if he may be of service, which will probably amount to getting a bill from the desk in the front of the chamber, running an errand to an office, or obtaining a Congressional Record of a past date. -.56-. . The telephone Pages place and receive calls for Congressmen. Through the Pages the of- ficers keep in touch with their various mem- bers. The Pages stationed on the doors of the House floor get members for friends and con- stituents. There are also Pages who are liasons between members of the press and Congress- men whom are asked for statements concern- ing some important event which happened or will happen concerning domestic or foreign affairs. The House Pages have in some respects more responsibility than the Senate Pages due to the fact that we serve a greater number of members, committees and constituents. We Pages are very fortunate in that we are witnessing history in the making and the pos- sible destiny of the world unfolds before us during our stay on Capitol Hill. J. R. F.