[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 73 (Thursday, May 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6160-S6162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE SENATE CHAMBER DESKS--A BRIEF HISTORY
Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, recently I announced that I was not going
to be seeking another term in the Senate. It has been a wonderful
opportunity these last 16\1/2\ years to serve in this great body, to be
serving with all of my great colleagues and friends from all the 50
States, and all the wonderful staff people that make this place run. I
just want to thank all of them so much for their many kindnesses shown
to me.
Mr. President, I was cleaning out my desk a while ago and just
looking through something I have had in my desk for some time that was
prepared by some of the individuals, I think, in the Historian's
office. That is not the proper name for those who prepared this. But I
thought while there were interested parties involved, I might read a
few pages of some of the history of the desks in this Chamber. This is
a brief history.
When British troops burned the U.S. Capitol in 1814 during
the War of 1812, they severely damaged the Senate Chamber and
destroyed the original furnishings. The rebuilt Chamber was
completed in 1819 and the Senate ordered 48 new desks at a
cost of $34 each from Thomas Constantine. A New York
cabinetmaker, he also constructed desks for the House of
Representatives. Many of these early desks remain in use in
the Senate Chamber today. As new states have entered the
Union over the years, additional desks of identical design
have been built and placed in use.
Throughout most of the 19th century a senator's only office
was his desk on the Senate floor,
We did not have, I might say, the Senate office buildings. This was
our office, the desk that was on the Senate floor.
but gradually separate rooms were assigned. The earliest
offices were Committee rooms occupied by their chairmen;
additional space later became available under the Olmsted
Terraces on the West Front of the Capitol. Finally, with the
completion of the first Senate office building [the Russell
Building] in 1909, all senators were able to occupy suitable
offices on Capitol Hill.
Over the years, modifications have been made to the Chamber
desks to provide more room for books and papers. Beginning in
the
[[Page S6161]] 1830s, three- to four-inch high mahogany
writing boxes were added to each desk. The writing boxes were
not installed all at one time, but periodically over the next
40 years, usually at the request of a desk's occupant. Senate
vouchers record payments to carpenter R. B. Griffin for
altering nine mahogany desks in 1860, shortly after the
Senate moved to its present Chamber.
Not every senator preferred the modification, but today
only one desk--``the Webster--lacks a writing box. Senator
Daniel Webster reputedly refused to have his desk added to on
the grounds that if his predecessor had managed without the
extra space, so could he. No succeeding occupant of Webster's
desk has seen fit to abandon that opinion. In order to bring
the height of the Webster desk into visual line with others
in the Chamber, a raised base has been added. Although he was
born in New Hampshire, Webster represented Massachusetts in
the Senate, and the desk has continued to be associated with
Webster's birth state. New Hampshire Senators Styles Bridges
and Norris Cotton, for example, occupied the desk for long
periods. In 1974, just before Cotton retired from the Senate,
he secured the adoption of Senate Resolution 467 (93rd Cong.,
2nd sess.), specifying that the Webster desk would henceforth
always be assigned to the senior senator from New Hampshire.
Other early Senate desks bear design characteristics that
allow their differentiation. The oldest desks incorporate
wooden inlays of circular and rectangular banding at the
sides, crotch veneer mahogany across the fronts, and narrow
reeding on the feet. These features were incorporated in
desks newly-made throughout the third quarter of the last
century and may today be found in more than seventy of the
present number.
The difference in shape and dimension among the desks is
due to the original semicircular arrangement in the Old
Senate Chamber.
Not this Senate Chamber, but the Old Senate Chamber.
A desk's shape conformed to its position in the room: if on
the aisle it was narrow and angled, if near the center it
tended to be wider and more square. If the oldest desks could
be rearranged to the original configuration, it is believed
they would form a perfect semicircle.
During the mid-19th century, mahogany shelves were added
near the bases of the desks. At the turn of the 20th century,
the feet were enclosed with a metal grille and connected to a
plenum chamber below the floor which provided ventilation.
That, Mr. President, was the air-conditioning system. We have a much
better air-conditioning system now than they had then.
Inkwells and sanders atop the desks have also undergone
change. Original inkwells were composed of clear cut glass,
covered with square, flat tops that moved horizontally. In
1933, the remaining original inkwells were replaced by
containers having hinged covers, because the earlier design
was no longer manufactured.
Over the years the desks have been periodically rearranged,
as new states sent senators and as party representation
increased and diminished. When additional desks were
required, these were generally made by private cabinetmakers,
although the four newest desks--those constructed for Alaska
(1959) and Hawaii (1960)--were built in the Senate's own
cabinet shop.
Seven distinct numbering systems have been employed over
the years to track the expanding group of desks and their
locations. These numbers--both Roman and Arabic--are still
visible below and inside the desks in various places. The
current system, instituted in 1957, consists of Roman
numerals burned into the right-hand corner of the principal
crosspiece beneath the desks. The desks are not arranged on
the Senate floor in numerical order. The easiest method of
tracing the heritage of each desk is to read the names carved
inside desk drawers.
Now, in earlier years, the Members of the Senate carved their names
in the desk drawers. I hate to say that in modern times I have looked
in my desk drawer and some of the occupants of this desk even wrote
their name, it appears, with a ball point pen. That is not quite as
classy as carving.
It appears that such inscriptions are a 20th-century
tradition, for the earliest recorded names date back only to
the first decade of this century. Possibly some 19th-century
senators inscribed their names in the desks, but these names
have been lost when drawers were refinished. Not all names in
drawers were personally inscribed by the senators. Many
reveal an identical hand, suggesting either that older drawer
bottoms were replaced and the names recopied, or that staff
members, rather than senators, took responsibility for
chronicling certain holders. In recent decades, senators have
adhered more closely to a tradition of personally inscribing
desks.
One difficulty in verifying the desks' 19th-century
assignees is the fact that for many years Senate doorkeepers
closely guarded such privileged information. Isaac Bassett,
Senate page and doorkeeper from 1831 through 1895, feared
that souvenir hunters might damage the historic furniture if
it was widely known which pieces were used by the famous
Senators Clay, Calhoun, or Senator Webster. Bassett the page
and the doorkeeper had reasonable cause for alarm. In April
1861, when the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment was bivouacked
temporarily in the Senate Chamber, literally living in the
Senate Chamber, Bassett entered the room just in time to hear
the sound of splitting wood on the Democratic side. Rushing
to
investigate, he found a Union soldier bayonetting the desk
recently vacated by Jefferson Davis, then president of the
Confederacy. ``Stop! Stop! What are you doing?,'' Bassett
shouted. ``That is not Jeff Davis' desk--it belongs to the
government of the United States. You were sent here to
protect government property, not to destroy it.'' Today, a
small block of wood inlay on the left side of the desk
marks the spot where the bayonet once struck the desk of
Jefferson Davis.
Traditions associated with Senate desks continue to evolve.
A recent example is the so-called `Candy Desk''. Each member
of the Senate knows which desk is the candy desk. Senator
George Murphy (R-CA) originated the practice of keeping a
supply of candy in his desk for the enjoyment of fellow
senators. This desk was subsequently passed on to other
members for use, but the tradition of keeping candy in the
desk that occupies that particular place in the back row of
the Chamber continues today.
The custom of dividing the arrangement of Senate desks by
party is almost as old as the parties themselves. Democrats
traditionally sit on the presiding officer's right;
Republicans on his left. But the division has not always been
definitive as it is today.
In the Old Senate Chamber, an equal number of desks was
placed on each side of the aisle, without regard to party
size. When one party elected more than half the senators,
some majority party members had to find space on the minority
side. When the Senate moved to the modern Chamber in 1859,
the practice of dividing the desks equally continued for
several years. But during the Civil War many Southern
Democrats withdrew from the Senate and Republicans took their
places on the Democratic side, even though empty desks were
available on ``their own'' side.
The new Chamber was large enough to permit a somewhat
flexible seating arrangement and in 1877 the practice began
of moving desks back and forth across the center aisle to
permit all majority members to sit together on the
appropriate side of the aisle. From time to time since then,
one party has elected such an overwhelming majority that it
has become necessary to again have majority members sit on
the minority side. For instance, during the 60th Congress
(1907-1909) ten Republicans sat on the Democratic side, while
during the 75th Congress (1937-1939) thirteen Democrats sat
on the Republican side. Such seating became known as the
``Cherokee Strip,'' meaning that the overflow of majority
party senators were ``off their reservation'' [the Cherokee
Strip in Oklahoma was land belonging neither to the Indian
Territory nor to the United States]. By then it had become
the practice for senior senators to take front row, center
aisle seats; junior majority party members who filled the
``Cherokee Strip'' were assigned either rear row or end seats
on the minority side of the chamber.
Senators independent of either party have traditionally
chosen on which side of the aisle they preferred to sit.
Once, during the 1950s, when Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon
had left the Republican party but not yet joined the
Democrats, he placed his chair temporarily in the middle of
the center aisle in order to demonstrate his independence.
The seating of the majority and minority leaders at the
front row desks on either side of the center aisle is a
relatively recent Senate tradition, dating back only to 1927
for the Democrats and 1937 for the Republicans. In the 19th
century, party leadership was not yet institutionalized.
Certain senators were recognized as leaders for reasons of
personal popularity and political skill, not elected to an
official post by their parties. For example, Henry Clay
always occupied a rear seat near the Chamber entrance. From
that position he was able to signal party members as they
came in before a vote, while vigorously denying the role of
party floor leader.
Not until the 1890s did party caucus chairmen emerge as
floor leaders and for the most part such leaders retain
regular seats. Front row desks went to senior senators in the
party. For many years, the front seat on the Republican side
was held by Senator Robert La Follotte, Sr., an insurgent who
was frequently at odds with his party's majority. Two earlier
Democratic leaders, John T. Morgan, in 1902, and Oscar W.
Underwood, in 1921, took front row desks, each retaining that
position after his service as leader had end. Not until
Underwood left the Senate did Democratic minority leader
Joseph Robinson move to the front row desk, which he
continued to hold as majority leader. Following Robinson's
death, the desk went to his successor majority leader, Alben
Barkley. The desk has been used by Democratic leaders ever
since. On the Republican side, the front row desk was held by
senior senators until 1937, when minority leader Charles
McNary moved there, setting a precedent that continues today.
Mr. President, the actual office that prepared this report, and it
was done in February 1995, was the Office of Senate Curator. I want to
thank the Senate Curator for preparing this report.
Also, in the back of this report, it gives a history of desk No. 39.
This is
[[Page S6162]] desk No. 39, Mr. President, and it lists all of the
Senators who have occupied this particular desk.
I just want to name a few of these. Some of these names may stand
out. John Bankhead from Alabama occupied this particular desk. John
Bankhead lived over on 19th Street, right off of Dupont Circle. John
Bankhead was the father of Tallulah Bankhead. Tallulah Bankhead was one
of the grand actresses during that period of time, and they lived on
19th Street, where I used to live.
Now, also, Patrick McCarran of Nevada occupied this particular desk,
No. 39. He was the author, I assume, of the McCarran-Ferguson Act,
which many people will recognize.
Theodore Francis Green, of Rhode Island, occupied desk No. 39.
Theodore Francis Green may have been--I do not know, that record may
have been broken--but at one time he was the oldest Member to ever
serve in the Senate. That may have been surpassed. I need to check and
correct it. But he was the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee
immediately preceding the chairmanship of Senator J. William Fulbright
of the State of Arkansas.
Another very illustrious individual who has occupied desk 39 is Estes
Kefauver, from Tennessee, known for his coonskin cap and all his grand
campaigning as he ran for President and as he ran for Vice President.
He really was a major force in the 1950's in the Democratic Party and
in American politics.
Another great Senator who has occupied desk No. 39 is Henry M.
``Scoop'' Jackson, of course from Washington State, who passed away
just a few years ago. He truly was one of the giants of the Senate. He
occupied desk 39.
Frank J. Lausche, from the State of Ohio, occupied this desk, desk
No. 39. For some of you who may not know, Frank J. Lausche, to the best
of my recollection, served more terms as Governor than any other
Governor elected in the history of America. I think he was Governor of
his State for--it seems like well over a decade and perhaps even close
to 2 decades, in the State of Ohio.
Mr. President, some of this may not seem too important to a lot of
people, but there may be some students around who someday would want to
know more about the Senate Chamber and about the desks in the Chamber.
As Senator Rockefeller and Senator Coats and myself take our
constituents through the Capitol and sometimes sit with them in the
galleries, sometimes people ask us about the aisle, where do the
Republicans sit and where do the Democrats sit? And so we thought it
might be a good time to put a little statement in the Record giving a
little, brief history about this Chamber and some of the desks that
make up this wonderful U.S. Senate Chamber.
Mr. President, I see no other Senator seeking recognition.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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