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Capitol toe the u. S. Learn about the history of the representatives page program. The Program Began in the early until nd continued up 2011 when due to technological changes, pages were no longer critical to the the lative process and program was ended. One of the oldest parts of the capitols house wing. History going back to the 1800s. Know when the first pages served in the house. The tradition of having page is simply an messenger, an errand runner. U. S. Legislative practice it usually has involved in the u. S. Boys between age 8 and 16. Would run all kinds of errands for members of congress, rounding up members, things of that nature. Of accounts ple that kind of place it in the 1800s when the first pages young boys, served in the house as pages. There was an eyewitness account keeper thomas or crackston on the floor with his nephews. And these were the first pages. S of it developed over a couple of decades. See e 1820s, we began to pages showing up in expense reports in the house where we can say definitely thats a page. Thats a floor attendant. It developed over a couple of decades. Boys, in were young the house they were a little older, preteens, and young teens. The idea was that a younger child was much more liable to take direction. Had an older teen, you might not get such compliance. And the thing too about the is it was meeting in a chamber which is now modern statuary hall. The old hall of the house was very cramped. Desks. Filled with it was really packed with early point in its existence. And the idea was that you wanted fleet of foot boys who and he kept a fantastic diary. He had one point is watching the pages on the floor. Diary as to the tripping mercuries, moving about the floor. In his era, it would have been 20 pages who were serving. Time the pages tended to be boys from washington, d. C. And its environs. Sometimes they were sons of members or sons of federal officials. But a lot of times they would be from s or children destitute families who congress was looking to get a hand up. Era aid for pages in that was good. They were paid for 1. 50 at the of the 1800s to to 2. 50 per day. At the end of congress, they could get a large bonus from the members. Lucrative enterprise paging in the 19th century. Thats f the things interesting about the visual history of pages is that theres the legislative process that they dont really get noticed in terms of prints until a little later. Until you start seeing journals like harpers and leslies illustrated news. 1850s and ntil the early 1860s that they start engravings. S party in fact, one of my favorite kind about that is theyre of used by the illustrators as a commentary on whats going on the rest of it the rest of it the image. Because the images are often the chamber. The big space with a lot going story an accompanying thats going tell you all of the etails of whats discussed on the floor and what that image is there. There. We have an 1861 news print and about howe is talking fractious is chamber is. Several folks in here yelling to be heard, trying to make their point. And right in the front theres a looking ge and hes towards where some of the yelling is going on. Silhouetted. One of the things that hes for is so we know oh, consternation and confusion as is parthis is happening of whats going on here. It isnt regular. London rding to the illustrated news, itss unusual because its unlike what theyre used to. Moves along often just a 1869, thadiaser in stevens is giving what is great speechs last a lot of heads and suits here. Youre an artist, that would be tough. Es got a pair of pages here and theyre not just presents sitting on the steps as pages did. By the greatrapped thadias stevens giving one of the last speeches everybody for this not long world. That goes on and on in 1877. Pages sitting e down here as part of a really process in 1877 to solve he problems related to the disputed president ial election of the previous fall. Its so lengthy that some of the fellows here on the steps oh it was roster have fallen asleep. Plane exhausted. One of the things the artist is letting us know, this is late at its going on for a long time. It might feel a little tedious the average joe which is what the page stands in for. Ages werent just in the chamber, of course. They were out and about doing other things. Things that the pages would do in the 19th century prior to having a lot of staff on capitol hill, pages performed a lot of that staff ve jobs do now. One of them was to have go out at night and round up members from the oarding houses or from their hotels from a late night vote. Memoir by a derful page who served in the early augustus name was thomas. He recalled having to sit to as what he referred sophomore sophomoreific drivel. E said the pages would be sitting on the rostrum nodding off to sleep. If they could behind the rostrum, they would be playing a game of marbles. But hed say we always have that problematic member who would demand the call of the house in he wee hours of the morning just to make a point for his colleagues and the pages would have to sift out through the process servers rounding up the delinquents. So pages would do a lot of things. In the 19th century, we didnt have Office Buildings or members or staff. Was there was really bare bones. So the pages performed a lot of not just delivering messages or filling water glasses on the floor or lighting cigar for a member or lighting a lantern. But they would haul firewood in the members in to the old hall of the house in the intertime to feed one of the fireplaces in the old hall. They also worked in the document folding room. Copies of speeches and committee be prepared to distribute it to members and to their constituents in the districts. And this was endless hours of work. Pages kept the institution running and kept the legislative process running. Of the reminds me, one nifty artifacts we have, some of the other things that pages were doing. Of the things you were discussing is how pages what pages were paid. Pages would be able to supplement their income by doing this. Ing like this is a page a receipt for to get this naged any people to order up extra copies of a speech by benjamin butler. It was to be printed at the congressional globe office. There are hundreds. Bepg minute butler ordered up copies of his speech to distribute. Others ordered 100 apiece. By doing that, you would get a sort of commission if you were a page. Example of seeing this in action. We know from memoirs thats something that pages would do. Is a great example of exactly how they did it and the that he got for his hard work. People to round up. We have a newspaper account, actually made 400 on certain speeches given around the time of the mckinley tariff debate in the 1890s. Thats a lot of money then. It was. Aroundthe pages would go on the floor and collect autographs. Banned in the latever 19th century. Supplement ways to the income to live in d. C. Its true the chamber could make it crowded making it great to have little messengers around. Another wave of crowdednd in the came into play with the pages is eventually after who seats cram in the back where you couldnt hear anything, they instituted a lottery. The first half of s. E 19th century, the 1940 but certainly by the 1860s, they have the pages drawing the numbers. Seniorve one of the most head pages blind folded at the speakers rostrum. Your number came out first, you of seats. Ick certainly they already had sort of been sitting by in party blocks by then. But where you were going to be whether or not the magic ball of that was your number was pulled by the blind page. And it became one of those things that was written about a because it apers became a ritual of the opening f congress and people would write about the blind folded page. You can see how crowded everything is and how important would be to get a good desk assign ment assignment. The poor page just holding the lass of water for the member whos speaking on and on. We have artifacts that are wonderful examples of how the pages lived and what they did. One of the ones thats my favorite is a page uniform from 1907. This is roy tasco jr. He was a page in 1906 and 1907. He loved being a page so much that he kept his uniform. His ust a few years ago, descendents found it. He had kept it so carefully, hey didnt even find it when die die died. Kind of wonderful. Influenced by military attire. And some point, the he becoming rogram were more formal. Joe d close connections to cannon, the speaker of the house. Its possible thats why in is of a fancy uniform because his connection there. My favorite thing isnt the military part, its the fact along the top, in case you missed it, it says, running around, hes easily identified. Though, the time, identification wasnt written on your neck. Or i a little button think they were a numbers badge. Of those early buttons though it might have their age but om also just sort of cover hemselves with the core of the page brethren. This page fraternity pin is from the 1930s. From a whole raft of information who served as a page not at time who donated other is, but some objects to show exactly how great it was to have the access to the capitol. Things like his membership card in the Little Congress. A ticket to get in to the capitol into the galleries. When Herbert Hoover was giving a speech. So a lot of things there. Learned so much about it than just whats in the artifacts. An oral history with mr. Rupp. He at that point he was 90 years old. The memories of being a page so fresh he lit up when asking these questions. Years in the four early 1930s. 1932 to 1936. Longer than the typical page wulz. Was. For him, it was a full time job as a teenager. Memories of him coming to the chamber and hearing speeches by fdr. Fdrs inaugural. He was up on the platform. It was in 1933 and all anxious to hear the president address the joint session of congress. Mccabe was one along with me sitting in front speakers at that time. For a there actually, i was on duty. Little at there for a bit. I didnt know they were taking while i was sitting there. Also had such a memory and cheatnt need any kind of sheet or booklet. He was put on the door right off of the chamber which is just us. Nd hed be responsible for making sure who was coming and going belonged on that the floor. But also he could run in for a reporter or for someone who to speak to a member and quickly get to them and bring the out on to the out to speakers lobby. He did this for about a year. Stories he told s was that he had had to from this young staffer texas. He said were going to have a new door keeper thats going to on the door here. Want him to you to introduce him to everyone and you. Be working for and i said, fine, who is he . Whats his name . Lyndon johnson. Oh. Johnson . Lyndon i said ive known him since he washington. So he came and worked the rest the door with on me. Introducedhim in and floor congressman on the and went up and down each aisle. Were, m who they introduced him to the reporters and showed him. It exposed him to a living civics lesson that you never from the pages of a book. Theres a continuity of stories he would tell that stories later pages would tell in oral histories. Its true that when you look onestifacts, these are the that people saved. It was such an important and ifechanging period in their lives. As adolescence is always, but them, it was. Things say, with ards, pens, photos of themselves, yearbooks. Of the images they had, it was matted, they saved it forever. Pages were all lined up in front of the rostrum and the House Chamber with the supervisors in front and the pages look pretty happy, even though theyre being formal. Little rvisors look a more severe. I suppose if youre supervising many, you want to look severe. Ut you can see how young they were. And how much this would have loomed large in their memories frer. Going back to the 19th century, these are young boys, preteens, teens. Hard work. Lot of but there was a lot of down time too. Nd the stories of some of the things they did to entertain look in s, i mean, you this is from the 1930s. This is something called the Little Congress club. Staffers, st pages, secretaries from offices who get basis foror a regular dinner, usually at a local hotel. A meeting ave afterwards in which they debate current legislation. Deal reforms new or neutrality laws. Lyndon johnson got involved in this as well. Led the Little Congress club. The pages had precursors to this club. 1920s and 1930s, the pages had a club calmed the itsy bitsy congress. Which the pages when the house was are recess to go to members or desks or ating the leadership desks and manage a bill on if floor and theyd debate on i want. 1890s, thomas bracket reed who empowered the pages admired e them so much they started this unior house of representatives and debated the impact of reeds rules. They would do a lot in the themselves when the house was in recess. O by the 20th century, the house is modernizing. Itss becoming the modern institution that it is today. O one of the things that happens is that the pages duties become more defined. 20th cent rip, you see the development of a couple of different page positions. Equal. Es were but there was one page designated as the speakers page. Page would follow the speaker around and be his of all times. Thats the position of high onor if you had distinguished himself as a junior page. But the vast majority of people as pages were what pages. Erred to as bench errand runners on the floor. Bring in the congressional the d and put them on member seat. Develop messengers to people on the floor. Would run members of the juries to the members office. In a while, they had pages the latter 19th century called riding pages. Dispatched on horseback down to the executive departments to deliver messages from the house. Once we get a telegraph is theym in washington, d. C. , become telegraph pages. They dont need to get on horseback anymore. Of o the far ends pennsylvania avenue. Some of the other pages in the have entury, though, who more responsibilities are documentarian pages. Of the on the rostrum hamber and theyre much more involved in the legislative process in terms of delivering clerks,dments, the bill and interacting with clerk staff parliamentarian staff and they also operated the later n the 20th century, the bell system that developed to let members know when the vote was on. Pages would have halls ry out into is it of the capitol and shout to members that a vote was going on. Need to get to the chamber. The belt system is the congress system. It would call people to vote or to the house came about around century of the 20th when you had enough electricity and this magic new technology to thing. T sort of this is from the 1960s, its one f the light boards that you would find in the house office uilding or in the capitol that changed a lot of that, from embers being called by pages who are running through the restaurant or the Office Buildings saying whats going on, to lights and an increasingly complicated buzzer that would tell people exactly what was happening. What kind of vote . It quorum call . All of those things. That,stingly, even before the Inlet Chamber itself in a used in the ints 19th century, you can see the pages sitting right up there on see ostrum so they could members who want something from them. They would often clap to get or just call n them. But at some point in the end of house h cent rip, the installs a buzzer system. Each and every desk and draw a hole in it and looks like a doorbell. We have a desk from 1873 that alteration. The doorbell is still there. We wondered why is there a doorbell there. Hen we were able to find out exactly when that came in to play. The things that happens in the 20th century is that pages for the first time formal schooling in their experience here in washington, d. C. In the 19th cent rip, pages just the house. And when they didnt work in the off. E, they were they lived in local boarding didnt get more fall schooling. Begins to change at the same time we have progressives laws in or child labor the u. S. And for a for a formal Education System. There were some progressives who looked at the pages and said, know a lot about becoming a statesman, a representative for a senator, almost devoid of any ruseful knowledge other than that. Push in gin to see the the early 1900s. S, the mid 1920s, parents of some of the pages who increasingly from across the country, theyre no longer just washington, d. C. , parents become involved and they a private school in the capitol. Man who starts the first formal Education System for the in the earnest kendall early 1930s. He establishes the capital page the basement of the capitol. Its both house and senate pages. Historiesnderful oral of the capitol page school. To bartlett who would go on become a marine general, he would become a reading clerk in he house and have a very long house career. He was a page in the early 1940s. Has reminiscences of his page chool and how primitive conditions were in the capitol basement. It was dank. Own nerated our electricity. We brought in a direct current. You could lose it right then. A private school conducted by principal, a very spartan baptist gentleman. Liked him but he was straight laced. No question about that. A month for tuition. And the maintenance problems now. Leaked. And it was not completely uncommon to go in there and find floor there was a puddle. You would put down blanks so we at our seats. Alk in on the plank, take our seats, hold our feet up and study latin. Theres descriptions of pages their spare time going through the capitol basement ith terriers and pellet guns hunting the catsized rats as part of their part of their entertainment. And pellet guns arent part of everybodys high school experience. But its not high school if you dont have a yearbook. This was not very big. It was a small school. The president , the pledge of san ray burne, lots of the other folks involved. Democratic chief page. Council, the faculty. Many, many pages. Juniors. Rs, the like any year, people were having their yearbook signed. Things they