10 Dec 2018

History:

Lost Capitol Hill: “Brass Plate and Cheek”

Over the last two weeks, I have told the story and aftermath of an early attempt to film at the Capitol. Today, I want to look at a coda to this tale –one that particularly amuses me as a tour guide who has frequent interactions with the Capitol Police.

As mentioned, one of the main issues that was discussed in the days after the filming incident was the culpability –or lack thereof– of the Capitol Police, and what, if any, repercussions would ensue. One reader used this as an opportunity to vent their spleen at the Capitol Police in general, and this letter found its way into print four days after the incident.

The writer, who went simply by their initials “C.W.J.” decried the use of the word “inefficiency” in describing the police force, saying that “inattention” or “ineffective” would be more appropriate. (all quotation marks are as in the original)

Any resident who may have had occasion to visit the Capitol will be sure to have “encountered” the attention of one or more of these Capitol employees in liveries uniform, who stand at “attention,” like the statues, at suitable points, to attract the admiration of visitors.

They never soil their cheap white gloves, supplied by the government, by arresting the dirty tramps or loafers that infect the grounds and buildings, but confine themselves to “sizing up” the strangers, whom they may deign to “notice” by the notorious “Capitol stare.”

Where the letter goes hilariously off the rails is when the writer moves the targets of their insults from the police to the local guides, who are apparently “in ‘cahoots.’”

This “guide” nuisance is another of the evils that The Star may well expose for the good of the residents. The “guides,” with brass plate and cheek, are very attentive to strangers, often rudely forcing themselves upon visitors. One of the “principals” on duty in the rotunda sizes up the stranger or turns him or the party over to one of the “official guides,” who steers them through the Capitol, telling outrageous fairy stories.

Sadly, the identity of this curmudgeon will remain a mystery; there were about a dozen people in D.C. at the time with the initials CWJ.

Miss Olga Rice, pointing to the statue of John Corrie in the National Statuary Collection on the first day in new uniforms, April 2, 1938 (LOC)

This was not the end of the story, however: three days later, the Star published a rebuttal, in which someone with the initials N.M. defended both the police and guides, and in particular the Capitol Police head John P. Megrew (pictured) and Howard F. Kennedy, the head guide. The letter ends thusly:

The members of the guide force are men of education and culture, and I do not believe that any visitor they have ever shown through the Capitol was in the least disappointed or regretted the cost. The charges, indeed, are very low for the services rendered, and there is no “cahoots” as suggested by your ill-tempered correspondent, between the guides and the Capitol police. And the guides do not indulge in “telling outrageous fairy stories.” On the other hand, the visitor who employs a guide will receive the most polite attention and be entertained with an intelligent description of the big Capitol building, and in addition will receive, without cost, any information asked for about Washington and surroundings.

If you are interested in learning how we got from “brass plate and cheek” to today’s professional red-jacket guides, the Architect of the Capitol has an excellent overview.


What's trending

Comments are closed.

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com
Add to Flipboard Magazine.