Accredited reporters used passes like this one to reach the press galleries of the House and Senate. Both chambers reserved choice space for reporters, directly behind and above the rostra. Adjacent rooms contained work tables stocked with pens and stationery. From a nearby telegraph office reporters could file their stories in record time. Austin Heiss used this pass in 1910 and 1911, covering Congress for the New Orleans Times-Democrat and the Philadelphia Evening-Democrat. Heiss was a Washington fixture for decades, and one account of his career said “his knowledge of politics is second to none.”
