A brief historical review of two versions of Saint-Venant's principles for algebraic and exponential decay is presented. Using a model problem, transition from algebraic decay to exponential decay is demonstrated. Next, Saint-Venant's solutions and their characteristics are surveyed for members which may be anisotropic and inhomogeneous. A quantity of technical interest in Saint-Venant's problem is decay length which characterizes the attenuation rate of end effects. We collect decay length for typical bars. Finally, we review a semi-analytical finite element formulation suitable for treating Saint-Venant problem (Saint-Venant's solution and decay lengths) for anisotropic and in-homogeneous cross sections in which the properties do not vary along the axial coordinate.