v
j At the National Capital r
Gossip of People and Events
Gathered in Washington
CAPITAL HABIT STRONG
ON EX-OFFICE HOLDERS
WASHINGTON. —They can't keep
away, for the Washington habit is
strong upon them. The lure of the
capital draws former senators and for
mer representatives here just as sure
ly as the call of duty calls the present
office-holders. They drift down in No
vember, and scores of them stay until
the adjournment. Of course this
takes notice only of those of the for
mer members to whom business or
professional work is not a money
making necessity. Former Represen
tative Joseph W. Babcock owns a
home in Washington, and he is here
already and is apparently as busy as
when to all intents and purposes as
chairman of the committee on the Dis
trict of Columbia he was the mayor of
Washington. Men who at one time
have been senators are allowed the
privilege of the floor of the senate,
but no such right of admission is
granted by the house, and the house
. prohibition is a wise one, for other-
THE library of congress, with its
manifold attractions, is of interest
to the average sightseer, and accord
ingly the main stream of the touring
public flows toward the great struc
ture adjoining the capitol. All classes
of all nationalities pass through its
doors, and to be successful in their
calling and to afford the universally
polite service their position demands
the attendants must possess a reserve
fund of tact which might well bring
them into notice in more ambitious
fields.
Recently a modishly gowned woman,
-apparently in her early thirties, after
wandering about the several depart
ments during the forenoon, asked to
be directed to the cafe, which is a
part of the equipment of the building.
Having satisfied her hunger, the vis
itor, again accosting one of the guards,
inquired the way to the smoking room.
Albeit a bit surprised at the inquiry,
the attendant gave the required infor
mation, whereupon the woman made
her way to the sanctum and quite re
gardless of the looks of astonishment
from the men assembled for their
postprandial cigars, clie calmly en
tered the room.
Settling lierself comfortably she
drew from her handbag a daintily
monogramed case and, taking there
from a cigarette, struck a match and
nonchalantly proceeded to enjoy a
QUARREL OF TRACTION
MEN MAKES PEOPLE WALK
CONGRESS is Washington's city
council and the people of the capi
tal are now experiencing difficulties
which arise from the fact that its al
•dermen meet only once a year.
The great new railroad station has
been completed and one of the two
railroads which enter the city has
taken possession. Incoming and out
going travelers are obliged to walk a
long distance to the depot from and to
the nearest street car line. There are
many people who in this time of
financial stringency do not care to pay
for cabs, and so a long line of luggage
bearers foot it along daily through the
sticky district mud to the paved door
way of the station.
Tne house or representatives "com
mittee on District of Columbia" prac
tically runs the town, for whatever it
recommends congress as a rule ac
1F ANYBODY in New York runs
across a congressional commission,
consisting of Senator Nathan Bay
Scott of West Virginia and Represen
tative Richard Bartholdt of Missouri,
nosing around their premises or recon
noltering around the back alleys, they
need not be alarmed. These states
men are looking for a place to build
the new main post office of New York,
j The post office department has al
ready chosen the site at the new
;Pennsylvania terminal; it has been
ipaid for, and the plans are being
'(drawn for th«» building. But prior to
the final passage of the bill authoriz
ing tho building a resolution was
•passed by congress appointing a com
mission, to consist of the postmaster
general and the chairmen of the two
wise there would be double reason for
the present cry for more room.
Former Senator Peffer of Kansas,
who at one time, largely perhaps be
cause of his picturesque views on peo
ple's rights and because of his equally
picturesque whiskers, was much in
the public mind and eye, practically
lives in Washington. He is engaged,
it is understood, in the nothing l?ss
than herculean task of making an in
dex for the Congressional Record. It
is said that Mr. Peffer's patience is
equal to his soul-trying employment.
Former Senator Stewart, "Silver"
Stewart of Nevada, is in Washington.
He is as white as the snow on the top
of his Nevada mountains, but despite
his 80-odd years he is as strong appar.
ently as any tree that grows below
the mountain timber line. Former
Senators Blair of New Hampshire and
Thurston of Nebraska are practicing
law in Washington. The list is too
long for the present writing.
CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY
GUARDS ARE NONPLUSSED
smoke. In an instant the guard was
upon the scene.
"Madam," he began deprecatlngly,
"you are infringing the rules, and I
shall have to ask you to stop smoking
and withdraw."
"You told me this was the smoking
room, did you not?" sweetly inquired
the smoker.
"It is the smoking room, but —but"
waved the attendant, "it's for men."
"Well, sir, the sign says 'smoking
room,' and if you show me where I'm
infringing any rule by smoking in the
smoking room I'll withdraw, but not
until then," returned the lady with an
air of being well within her rights.
The guard, finding his authority in
effective, called up the captain of the
watch, who joined his expostulations
to those of his subordinate, but all to
110 avail. The woman turned on them
a serene and unruffled countenance,
end, looking at them as though they
"were not," proceeded to finish her
cigarette.
When the la3t little whiff had been
expelled madam arose and, strolling
leisurely through the corridors, was
soon lost to sight, and now the thun
derstruck guardians of the noble pile
arc considering the advisability of
changing the phraseology of the sign
and having the legend read:
"Smoking room. Sacred to the uses
of men."
copts. Last year, knowing that the
station was soon to be completed, the
street railroad officials asked for a
right of way to the new station. The
committee was ready enough to grant
it, but the officials of one traction com
pany objected to something which the
officials of the other company wanted,
and as a result of the fight action was
postponed for a year, and now Wash
ington walks.
The street car companies are out a
lot of nickels, the citizens are disgust
ed, and the upshot of the whole thing
will be that the objecting company
will gain nothing, for the point which
it fought is now counted as lost, and
the ground plan has been laid for fu
ture objection to franchise extensions.
The walking Washingtonlans are
angry enough to make certain that
their memories will hold onto the
present grievance for years to come.
CONGRESSMEN TARDY IN
HUNT FOR BUILDING SITE
bui.ding commissions, togo to New
York and make a report upon a suita
ble location.
Postmaster General Cortelyou, in
his annual report, stated that since
tlie site had been chosen he had not
called the commission together and it
was thought at the post office depart
ment that it was all over. Hut a con
gressional commission must perform
its function. A now postmaster gen
eral has succeeded Mr. Cortelyou.
When Messrs. Scott and Bartholdt
called upon him, he said he could not
go, but he would send a man in his
place. The hope is expressed that
some one will pilot the commission
around to Seventh avenue and Thirty
third street before they return.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1.907.
II HUT COM
A City Nearly as Dirty as
New York.
POET-RIDUEN SPOTS IN ERIN
Places Just as Beautiful as Kiliarney
That Have Not Been Contaminated
with Surplus Rhymes and Herded
Tourists.
By CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS.
Kiliarney, Ireland. —They told me
that Cork was a very dirty city. They
even said it was filthy, and they said
It in such a way as to reflect on Irish
men in general and Corkonians in par
ticular.
Yes, they said that Cork was a
dirty city, and so I found it —almost
as dirty as New York. This may sound
like a strong statement but I mean it.
When 1 arrived in Cork I saw a hill
and made for it at once, because after
railway travel there is nothing that
so takes the kinks out of a fellow's
legs as a walk up a stiff hill. And any
how I was on a walking tour.
I arrived at the top about sunset.
On reading this sentence over I find
that it sounds as if the hill was an
all day journey but it was only a
matter of a few squares, and when I
started the sun had long since made
up its mind to set.
In Ireland the sun takes on Irish
ways, and is just a little dilatory. It
always means to set, and it always
does set in time to avoid being out in
the dark, but "it's an unconscionably
long time a dying."
At the summit of the hill I saw a
church steeple that appealed to my
esthetic sense, and I asked a little
boy what church it was.
"Shandon churrch, sirr," said he
with the rapid' and undulating utter
ance of the Corkonian.
"Where the bells are?" said I.
"Yes," said he, smiling. "And over
beyont is the Lee."
"The pleasant waters of the river
Lee," I quoted at him, and he smiled
again. Probably every traveler who
goes to Cork quotes the lovely old bit
of doggerel, but the Corkonian smiles ,
and smiles.
The river Lee runs through the cen
ter of Cork, and at. evening it is a
favorite place for fishing, also for
learning to swim on dry land.
The fishermen seem to fish for the
love of casting, and the little boys
swim on the pavement—two pursuits '
as useless as they are pleasant. Over
the bridge the fishermen leaned, and
cast their lines in anything but pleas
ant places—for the river is malodor
ous —and the little boys stood on '
benches and dived to the pavement,
where they spat and then went 1
through the motions of swimming.
There were dozens of the little boys, j
and most of them seemed to be broth- I
ers. Some of them were quite expert |
in diving backward, and all of them ;
were dirty, but they seemed to be hap
py. I could not help thinking how soon j
the Celtic mind begins to use sym
bols, for it was easy to see, that when
the boys spat it signified a watering
place to them. I dare say they were
breaking a city ordinance in spitting
and if they knew that they were that
much happier—stolen sweets are the
sweetest.
During the time I watched the set
ting sun—which was still at it and, j
by the way, performed some lovely j
variations on a simple color scheme j
in the sky—not even an eel was
caught, but the fishermen cast under j
the bridge, let their bait float down !
the (un) pleasant waters, and drew in !
their lines again and again—mute ex
amples of a patience that one does
not associate with Ireland.
At last I left them and started out '
to find Shandon church which seem
ed but a few squares away.
My pathway led through the slums,
and up a hill so steep that I hope i
horses only use it as a means of de- j
scent. I passed one fireside where
the folks looked cosy and happy and
warm. It was a sufnmer evening, but
chilly, and the place into which I j
looked was a shop for the sale of coal, j
Shoemakers' children are generally I
barefooted, but these people were !
buring their own coal, and the moth- !
er and the dirty children sprawled |
around the store or home, in a shadow |
casting way, that would have delight- j
ed Mynheer Rembrandt if lie had '
passed by.
I was struck with the population of i
Cork. It was most of it on the side- |
walk, and nearly all of it was under j
16. Pretty faces, too, among them, !
and happy looking. I think that sym- j
patliy would have been wasted on
them. They had so much more room j
than they would have in New York, |
and they were not any dirtier—than j
New Yorkers of the same class.
After I had reached the top of the !
hill, I turned and looked for Shandon j
church and It was gone. I asked a boy j
what had become of it, and he told me ;
that in following my winding way
through the convolutions known as
streets, I had gotten as far from th«
church as I could in the time. He
told me pleasantly, just how togo to
get to the church, and it involved |
going to the foot of the hill and be- j
ginning again.
I asked a number of times after j
that, and always got courteous but !
rapid answers. The Irish are great |
talkers, but the Corkonian could hand
icap himself with a morning's silence,
and beat his brothers from other coun
ties before evening.
At last I cartie on the church, pass
its quaint and curious (to quote three
of Poe's words), statues of a green
i coated boy and nirl.
I asked a man wben the bells be
san to ringj (for I had been told that
, they only rang at night.)
"Every quar-rter of an hour, sirr,
they'll be ringing in a couple of min
utes, sirr."
One likes to indulge in a bit of
sentiment sometimes, and I stood and
waited to hear the bells of Shandon
; that sound so grand on the pleasant
: waters of the river Lee. I had left the
! Lee to the fishermen and the make
| believe swimmers, but the bells would
: sound sweetly here under the tower
| that held them.
A minute passed, and then another,
! and then 1 heard music—music that
; called forth old memories of days long
since dead. How it pealed out its de
| light, on the (icy) air of night. And
| how well I knew the tune:
"Down Where the Wurzburger
Flows."
No, it was not the chimes but a
nurse in the hospital at a piano. Be
fore she had finished, Shandon bells
: began, but what they played did not
blend with what she sang, and I went
; on my way thinking on the potency
; of music.
I passed on down where the River
Lee flowed, and the fishermen were
still fishing, but the little boys had
tired of swimming.
Two signs met me at nearly every
corner. One read, "James J. Murphy
& C 0.," and the other "Beamish &
! Crawford," or "Crawford & Beamish,"
I forget which. Both marked the
places of publicans (and sinners.
I doubt not), and both were brewers'
nanus. The publican's own name
never appeared, but these names were
omnipresent.
Again 1 thought of Shandon Bells,
| and the romantic song, "Down Where
! the Wurzburger Flows," and leaving
the Lee still flowing I sought my ho
tel.
I would like to make a revolution
ary statement, that is more often
thought than uttered, but before I
make it, I would like to say that
there are two classes of travelers:
I those who think there is nothing in
j Europe that compares with similar
things in America, and those who
I think there is nothing in America that
can hold a candle to similar things
in Europe.
1 hope 1 belong to neither class. If
I mistake not, I am a Pharisee, and
i thank my stars that I am not as other
men are. Most of us arc Pharisees,
but few will admit it.
1 began being a Pharisee when I
was a small child, and that is the
! time that most people begin.
I kept it up. In this, I am —like the
I multitude.
Having thus stated my position, let
1 me go 011 to say, that I am perfectly
willing to admit that this or that bit
of scenery in France, or Switzerland,
j or England, or Ireland, lays over any
thing of the sort I ever saw in Ameri
ca, if I think it does, and I am equally
willing to say, that America has al
most unknown bits, that are far bet
j ler than admired, and poet-ridden
I places in Europe.
Twin Lakes in Connecticut is one
of them, and Kiliarney is a poet-ridden
| place.
Why, even in Ireland, there are
places just as lovely as Kiliarney,
but they have not been written up,
and so no one goes to visit them.
1 felt that one of the worst things
| about Kiliarney was the American
sightseer, and I came away soon.
Cook's Tourists have never heard of
Twin Lakes, thank fortune, and it will
be some time before they (the lakes)
j are spoiled.
The Lakes of Kiliarney are so beau
| tiful that they are worthy of the pen
! of a poet, but the pen of a poet does
; not make any lake more beautiful, and
] I am quarreling because so many peo
! pie refuse to believe the evidence
of their own senses, and take their
natural beauties at the say so of an
; other.
There is a tower going up in New
York at present, a tower that with the
exception of the Eiffel Tower, is the
tallest on earth.
Many persons look at it, reflect that
its is a skyscraper, and then dismiss
it as therefore, hideous. But it is real
ly very beautiful, and seen from cer
tain vantage points, it is architectural
ly one of the glories of New York.
If it ever gains a reputation for
beauty, you will find persons raving
! over it, who to-day class it among the
| "hideous skyscrapers.'
A hundred years ago there were
j some skyscrapers in Switzerland, and
: they were thought to be hideous. Aft
! er awhile, a man with a poet's eyes
| and a courageous tongue visited them,
; and he said "the Alps are beautiful."
When their reputation for beauty
was established, travelers left there
: gion round about the Rockies togo
; and rave over the beauties of Switz
j orland.
That's all.
I (Copyright, 1907, by W. G. Chapman.)
Diamond Diggers.
Divers work as diamond diggers in
I South Africa. They work in icy cold
\ water and black darkness. About
j three and a half miles down the river
from Klerksdorp a wire rope is
; stretched across the Vaal river from
the Transvaal to the Orange River col
ony side, by means of which a large
I scow is placed in midstream, where
S the divers descend and work in from
; 48 to 52 feet of water. At present they
i have no light and work for three or
] four hours in cold water and intense
! darkness. All they are able to do at
j present is to grope around, move the
big boulders with crowbars and scrape
up the smaller stuff from the bed of
the river, emptying it into a large iron
bound wire drum, which takes about
half an hour tc- fill.
ing just before J reached It the Green-
l Around the Metropolis r
What Is Going On in New York
City Told in Interesting Manner
PASTOR QUIETLY BUILD 3
WORKING GIRLS' MOTEL
NEW YORK. —While 75 women's
clubs in their federated as well as
their individual capacity have been
talking about the crying need for a
working girls' hotel, and racking their
composite brains for feasible schemes
to get the necessary money, the pas
tor of a little church in Harlem is
busy building one.
About two years and a half ago it
occurred to Rev. H. M. Tyndall that
the broken stone and sand which were
the by-products of building excava
tions in the city might be put to a
better use than that of increasing the
size of various dump heaps. Why
shouldn't they be purchased, he rea
soned, for a nominal sum by con
tractors who are putting up concrete
buildings and be used for his new
plan? He determined to become the
first of these contractors. His congre
gation had already decided that the
pastor's project of a hotel for working
girls under the auspices of the Peo
ple's tabernacle at 52 East One Hun
dred and Second street was worthy
and practicable and were ready to
pledge their support.
So Mr. Tyndall bought the stone
and sand, and collected a force of
Italian laborers to turn it into con
crete. In the intervals when he wasn't
bossing the mixing he was drawing
pictures of a five-story and basement
building with 75 rooms and a complete
assortment of comforts and some lux
uries.
w *f jsp IS*
MUSICAL, manholes on Broadway,
frdm which issued sweet strains
of Well-known selections, proved quite
a sensation the other day. New York
streets never have been noted for
thoir cleanliness, but as purveyors of
free music for the masses by the man
hole route their success, judged from
their first accomplishment, is un
doubted.
The discovery of this subterranean
melody was made l>3' two negroes
who, while strolling along Broadway,
were surprised to hear music from a
manhole near Twenty-sixth street. It
was a ringing cornet solo rendered
with great spirit. The two immediate
ly fell into a violent discussion as to
what the player was doing under the
street and how he got there. Before
they could decide to call the police a
large audience had collected and when
the solo gave place to the strains of a
full brass band the applause was en
thusiastic.
STOKES PREVENTS RAID
ON SON'S ROOF BARNYARD
WE. D. STOKES, owner of the An
• sonia apartments, at Broadway
and Seventy-third street, spent a busy
hour the other day when he heard that
complaint had been made against him
to the board of health for harboring
"pigs and geese" on the roof of the big
building in violation of the sanitary
code. Mr. Stokes did have a pig and
four geese on the roof, but they were
all in safety before the arrival of the
man sent by Chief Sanitary Inspector
Raynor to investigate the sky farm.
The pig is called Ninky Poo and is
the adored pet of Mr. Stokes' son, Wil
liam Earle Dodge Stokes, Jr. Ever
since last summer the little ainmal
has had an ideal home amid the chim
ney pots of the Ansonia. Four wild
geese with clipped wings were recent
ly added to the establishment to keep
the pig company. For hours little
Stokes would romp with his pets, and
Ninky was especially dear to the boy,
N' YORK is to rival the splendor
of the ancient Rome baths of Car
aealla, famed as the most sumptuous
the world has ever known. Father
Knickerbocker's effort in this line,
however, is to be In the equipment of
a barber shop de luxe, which really
will deserve the much abused name of
"tonsorial palace."
The new regal hair-cutting and shav
ing establishment is to be installed in
one of the great railway terminals
now being built. The whole con
struction is to bo of marble and glass.
S£ach chair will cost $l5O and will be
foOC
As fast as contributions came In the
work progressed and the building at
58 East One Hundred and Second
street is now completed. Moreover,
although there has been no source of
revenue but voluntary contributions,
there isn't the sign of a lien or mort
gage anywhere in sight.
The 75 rooms are bare of furniture
and the 18 front windows present a
blank and curtainless glare to passers
by, and Mr. Tyndall is now trying to
raise the $2,000 necessary to furnish
the rooms.
While the hotel is designed primari
ly for wage earning girls, young wo
men who are strangers in the city will
get temporary accommodations provid
ed they can show credentials of re
spectability. Room and board will be
furnished at from three to five dollars
a week. Women over 35 are reckoned
as undesirable inmates.
Robert E. Tyndall, brother of the
clergyman, is to be the manager of
the house, which is to be for the bene
fit of permanent rather than of trans
ient guests. While the hotel will not
be under the control of any one de
nomination, and attendance upon re
ligious services will not be enforced
upon the residents, its atmosphere
will be decidedly religious.
Questions in regard to dancing, card
playing and the entertainment of men
visitors have not yet been settled.
They will be taken up as soon as some
philanthropic person or persons do
nate the furniture.
MUSIC FROM MAN-HOLES
IS DUE TO LEAK IN WIRES
Further applause at the end of tho
selection failed to produce an encore,
but when some one dropped a nickel
down the manhole as a contribution to
the band supposedly concealed be
neath it, with others following suit,
the music suddenly began again, con
tinuing enthusiastically for many
hours.
Eventually members of the traffic
squad had to disperse the audience of
music lovers, which was blocking the
streets. Meanwhile, with occasional
pauses, the music continued through
the night to the delight of thousands,
and not until the following day was
the cause brought to light. Then tt
was discovered that there was a leak
in the electric wires over which music
is sent by a company which transmits
it from a central producing station to
hotels, halls and private residences. It
was one of these wires which had
short-circuited, thus giving Broadway
a free concert, a mystery and a sensa
tion all at once.
1
as lie had raised him from the milk
bottle stage.
All was serene until a complaint
was lodged with the board of health.
But Mr. Stokes heard a half hour in
advance that his farm was to be raid
ed. He was in an office on ihe six
teenth floor of the apartment house,
but when the safety of his son's pig
was threatened business was dropped.
He dashed up the narrow stairway in
the twilight, followed by his son, and
made a brief survey of the roof. Ninky
Poo, unconscious of her peril, was
noisily devouring pap. The four wild
geese were dining sumptuously on
cracked corn.
Mr. Stokes sect for John, a Swedish
servant.
"The board of health is after the
boy's pets," said Mr. Stokes. "We must
get the geese and the pig out of the
way before the inspector conies. Take
them down to the basement in the
freight elevator."
BARBER PALACE PLANNED
IN BIG RAILWAY TERMINAL
surrounded by a canopy and velvet
hangings. There are to be ten shower
baths, all finished in marble, and each
manicurist will have a little glass com
partment all her own. Marble benches
like those in the Roman baths will
line the walls, and each chair will be
directly in front of its own marble
washstand.
It will undoubtedly be the costliest
and most splendid barber shop in the
world, but it is not known whether
the best suggestion of all, that only
mutes be employed in it, will b«
adopted.
17