The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-01-13
Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON, Jan. z, 1881.


Among professional beggars the best
man is he who can exhibit the greatest
monstrosity of physical shortcomipg.
so in that pesky matter, the weather,
that locality takes the feather which
can brag over its neighbor of having
the greatest degree of heat or cold.
Old Boreas lately sent our thermome-
ter to Is deg. below zero, and we were
happy, because that day no other COM
munity could exhibit such a low rating,
aud because, since 1885, the mercury
had not fallen so low with us. When
in the exceptional winter our ther-
mOmeters get one or two degrees below
zero, we feel that Jack Frost is sharply
nipping us, but when, as now, he goes
Is degrees better, we think we ought
to receive the leather medal, or an APP
preparation of $500 from Congress
for our poor. Unlike Kansas, we have
no grasshoppers on which apostles may
go out over the Union to gss sands for
the poor (the apostles p Of that lafor-
tuate State; yet we have At least a
thousand disinterested men here who
can patrioticaIly divide 500. 900 among
our frozen, poverty stricken citizens,
and who will give bond and affidavit
that not moro than two thirds will
stick to their palms.
Since our last, New Years came and
went in more than its usual quietude.
The intense cold of the week preceding
served to keep many indoors who oth-
erwise would have made more calls,
and as consequence there was less
visiting than in former years since our
people adopted the Knickerbocker GUS
tom Of making New Yoars calls. OF
course, tho White House was the grand
central attraction, inasmuch as it is
obligatory upon every official, civil,
military, naval and diplomatic, to pay
their respects to the President. This
naturally brings the great unwashed
American into the throng, and they,
without distinction Of sex, pour into
the White House on the heels Of the
official, in countless thousands. How
any one can endure the crush more
than once, is = mystery, yet there are
hundreds of men and women who go
through it religiously each year. Ger
tain women seem to be actuated by g
morbid craving for it, as they go thro'
once, but again and again on the same
day. Getting flattened into pancake
by the jam, apparently has as much
pleasure to them as it has of agony to
others.
The publication Of the So called Mrs.
Christiancy letters revives the memory
of the Bsecher- Tilton scandal, with all
its odiousness. That Infamous suit did
more than all the whisky shops and
hells of the country to break down the
moral sentiment of'a large portion of
our American society, and yet, here is
another leprous ulcer forced upon us
by Mr.. Christiancy, in his insane de-
sire to rid himself OF his young wife.
1t was a misfortune that his incarcera-
ton in some lunatic asylum was not
made, rather than to permit him to
marry the foolish young girl on whom
he is now endeavoring to fasten the
guilt Of adultery through the perjury
of designing foreigners and worse
Americans. One has no patience with
the infamy cropping out of the pasty
matter, and it is difficult to repress the
wish that some Peruvian mad house
might take the ex-senator at once as
an inmate for life. he richly deserves
that place, or few yards of hemp
with attendant lamp-post.
Congress is again at work, having
Tuesday last, and is in full
debate on several important matters
Among these is Mr.. Woods Funding
Bill and Vagrant Law for the Dis
trict. Both will fare badly before
reaching final enactment, for both
contain features developing much and
able opposition.