National Republican., 1882-12-27
ON THE AVENUE.
Walks and Talks with and About Public
Men.

SlNely commented upon uurlng uhe uHS uh"
evening. DR.. Johnston's intimate acquaint-
ance with the subject gave force and weight TO
his unsparing criticism of the De Lesseps
scheme and must leave upon the public mind
impressions not at all favorable to the great
Frenchman's costly project Americans
never took much stock in the enter
prise, and if the comments heard yes
terday in Washington are fair
criterion the popular verdict must be that 1t
is little short of a gigantic confidence game,
and as empty bubble as the South Sea island
speculation. There are some facts not set
forth fully in DR.. Johnston's letter-tacts
which the people might forget If their atten-
| tion were not recalled to them occasionally.
/ The Paris press was subsidized to recklessly
puff the project stock to the value Of $2,0O0
| 900 francs being voted for that purpose.
| Several strong banking institutions sold
| their credit to the company for 20
per cent on all stock they could dispose of.
They subscribed for enormous blocks of
/ Panama canal stock, and when small investors
| learned that these great houses held the stock
they felt confident il was good thing and
subscribed. When the bona tide subscriptions
reached 600 100000 francs, or some such fig
] UTt, lt lIcSstDbb ulTGClOIg lSSuOu al oluSl
to give to the small subscribers all the
stock they had subscribed for, but providing
that the subscribers of large amounts could
only have percentage of the stock they had
taken, the percentage being in inverse pro-
portion to the magnitude Of the blocks. That
| is to say, the more stock man or a bank took
above $4,000 or 100000 francs the less they
got. In this way
THE BANKS GOT OUT FROM UNDER
the load they were carrying and the inves.
tors who took their small savings from their
stockings found they had it all to themselves.
The banks had probably cleared from 100000
600 or 125,000, 900 francs and were relieved of
further responsibility by the company. The
projectors were paid 100000 francs for the
charters given them by the seven by nine
isthmus republics, which were represented to
he enormously valuable concessions" sev
eral colossal dredges were bought for the pur
pose of digging out harbor, and Trcnor W.
Park was paid 10000 900 francs for his Pan
ANA railroad, the Frenchmen kindly taking
the stock off his hand at $50 and letting it
run down on their hands 100 points
since the purchase Thus far nothing
has been done toward excavating a
canal, the route not even having been def
nitely located. Disease and death have deci-
mated the French engineers and colonists
who went over to do the preliminary work
on a neck of land where twelve feet of rain
falls every year to nourish rank and poison
Gus tropical vegetation. Another assessment
on stock is about to be levied on the sub
scribers of the stock, the banking institution
| l,ubin cd bn npnplo MT in u
a half billion francs in a doubtful specula-
tion alone being excepted from the draft.
Thousands of men who have put
their savings into the venture
still place the most implicit confidence in De
Lesseps and think he will make as great a
success of the project as he did of the Suez
canal but according to the statement of II
gentlemen recently returned from Paris a very
nervous and uneasy feeling prevails among a
majority of the stockholders, and panic
among them is imminent. He says the bub-
BILE is liable to burst any time and involve
tens of thousands of deluded people in a com
mon ruin.
va
painful impression prevails that the hal
cyon days of the dilapidated "reminiscences OF
departed military, political, and judicial
/ glory who have made the national capital fa
nous in years gone by are past. They arc
4 less numerous now than at any time since the
war, though their familiar faces are to be seen
G vet in considerable force in and about tho
c hotels and the saloons on the avenue, anC
r their species will never become extinct
: There will always be "maiors," ant
a "colonels," and Judges enough il
n existence to go around, with some t.
t spare for the coming generation, They
e will always remain feature of Washington
v life 1t is possible that some time in the din
n past they may have been persons of real i'm
q portance and great men in their neighbor
4 hoods Some of them areex congressman whit
have served in the councils of the natior
with distinction. When ungrateful con
:, stituences turned them out of Office they pre-
" ferred to stay here rather than return to thei
/ people. Others came to Washington to b.
l. secretaries, ministers plenopotentary to for
e eign courts heads of departments, collector
o of customs, and the like and still another elias
have been pursuing that soul destroying
ignis- -fatuus, a "claim," until their brains ar
turned. The time was when they would hav
. taken nothing short of u million diplo
y matte position of the highest importance
y Now seat at the right hand of the presiden
II =, would not tempt them. They know bette
II and an easier way of getting living, an
10 they take more solid satisfaction in fhwork
X ing" stranger, new congressman, or
N freshly landed statesman for the drinks tha
'e they could possibly enjoy in any other occu
l. patton in life They employ more diplomac!
r in lauding cocktail than man of busnes
IN would bring to his aid in the purchas
e. of years stock of goods. They are alway
10 intimate friends of presidents, senators, mem
rs bers, or distinguished army and navy officer,
m usually a brother or cousin u brother-in
,s law, and none can cling so lovingly to stra
I. lambs as they, or surround longer drinks q
"red licker." They hang their crooked can
:. on their arms and with their abdomens II
,. against bar they adhere to that article {
n, saloon furniture with the tenacity of barns
DIS cles to ships bottom. They were nor
lg numerous during the ten or twelve yeal
after the war than at any other perio
ID in the history of the city, and
as late years many of the most notG
- - BILE specimens have been taken to Abri
-A hams bosom. How the majors" and tn
r. "colonels " and "judges live, none but the
he can tell. They are absolutely without mean
v. or credit and never do a stroke of work frol
one years end to the other. They show u