Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-12-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
[srEoIAL 1oRREsroNDENoE OF THE MONITOR. ]
Wnsbipqfon. December %.

Washington, December %.
Christmas merry making began in
the Capital some days ago, with the
din of the bad boys fearful weapons,
fire. crackers and toot-horns. The
city is as its gayest and best, in full
holiday attire. Shop windows are
garlanded with green, the markets
are arrayed in all kinds of Christmas
cheer, and the turkey and sausage
bangle everywhere. Christmas buy
ers crowd the streets and in some of
the stores on the Avenue and on 9TH
and 9th streets ingress and egress are
almost impossible. Business has
been at its height with postmen and
eXpressmen. The latter were busy
all day Sunday receiving and deliver
ing matter, and for days, long lines
of people have crowded around the
stamp window and letter drops of the
post office, while inside were wagon
loads of envelopes containing Christ
mas cards, which required fast work
of employees to prevent being overrun
by the constant stream that came in.
Saturday, department clerks, district
employees, school teachers, the fire
and police departments were paid off,
which gave a fresh impetus to Christ
mas trade. Behind these busy out
side scenes may be spied equally
active indoor arrangements fer an
event just seven days after Christmas.
In their elegant West End homes,
ladies of fashion are getting ready
for New Years day. Exquisite re-
ception toilets are in preparation and
am told that reception rehersals or
drills are common, in which fair de-
butantes figure as the raw recruits
and are taught in squads how to pre-
sent and bear themselves seemingly
when receiving a charge of callers.
Nor are the sterner sex idle, army
and navy officers, and diplomatic
swells are having their gorgeous uni
forms brushed and renovated until
they look newer than when they were
new. The White House reception
will of course be of first Importance
in official circles, the army, navy,
| diplomatic corps having precedence
in the procession, next senators and
| congressman, after which can follow
the rest of the world. But that won
derful intangible, lncomprehensible,
indescribable body known as the
washington Society will go through
the same evolutions, with less pagan
try, to be sure, and perhaps with a
trife more comfort and social enjoy
ment.
The week preceding this event will
! be an arduous one to President Ar
thur. He has been entrapped by
Brooklyn and Philadelphia societies
and has engaged to eat extensive
dinners, after each of which he will
have to bear up as best he can under
the infiction of prolonged speeches
from chronic after-dinner orators
But it is to be hoped he has, ere this
become reconciled to all the duties OF
a presidents life.
The departments will be closed OF
Christmas and New Years days anC
possibly afternoons during the holi
days, thereby giving the work-worl
government clerks coveted respite.
Congress met to-day to listen t.
the announcement of committees
but it has now adjourned, for l Sc
the Capitol from my window from
which the stars and stripes have beer
, lowered. The marble halls will b
t deserted until the 9TH of January
: 1884. Many members of congress
, left for their homes without waitin;
| to hear the committees announced
: but others live here and will renal
} through the holidays.
The record of the first month c
congress may be easily epitomized
Both houses have organized owe
l two thousand bills have been intro
duced and appropriately referred tn
temper of Congressman on certai
great questions, such as the tariff
: civil service, temperance, woman SUI
e frage, and the like has been indica
3 ed, some problems of personal Unfit
ence and following tested, and fami
u iarity with the new duties gained
: AS usual the real work of the sessiC
t will begin after recess.
a Some senators object to the stril
: gency Of the new rules which erect
n Chinese wall around the senate chan
e Der that it is hoped no Tartar lobb
ist will be able to scale. The ne
rules are certainly move IN the rig
ie direction, and the sooner they a
lie adopted by the house the sooner W
y that body perform its legitimate lie
3 islative functions, and the sooner w
1t it be freed from the faint and sea
he dial of lobbyism. The new rul
% adopted by the senate exclude fire
is the floor Of that body large numb
tie of persons who have had access
to the promotion of schemes that VIC
1, not for the public good. =
ne For thGssAIGNITOI
l. LETTER FROM KANSAS.
O. Kansas is in a prosperous con
as ton. The crops the past two We;